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Open research questions in Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies

765 gap statements mined from Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 7,198 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies? See the ranked Social Science journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • There is a lack of knowledge about disclosure patterns following DFSA in Spain. Prior studies have not examined DFSA disclosure in Spain. There is a need for studies that examine the prevalence and factors associated with disclosure patterns among young victims of DFSA.

    Breaking the silence on drug-facilitated sexual assault: disclosure patterns and barriers to reporting among young people in Spain · 2026 · DOI

  • To date, research examining this association has been limited and mixed; however, one understudied factor that may help clarify findings is the role of early maladaptive schemas (EMSs), or broad, dysfunctional patterns of beliefs developed in childhood.

    Adverse Childhood Experiences and Rape Myth Acceptance: The Moderating Role of Early Maladaptive Schemas · 2026 · DOI

  • Existing reforms and available resources are lacking, and recommendations are provided for safeguarding this vulnerable population.

    Sexual violence in India: Psychological impact and response strategies. · 2026 · DOI

  • Social reactions to disclosure of sexual victimization are critical determinants of survivors' recovery, but mechanisms explaining their influence on both distress and growth remain underexplored.

    Correlates of psychological distress and posttraumatic growth in survivors of sexual violence. · 2026 · DOI

  • While meaning-making has been widely theorized, how meaning is constructed in relation to non-penetrative sexual assault, particularly through narrativization itself, remains underexplored.

    Meaning-Making of Sexual Assault Through Narrative Analysis: A Case Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Post-coital financial extortion, colloquially known as “pay or be a jailbird”, is an under-researched form of sexual–economic exploitation in rural South Africa.

    “Pay or Be a Jailbird”: Female-Driven Post-Coital Extortion in Rural Limpopo, South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • Sexual harassment and abuse (SHA) are recognized problems in sport contexts, yet little is known about their occurrence in the equine sector.

    Sexual harassment and abuse in the equine sector · 2025 · DOI

  • Our findings outline the layers of complexity that minoritization adds to the experience of sexual violence, and the lack of confidence amongst academic staff in receiving disclosures, compounded by their limited knowledge of institutional provision and process.

    Sexual violence in higher education: staff knowledge, understanding and confidence in supporting minoritized students who disclose sexual violence · 2025 · DOI

  • However, little is known about the experiences of and responses to student victim-survivors with minoritized identities and how inequalities linked to race, sexuality and disability may impact the disclosure process.

    Sexual violence in higher education: staff knowledge, understanding and confidence in supporting minoritized students who disclose sexual violence · 2025 · DOI

  • However, little is known about whether or how stereotypes regarding sexual assault survivors vary from person to person.

    Rape myth acceptance, sexism, and mental representations of women who have experienced sexual assault · 2025 · DOI

  • To fill this gap in the literature, we explored three dimensions of the public's perceptions about offline and online sexual harassment: its perceived seriousness, harmfulness, and wrongfulness.

    Gender differences in public perceptions of the seriousness of offline and online sexual harassment · 2025 · DOI

  • Despite recent advances in safeguarding sport participants from interpersonal violence, empirical evidence regarding its prevalence and risk factors across different sports remains scarce.

    Are some sports riskier than others? An investigation into child athlete experiences of interpersonal violence in relation to sport type and gender · 2024 · DOI

  • Campus programs that reduce sexual violence have received recent investment, are increasingly common, and may offer a platform to increase condom use, but this has not yet been investigated.

    Impact of a College Sexual Violence Prevention Program on Condom Use: A Mediation Analysis · 2024 · DOI

  • Additional research is needed to develop and assess college-based sexual violence prevention programs that include an additional focus on skills specifically related to condom negotiation and use to understand if these widespread programs offer an efficient and effective platform to reduce the impact of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among this high-risk population.

    Impact of a College Sexual Violence Prevention Program on Condom Use: A Mediation Analysis · 2024 · DOI

  • Credit-bearing courses are a possible innovative intervention, but few have been studied, and little is known about enrolled students' experiences.

    ‘A profound effect on how I see myself and the world around me’: what students found meaningful about taking an academic course intended to reduce campus sexual violence · 2024 · DOI

  • There may be significant physical and psychological consequences and impacts for males who experience sexual assault as adults, however, published literature in this context is sparse, specifically for the investigative outcomes in the criminal legal process.

    Men after the sexual assault: The journey from medical service to court · 2024 · DOI

  • This study aimed to (1) add to the limited evidence base regarding genital injury associated with digital vaginal penetration and (2) identify predisposing or protective factors to the identification of a genital injury.

    Identifying the prevalence of genital injuries amongst patients attending Saint Mary's sexual assault referral centre following an allegation of digital penetration · 2024 · DOI

  • Unfortunately, little is known about mechanisms of the association between revictimization and suicide risk among MST survivors.

    Negative posttraumatic cognitions about self potentially mediate the relation between sexual revictimization and suicide risk in a sample of military sexual assault survivors. · 2024 · DOI

  • However, little is known about STI screening, presumptive treatment, and positivity in the emergency department (ED) setting.

    Low sexually transmitted infection ( STI ) screening and presumptive treatment and high STI positivity among United States females visiting the emergency department after sexual assault · 2024 · DOI

  • The lack of awareness among employees regarding their rights and complaint procedures.

    Legal Challenges Related to Workplace Sexual Harassment. · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper notes that the regulation of sexualized relations by work institutions is an issue that requires further exploration. It highlights the difficulty of analyzing sexualized relations at work due to their being tightly intertwined with different systems of systemic, institutional, professional, and individual norms.

    Sexualized relations in the workplace: the end of a taboo? A perspective on-state-of-the-art research and issues of regulation by work institutions · 2026 · DOI

  • Best practice in responding to reports of GBV against women in sport is poorly understood with no overarching principles to support sport organisations in responding.

    Policy responses to reports of gender-based violence against women by Australian sporting organisations and best-practice principles · 2026 · DOI

  • The role of perceived substance use in influencing the experience or severity of TI is poorly understood, in part due to measurement difficulties.

    Valid use of the Tonic Immobility Scale with consideration of peritraumatic substance use: Analysis of item differences and measurement invariance. · 2025 · DOI

  • Experiences of sexual violence (SV) victimization are pervasive among sexual and gender minority college students, yet few studies have documented rates of SV perpetration within this community.

    Examining Differences in Sexual Violence Perpetration Likelihood by Perceived Intoxication Among Sexual and Gender Minority College Students · 2025 · DOI

  • Examining DFSA disclosure in other settings, - Investigating the factors associated with disclosure patterns among different populations, - Studying the effectiveness of informal support and formal institutions in providing assistance…

    Breaking the silence on drug-facilitated sexual assault: disclosure patterns and barriers to reporting among young people in Spain · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies

Most recent work

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) There is a lack of knowledge about disclosure patterns following DFSA in Spain (“Breaking the silence on drug-facilitated sexual assault: disclosure patterns…”, 2026); (2) Existing reforms and available resources are lacking, and recommendations are provided for safeguarding this vulnerable population (“Sexual violence in India: Psychological impact and response strategies”, 2026); (3) Social reactions to disclosure of sexual victimization are critical determinants of survivors' recovery, but mechanisms explaining their influence on both distress and growth remain underexplored (“Correlates of psychological distress and posttraumatic growth in survivors of…”, 2026); (4) While meaning-making has been widely theorized, how meaning is constructed in relation to non-penetrative sexual assault, particularly through narrativization itself, remains underexplored (“Meaning-Making of Sexual Assault Through Narrative Analysis: A Case Study”, 2026); (5) The lack of awareness among employees regarding their rights and complaint procedures (“Legal Challenges Related to Workplace Sexual Harassment”, 2026). 765 gap statements have been mined from Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 7,198 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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