Adolescent women have been shown to be at particularly high risk for sexual assault and are twice as likely to experience sexual violence than adults. While most adolescent survivors turn to family or friends after an assault, some also choose to disclose the crime to the criminal justice system. This type of disclosure may be accompanied by the collection of a sexual assault kit (SAK) and a thorough criminal investigation. However, for many survivors, SAKs are not processed and cases are closed prematurely. The current study examines the experiences of fifteen adolescent survivors who reported their sexual assault to law enforcement but whose SAKs were not processed, and their decision-making pathways regarding re-engagement with the criminal justice system years after the initial investigation was closed. Findings reveal that characteristics of the initial assault, victim-blaming experiences during the initial investigation, and the social support in survivors lives after the assault appear to impact the decision to re-engage with law enforcement years after the initial assault. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
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