Possible Causes of Rape Unacknowledgment

The logical positivism approach favors the experimental manipulation and control of variables in order to identify those variables that differen­tiate acknowledged from unacknowledged victims. However, in the study of rape it is not possible to experimentally manipulate variables. Conse­quently, research in this area typically involves surveying women about their attitudes, personalities, past experiences, and the events that occurred before, during, and after their assault. The investigator then compares ac­knowledged and unacknowledged victims on these variables to determine whether the two groups of victims differ on any of them.