Rape, Sexual Violence, and Acquiescence in Intimate Relationships: Screening, Assessment, and Clinical Decision Making

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have examined the advantages and disadvantages of intimate partner violence (IPV) universal screening in family therapy and among all health care providers. This article promotes a more inclusive framework, arguing that conventional IPV screening and assessment strategies give inadequate attention to marital rape and sexual acquiescence. This article summarizes the marital rape literature, maps this literature to common definitions of IPV, and demonstrates how an existing model for IPV screening and assessment (IPV-SAT) can be adapted to include sexual violence screening and assessment. Important considerations for creating a safe context for screening and assessment, a conceptual framework for applying the continuum of sexual violence in universal screening practice, and examples of the use of these ideas in clinical settings are described.

KEYWORDS:

• intimate partner violence
• rape
• acquiescence
• screen
• assessment
• family therapy

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank Dr. Kaethe Weingarten for her contributions to this manuscript.

Notes

1. ¹For the purposes of this article, “marital rape” will be used interchangeably with “partner rape” in an acknowledgement that rape and sexual coercion also occur in same-sex, non-traditional, and unmarried heterosexual couples. The phrase “marital rape” was retained due to the unique cultural and political foundations of marriage that sanction rape, and because many scholars and lay-people still struggle to fully acknowledge marital rape occurs.