Attribution of responsibility for rape: The influence of observer empathy,victim resistance,and victim attractiveness

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of a rape victim's physical attractiveness and resistance to rape on subjects' attributions of responsibility for the crime, certainty of the defendant's guilt, and social perceptions of the rape victim and defendant. Subjects' pretrial empathy toward rape victims and rapists was assessed by scores on the Rape Empathy Scale (RES). In addition to significant sex differences in attributions of responsibility for the incident, subjects' pretrial empathy toward rape victims and rapists was predictive of their perceptions of the rape victim, the defendant, and the rape incident. Victim resistance and attractiveness effects were significant in that subjects responded least favorably to the unattractive rape victim, particularly when she resisted the rape by fighting with her attacker. Male subjects and subjects who exhibited low empathy toward the rape victim were more responsive to subtle manipulations of victim resistance and attractiveness than were females and high RES subjects. Several explanations for these results focus on the cognitive and affective responses of subjects. The implications of the study are discussed in relation to societal attitudes toward rape and the role of sexrole stereotyping, which fosters these attitudes.The present research was supported by National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Support Grant #5-SO7-RRO7127-09 and National Science Foundation Grant #SES-8012316 to Sheila R. Deitz. The authors express their appreciation to Nancy Williams, Joanne Moran, Bill Willging, David Small, David Waldman, and Robert Kingsley for their assistance in data collection and analysis.Correspondence should be sent to Sheila R. Deitz, now at Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, University of Virginia, Box 100, Blue Ridge Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901. Copies of the Rape Empathy Scale and an extended report on the reliability and validity of scale are available from this author.     

Innovative Community Services for Rape Victims: An Application of Multiple Case Study Methodology

A qualitative multiple case study design was used to examine communities across the United States that have developed coordinated community-based programs to assist rape victims. Previous studies have suggested that coordinated community programs help victims obtain needed resources and services. This study provided a follow-up examination of how and why these programs are helpful to rape victims. In-depth interviews were conducted with rape victim advocates, rape crisis center directors, police officers, prosecutors, doctors, nurses, and rape survivors from 22 communities with coordinated programs. A comparison sample of 22 communities with fewer coordinated programs was also obtained. Results indicated that the high coordination communities had three types of programs to address sexual assault: coordinated service programs, interagency training programs, and community-level reform groups. Although not all of these programs directly address service delivery for rape victims, they help create a community culture that is more responsive to victims' needs. The research team and participants developed an explanatory model of why these program are effective in addressing rape victims' needs. This model hypothesizes that coordinated programs reflect an understanding of the multiple contexts of service delivery and embody that knowledge in services that are consistent with victims' needs. Narrative data from the interviews with service providers and rape survivors are used to develop and support this model.     

Wilderness Therapy

Wilderness therapy is neither a newcomer nor a fringe therapy-it originates from wilderness challenge programs that were established in 1945, and it has been applied to clinical populations in the United States since the 1960s. Its efficacy, particularly in work with adolescent populations, is supported by a solid body of research. Its therapeutic application to survivors of incest, rape, and battering is, however, very recent (early 1980s), as is its specific application to empowerment of women (mid 1980s). After a brief review of the general wilderness therapy model, this paper turns to a consideration of wilderness therapy in work with survivors of abuse and empowerment for women. The author draws on the voices of women who have experienced wilderness as healing and empowering, and includes her own voice, to explore two distinct components of wilderness therapy-the healing effects of specific therapeutic activities and challenges in a novel environment, and the more elusive spiritual healing effects of a newly found or renewed sense of connectedness with the power of the earth.     

A further examination of validity for the sexual experiences survey

The Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) is designed to identify victims of sexual assault, including ones whose experiences meet the Ohio legal definitions (Ohio Revised Code, 1980) for rape or attempted rape (Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski, 1987). Ratings from 156 Ohio prosecuting attorneys indicate that three of the five items used to identify victims of rape or attempted rape as a result of actual or threatened force are commensurate with the sex offense statutes for these acts, while the two questions describing attempted and completed rape experiences involving the use of drugs and alcohol are not. The ratings could not be accounted for by demographic, work experience, or rape myth acceptance variables. Two additional items not intended to measure specific code violations were found to describe felony sex offenses. The implications of the current findings for identifying sexual assault victims are discussed.     

DATING, DRINKING, AND RAPE: Effects of Victim's and Assailant's Alcohol Consumption on judgments of Their Behavior and Traits

Effects of an acquaintance rape victim's and her assailant's alcohol consumption on judgments of their behavior and traits were examined in a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial experiment. Sixty-eight women and 64 men, 21 or older, read one of four stories in which only the victim, only the assailant, both victim and assailant, or neither victim nor assailant consumed alcohol. One individual difference trait, rape attitudes, was also measured. The interaction of victim and assailant drinking diminished the view that a rape had occurred and that the victim responded negatively, whereas it enhanced judgments of the assailant's likability and sexuality. The portrayal of only the victim drinking resulted in a more negative view of the assailant's behavior and traits. Evaluations of the victim depended on the assailant's drinking behavior rather than on her own. Implications for treatment of rape victims and establishing assailant accountability are discussed.     

Role and justice considerations in the attribution of responsibility to a rape victim

This study was designed to assess the extent to which social role and “just world” considerations would affect perceptions and attributions of responsibility to a rape victim. The rape victim was either a topless-bottomless dancer, a social worker, or a Catholic nun, and she was either acquainted or unacquainted with her assailant. In the acquainted condition, the dancer was attributed the greatest and the nun the least amount of responsibility, indicating that social role factors can govern the range of attributional judgments which might be made in any given instance. However, unacquainted victims were ascribed more responsibility for the rape than were acquainted victims, a difference which was significant when the victim was the nun. The latter findings are discussed in terms of Lerner's just world hypothesis. Significant sex differences were found in subjects' perceptions of and responses to the rape incident and, contrary to earlier findings, no relationship was found between victim attractiveness and punitiveness toward the wrongdoer.     

Psychological management intervention guidelines for rape survivors with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): A brief exploratory systematic literature review

This exploratory systematic literature review aimed to characterise the current evidence on psychological management intervention guidelines for use with rape survivors with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. For the data searches we accessed the following electronic databases: Google Scholar, Science Direct, EBSCOhost, and PsychInfo. We utilised search terms with variations of the following key words: psychological management guidelines of PTSD*, rape survivors*. Inclusion criteria were guidelines for rape survivors with PTSD that consider referral, treatment, and preventive and health promotion in an international setting. We excluded guidelines that did not address PTSD resulting from rape in an international setting. We employed a narrative synthesis data analysis approach to integrate the evidence from across studies. Findings suggest prevalent guidelines for rape survivors with PTSD focus on cognitive behavioural therapy and other psychological management interventions in highly specialised areas and Primary Health Care (PHC) settings in international countries, but not in other countries such as South Africa. Emerging guidelines are needed for PTSD psychological management interventions in rape care clinics situated in South Africa.     

DECIDING WHOM TO TELL: EXPECTATIONS AND OUTCOMES OF RAPE SURVIVORS' FIRST DISCLOSURES

In this study, 102 female rape survivors were interviewed regarding their first post-assault disclosure. Qualitative analysis revealed that nearly 75% of first disclosures were to informal support providers and over one third of the disclosures were not initiated by the survivors themselves. Over half of the survivors received positive reactions and less than one third felt the disclosure had a detrimental impact on their recovery. Loglinear analysis suggested that survivors who actively sought help from informal support providers were more likely to receive positive than negative reactions. In contrast, survivors who actively sought help from formal support providers were more likely to receive negative than positive reactions. When disclosure to formal support providers was initiated by the formal support providers themselves, however, survivors received exclusively positive reactions. Implications for future research are discussed.     

The Effects of Sex and Power Schemas,Attitudes Toward Women,and Victim Resistance on Rape Attributions1

This study examined the effects of attitudes toward women, rape schemas, and victim resistance on rape attributions in a hypothetical rape scenario. One hundred twenty-eight female subjects participated in the investigation. In line with the hypotheses, a 2 × 2 × 2 (Traditional vs. Nontraditional Attitudes × Sex vs. Power Schemas × Presence vs. Absence of Resistance) ANOVA demonstrated a significant interaction effect between rape schemas and victim resistance for rape attributions. As predicted, those who held sex schemas of rape attributed less fault and responsibility to resisting, compared to nonresisting, victims. In addition, they attributed more fault and responsibility to the nonresisting victim than did those who held power schemas. Rape schemas and victim resistance exerted an interactive influence on perpetrator attributions. Although attitudes toward women did not affect victim attributions, traditional women attributed less fault and responsibility to perpetrators than did nontraditional women.     

SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS' ACKNOWLEDGMENT STATUS AND REVICTIMIZATION RISK

How a victim of rape characterizes her assault has potential implications for her postassault experiences and revictimization risk. Prior research has identified several potential benefits to not conceptualizing one's experience as a form of victimization. The current study sought to identify whether there are costs to not acknowledging rape as well, specifically whether unacknowledged victims are at elevated risk of revictimization. The revictimization risk behaviors of 334 acknowledged and unacknowledged female college rape victims were compared. Unacknowledged victims reported more hazardous alcohol use and were more likely to report that they continued a relationship with the assailant after the assault. A subsample of 105 victims completed a 6-month follow-up survey regarding sexual victimization during the follow-up period. Unacknowledged victims were nearly twice as likely to report having experienced an attempted rape during the 6-month follow-up period. Implications of the results for future work evaluating rape acknowledgment, rape recovery, and revictimization are discussed.     

Doing Community Research Without a Community: Creating Safe Space for Rape Survivors

This paper describes how the values of a feminist research team influenced methodological decisions in a study of rape survivors. Building upon concepts from community psychology and urban sociology, the authors created a community-based research design that respected the emotional needs of rape survivors without sacrificing methodological rigor. We developed relationships with community members in diverse settings, such as nail and hair salons, child care centers, churches, and bookstores, to advertise the study and recruit participants. Consistent with feminist approaches to interviewing, our goal was to create a safe setting for survivors to tell their stories. Although the purpose of this study was research rather than intervention, most survivors reported that participating in these interviews was healing. Our experiences in this project suggest that allowing values to influence the process of research may have beneficial outcomes for both researchers and participants.     

Women's Postrape Sexual Functioning: Review and Implications for Counseling

The authors present a literature review concerning the effects of rape on sexual functioning and suggestions for facilitating sexual recovery of rape survivors in counseling.     

Rape Myth Acceptance among Social Work Students

It is important to examine rape myth acceptance and the pertinent situational factors that affect attitudes and beliefs concerning the act of rape, perpetrators, and survivors. This study examines the influence of alcohol consumption and perceptions of alcohol use on levels of rape myth acceptance among social work students. Results showed differences in levels of rape myth acceptance based on race or ethnicity and gender. Results also showed that the version of the vignette read by the participant was a significant predictor of rape myth acceptance. Respondents’ perceptions of alcohol consumption were also a strong predictor of rape myth acceptance levels. These results demonstrate there are multiple factors that influence social work students’ rape myth acceptance levels that need further examination.     

Exposure,Resource Loss,and Posttsunami Trauma

This study analyzed whether survivors’ resource loss mediates the effects of exposure on posttsunami trauma. Fourteen months posttsunami, 416 survivors were interviewed from the nine worst-affected habitations of the Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu (India). Exposure was measured using a checklist; trauma and resource loss were assessed using inventories. Findings indicate that the indirect effects of tsunami exposure on trauma via resource loss were a more potent predictor than the direct effects of exposure on trauma. Resource loss was a vehicle through which the effects of exposure passed on to posttsunami trauma.     

The Male Rape Survivor: Possible Meanings in the Context of Feminism and Patriarchy

This article covers a philosophical investigation into the possible meanings of rape for male survivors. The legal definitions of rape are investigated and the impossibility of male rape—from a legal, personal and social angle—described. An analysis of male rape in feminist theories and philosophies reveals that the dominant discourse on rape has the effect of silencing the voice of the male rape survivor. Prevailing social constructs about the perpetrator of male rape are challenged, and the physiological and psychological sequelae of rape described. A call is made for a conversation in which male and female survivors can participate and where the warrior psyche of the man can be transcended in order to facilitate healing.     

Voluntary Agencies’ Responses to,and Attitudes toward Male Rape: Issues and Concerns

This paper critically explores voluntary agencies’ responses to, and attitudes toward male survivors of rape in England and Wales. There has been a gap in this area, so this paper attempts to fill this gap in knowledge by examining how these survivors experience service delivery and by examining what contributions feminist theory and research has made to understand ‘male rape’. This paper argues that feminist theory and research neglects male rape and this negligence can also be seen in voluntary organisations for survivors. Therefore, through the neglect of male rape, the gender roles of men and women are reinforced instead of being tackled. This paper contributes to knowledge by opening up a discussion on male rape in the academic setting, in feminist theory and research debates, and in research surrounding voluntary agencies. This, in turn, helps to raise awareness of such a ‘hidden’ phenomenon in policy and practice and helps to form a better understanding not only of male rape, but also of the responses and attitudes toward it by voluntary provisions and the wider society.     

Rape stereotypes and labeling: awareness of victimization and trauma

For years, studies in the U.S. college population have described the phenomena of date and acquaintance rape. These phenomena have perpetuated myths regarding rape leading to the faulty labeling of the experience by the survivors themselves. Compared with the U.S., in Europe there are very few studies concerning this issue. This preliminary study in Italy comprised surveys of 210 participants who were asked to express their opinions on 2 scenarios of sexual assault (a forced rape and an acquaintance rape). Only 48% of the participants thought that acquaintance rape should be tried in a criminal court.