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Why people blame
the rape victim
A
victim blame bibliography
Rape is the
only crime of which the victim must prove his or
her innocence.
"Perhaps we
can't see the victim as innocent, because by so doing we would
have to admit that similar things might happen even to us. We
blame the victim in order to feel more in control."
Anyara
What is
victim blame?
"Victim blaming
is holding the victim responsible for what has happened to
her/him. One way in which victim blaming is perpetuated is
through rape
myths. Rape myths allow us to blame the
victim and are often common false beliefs."
http://www.umaine.edu/SafeCampusProject/RS.htm
Belief in a
just world
Only 2% of accused rapists are
convicted. In contrast FBI studies indicate that only
2% of all rape reports
are false. "Low conviction
rates result from insufficient evidence to prosecute,
dismissal of trial due to technicalities and reluctance of
victims to testify. For these reasons, low conviction
rates do not imply false
reporting."
One of the main
theories behind victim blaming is the just world
hypothesis. "Individuals
that have a strong belief in a just world can have this belief
challenged when they encounter a victim of random misfortune
such as a rape victim. The individual wants to believe that
the world is a safe, just place where people get what they
deserve and deserve what they get.
Even when evidence
suggests otherwise, the individual is very reluctant to give
up this belief that the world is not just.
In the face of
contradicting evidence, research suggests (Kleinke and Meyer,
1996) that
people with a high belief in a just
world will do one of two things: either they will try to
eliminate the suffering of the innocent victims or else they
will derogate them for their fate. Since it is impossible to
reverse the crime of rape, and thus relieve the victim of her
suffering, the rape victim is often subjected to derogation
and blame. In this manner, the person who believes in a just
world can maintain this belief as there is no longer a
suffering person, but a woman who deserves her
misfortune."
No one wonders what the victim
of a mugging or violent murder did to deserve it.
Rape is a crime of violence, power and control. No
one "deserves" it.
http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/justworld/interpersonal.shtml
What can you expect from a
survivor?
" Two
main styles of emotion were shown by the victims within the
first few hours after the rape: expressed and
controlled. In the expressed style. the victim
demonstrated such feelings as anger, fear and anxiety.
They were restless during the interview, becoming tense when
certain questions were asked, crying or sobbing when
describing specific acts of the assailant, smiling in an
anxious manner when certain issues were stated. In the
controlled style, the feelings of the victim were masked or
hidden, and a calm, composed or subdued affect could be
noted. "
Why do rape victims feel guilty for
being the victim of a crime?
If someone
verbally or physically harasses a rape victim or survivor it
may be considered a hate
crime or hate speech. For
immediate victim assistance call
206-350-4283
or 1 800-879-6682 24 hours a day or fill
out this online
hate crime report form.
"Last year the
American Psychological Association issued the report Hate
Crimes Today: An Age-Old Foe in Modern Dress. In the report
Dr. Jack McDevitt, a criminologist, stated, "Hate
crimes are message crimes. They are
different from other crimes in that the offender is sending a
message to members of a certain group that they are unwelcome.
Preliminary research indicates that hate crimes have more
serious psychological effects than non-bias motivated crimes."
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hatecrimes.html
The
Oxford English
Dictionary defines a hate
crime as:
- Hate crime
-orig.
U.S., a crime, usually
violent, motivated by hatred or
intolerance of another social group, esp. on the basis of
race or
sexuality; crime of this type; freq. attrib. (occas.
in pl.),
designating legislation, etc.,
framed to address such
crime.
- Hate
speech -orig.
U.S., speech expressing
hatred or intolerance of other social groups, esp. on the
basis of race or sexuality; hostile verbal abuse (though the
term is sometimes understood to encompass written and
non-verbal forms of
expression).
"Fact: The incidence of false
reporting of rape is about 2 percent. This is about
the same as that for false reporting of other felonies
(Department of
Social Services).
Survivors of sexual assault are often traumatized again when
they report the assault or rape since the process of making a
police report itself can be very difficult. This
re-victimization makes the likelihood of false reporting very
minimal. It is far more likely that rape is very
under-reported. Some experts estimate that only 1 in 10 rapes
are ever reported."
http://www.ksu.edu/counseling/csweb/topics/relationships/rape.html
The Rape
of Mr. Smith
Bibliography
Online
resources
_____________________________________________
1)
Beyond rape myths: A
more complex view of perceptions of rape victims -
Author:
Amy M. Buddie,
Arthur G. Miller
Sex Roles: A
Journal of Research,
August, 2001
Quote:
"This research
examined personal beliefs and perceptions of cultural
stereotypes surrounding rape victims. Students (ages 18-21) at
a primarily Caucasian University listed either their personal
beliefs or their perceptions of cultural stereotypes
surrounding rape victims and rated a specific rape victim
either according to their personal beliefs or their
perceptions of cultural stereotypes. Personal beliefs about
rape victims tended to focus more on perceptions of victim
reactions to the rape (e.g., depression, anxiety, etc.) rather
than on rape myths (e.g., she asked for it, was promiscuous,
etc.). Perceptions of cultural stereotypes, however, comprised
rape myths rather than the victim reactions to rape. We
propose that perceptions of rape victims are more multifaceted
than has previously been suggested."
2)
Victim blame and the disinhibition of sexual arousal to
rape vignettes.
Author: Sundberg SL, Barbaree HE, Marshall
WL.
Violence Vict. 1991 Summer;6(2):103-20.
Quote:
"The present study examined the effects of differing
levels of victim blame on the sexual arousal of males to rape
vignettes. In the first experiment, a between-subjects
experimental design was used to compare four groups of eight
university males for their erectile responses to vignettes
rated as low, medium, and high along a victim blame continuum.
All groups found a consenting vignette more arousing than a
nonconsenting vignette, however, this difference was
significantly smaller for subjects in the high blame condition
compared to the low and medium blame conditions. A second
experiment supported the disinhibiting effect of the high
victim blame manipulation using 12 university males in a
within-subjects experimental design. The disinhibiting
influence of victim blame on male sexual arousal to rape cues
was discussed in relation to our broader understanding of
sexual assault."
3)
But she was
unfaithful: benevolent sexism and reactions to rape victims
who violate traditional gender role expectations - Brief
Report
Author: Viki G. Tendayi
Sex Roles: A Journal of Research,
Sept, 2002
Quote:
"In the present research we examine victim blame in
relation to different types of victims of acquaintance rape.
In predicting victim blame, we consider the role of rape myth
acceptance, but our main focus is on the role of benevolent
sexist beliefs."
4)
http://www.inpsyte.ca/priceg.htmlNon-Rational Guilt in Victims of
Trauma
Author:Gail M. Price, Ph.D.
The author is
associated with the Trauma Clinic at Massachusetts Mental
Health Center in Boston, MA
Abstract
"The guilt many victims of physical and
psychological trauma experience in response to their
victimization often contains non-rational content which, when
analyzed, is more appropriate to the perpetrator. This
non-rational perpetrator guilt is imposed on the victim under
two primary conditions: 1) attribution, in which the
perpetrator disavows guilt and blames the victim for the
victimization; and 2) terror, which results in the victim's
rapid incorporation of essentially the entire world view of
the perpetrator, including the perpetrator's guilt. Guilt
results when some aspect of a moral system is transgressed.
There are four aspects of a moral system reflecting different
levels of guilt and four basic components of guilt within each
level. The perpetrator's violation of one aspect of a moral
system may be processed by the victim at the level of another
aspect, making resolution difficult. Resolution involves careful
analysis of the content of the guilt to enable the victim to
identify its source."
5)
The Rape of Mr.
Smith
From "The Legal
Bias Against Rape Victims (The Rape of Mr. Smith)" by Siobhan
Morrissey. American Bar Association Journal. April 1975.
Reprinted by permission of the ABA
Journal.
Quote:
"The law
discriminates against rape victims in a manner that would not
be tolerated by victims of any other crime. In the following
situation, a lawyer asks questions of a hold-up
survivor."
6)
Rape
is...discussion guide
Quote:
"From a
feminist perspective, the reason people are focused on the
woman's responsibility is because it lets sexual coercers off
the hook for their predatory behavior. If you can blame the
victim, you don't have to take responsibility for your own
actions. It is best to steer conversations away from this
pitfall. Instead, ask, "How does this fit into the larger
picture?" Part of the effort of this film is to look at the
larger picture of rape, outside of the "he said, she said"
debate. What does it mean that we try to hold the victim
responsible for her rape? Does this mean we believe that women
can't wear tank tops and short skirts? Does this mean we are
saying women can't go out at night? Are we saying that anyone
who goes to a bar and meets someone gets what he or she
deserves? Are we saying that we don't have the right to drink
and be safe from sexual assault and rape? Are we saying that
being drunk is a form of consent?"
7)
Rape
Prevention with College Males: The Roles of Victim Empathy,
Rape Myth Acceptance, and Outcome
Expectancies
William O’Donohue,
Ph.D., Matthew
Fanetti
Quote:
"Irrational
beliefs about women and sexuality (rape myths) such as
"Women really want to be raped" and "If a man pays for a date
then he is entitled to sex" cause men to rape. Finkelhor
(1986) also suggests that the endorsement of rape myths act as
a factor that reduces internal inhibitions to rape. In
Pithers' (Hildebran & Pithers, 1992) model of sexual
offending apparently irrelevant decisions and poor victim
empathy (a cognitive-affective variable) contribute to sexual
offending. McFall (1990, p.
318) has stated in his
information processing model of rape:
"This evidence paints
the following portrait of sexually aggressive men. They enter
heterosexual relationships holding distorted cognitive
schemata that
predispose them to sexual misunderstandings
and misguided actions. It is as though these men were 'primed'
by their schemata to read positive sexual
connotations into
women's neutral or negative messages; to believe that women
secretly wish to be victims of sexual coercion; to
misinterpret women's refusals of sexual advances merely as
coquettish acceptances; to dismiss women's
physical
resistance as a primeval sexual ritual; to
misperceive women's cries of pain as squeals of pleasure; and
to redefine any attempted rebuffs as proof that women
are
'teases' who deserve whatever they get."
8)http://www.radford.edu/~gstudies/speakers/currier/violence.htm The
Culture of Violence Against Women
Author: Dr. Danielle Currier
Quote:
"different forms of
violence, the gendered nature of violence, cultural aspects of
and variations in violence against women, and the things
unique to a college campus that make it an environment in
which violence against women is prevalent.
Dr. Currier's
presentation is part of the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence
Awareness Month activities. Sources and links listing these
activities are indicated below
Dr. Currier may
contacted via Email at: dmcurrier@radford.edu "
Includes a bibliography and online
resources.
Online
Popular Resources
_____________________________________________________
1)
Author:
Anyara 2003
Quote:
"Perhaps we
can't see the victim as innocent, because by so doing we would
have to admit that similar things might happen even to us. We
blame the victim in order to feel more in control.
"
2)
Cultural rape
myths from survivors emerging
Author:
Astrid
Quote:
"we have
the right to live our lives without threat of harm. The
fact that women find this to nearly impossible must be
changed. We face this fear
every time we leave our homes. We will find our empowerment
when we can place the blame where it
belongs-"
3)
Rape Coverage: Shifting the Blame
Author: Laura Flanders
Quote:
"Rape, and in particular acquaintance rape, has become
something of a human interest story-of-choice for mainstream
newspaper editors recently. But more coverage has usually not
meant better.
...Instead of hearing the cries of survivors, the press
is hearing the complaints of apologists;
instead of condemning cruelty, the press promotes
excuses."
4)
http://www.feminista.com/archives/v2n1/aaron.html
Dont blame victim of sexual violence
Author: Ron Aaron
Quote:
"Failing to lock doors and windows or going out alone
at night doesn't cause rape. Indeed, it's not her
responsibility to prevent rape. It's his obligation to stop
doing it. "
5)
http://www.feminist.com/resources/ourbodies/viol_blame.html
Blaming the Victim
Author: Boston Women's Health Book
Collective
Quote:
"The most common emotional responses to sexual
harassment, battering, and rape are guilt, fear,
powerlessness, shame, betrayal, anger, and denial. Guilt is
often the first and deepest response."
Scholarly Journal Articles
__________________________________________________
1)
Article title: An exploratory approach to self-blame
and self-derogation by rape victims
Journal title:American-Journal-of-Orthopsychiatry
Database to look in:Social Work Abstracts
APA citation:
Libow, J. & Doty, D. (1979). An exploratory
approach to self-blame and self-derogation by rape victims.
American-Journal-of-Orthopsychiatry, 49(4),
670-679.
Abstract:
A study was undertaken to determine whether
self-attributed blame or self-derogation is empirically
verifiable for acute rape victims, and whether belief in a
just world and avoidance of harm or blame are relevant
explanatory constructs. Quantitative and interview data were
gathered from seven rape victims. Results supported
self-blaming as an important aspect of response to rape, and
future avoidance of harm rather than a belief in a just world
was found as the most relevant motive. The factor of
compensation to the victim appeared important as a means to
reduce the victim's need to derogate herself as a result of
the rape. The phenomenon of compassion for, or identification
with, the rapist also emerged from the data. Clinical
implications of these findings for the adjustment of victims,
the therapeutic exploration of compensation, counseling
strategies, and the legal system are
discussed.
2)
Article title: Social Perception
of Rape: How Rape Myth Acceptance Modulates the Influence of
Situational Factors
Journal title:
Journal-of-Interpersonal-Violence
Database to look in:
Psychinfo
APA citation:
Frese, B., Moya, M., & Megius, J. L. (2004). Social
Perception of Rape: How Rape Myth Acceptance Modulates the
Influence of Situational Factors.
Journal-of-Interpersonal-Violence, 19(2),
143-161.
Abstract:
This study assessed the role of rape myth acceptance
(RMA) and situational factors in the perception of three
different rape scenarios (date rape, marital rape, and
stranger rape). One hundred and eighty-two psychology
undergraduates were asked to emit four judgements about each
rape situation: victim responsibility, perpetrator
responsibility, intensity of trauma, and likelihood to report
the crime to the police. It was hypothesized that neither RMA
nor situational factors alone can explain how rape is
perceived; it is the interaction between these two factors
that best account for social reactions to sexual aggression.
The results generally supported the authors' hypothesis:
Victim blame, estimation of trauma, and the likelihood of
reporting the crime to the police were best explained by the
interaction between observer characteristics, such as RMA, and
situational clues. That is, the less stereotypic the rape
situation was, the greater was the influence of attitudes
toward rape on attributions.
3)
Article title: Perceptions of Stranger and Acquaintance
Rape: The Role of Benevolent and Hostile Sexism in Victim
Blame and Rape Proclivity
Journal title:
Journal-of-Personality-and-Social-Psychology
Database to look in: Psychinfo
APA citation:
Abrahms,
D., Viky, G., Masser, B., & Gerd, B. (2003). Perceptions
of stranger and acquaintance rape: The role of benevolent and
hostile sexism in victim blame and rape proclivity.
Journal-of-Personality-and-Social-Psychology,
84(1), 111-125.
Abstract:
In Studies 1 and 2, after reading an acquaintance-rape
but not a stranger-rape scenario, higher benevolent sexist but
not hostile sexist participants blamed the victim
significantly more. In Study 2, higher hostile sexist but not
benevolent sexist male participants showed significantly
greater proclivity to commit acquaintance (but not stranger)
rape. Studies 3 and 4 supported the hypothesis that the
effects of benevolent sexism and hostile sexism are mediated
by different perceptions of the victim, as behaving
inappropriately and as really wanting sex with the rapist.
These findings show that benevolent sexism and hostile sexism
underpin different assumptions about women that generate
sexist reactions toward rape victims.
4)
Article title: Blaming the victim of rape: The culpable
control model perspective.
Journal title:
Dissertation-Abstracts-International
Database to look in: PsycINFO
APA
citation:
Pauwels, B. (2002). Blaming the victim of rape: The
culpable control model perspective.
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-
Sciences-and-Engineering,
63(5-B), .
This
is a scholarly article examing why we blame the victim rather
than the perpetrator of rape.
Abstract
"Three
vignette-based studies are presented that represent the first
attempt to examine rape victim blame within the context of an
explicit, comprehensive theory of blame. Study 1 examined the
hypothesis that evaluative information about a victim of rape
would
have a greater effect upon victim blaming when the
victim's personal control over the rape was portrayed as
somewhat elevated, rather than unambiguously
low."
5)
Article title: High school and college students'
attitudes toward rape.
Journal title: Adolescence
Database to look in:Social Work Abstracts
APA citation:
Blumberg, M. & Lester, D. (1991). High school and
college students' attitudes toward rape. Adolescence,
26(103), 727-729.
Abstract:
This study explores the relationship between agreement
with myths about rape and the tendency to blame the victim in
a sample of high school and college students. It was found
that high school males believed more strongly than did both
high school females and college males in myths about rape, and
they assigned greater blame to the victims of rape. For both
high school males and females, belief in myths about rape was
associated with assigning more blame to the victims. (Journal
abstract.)
6)
Article title:
Models of Rape Judgment: attributions concerning event,
perpetrator, and victim.
Journal title:
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation
Database to look in:
psycinfo
APA citation:
Langley, T., Yost, E.A., O'Neal, E.C., Taylor, S.L., et
al. (1991). Models of Rape Judgment: attributions concerning
event, perpetrator, and victim. Journal of Offender
Rehabilitation, 17, (1-2), 43-54.
Abstract
"Discusses analytical models developed to identify
perceptions that may serve as cognitive mediators of rape
judgments, including blaming victims, attribution of rape
culpability, date rape attribution, and the influence of
violent behavior. Victim blame appears to play little role in
mediating judgment regarding punishment, restitution, and
whether or not rape occurred. Earlier onset of victim protest
increased recognition of the incident as rape, the likelihood
that the offender would be convicted, and the likelihood that
Ss would choose to award civil damages to the victim. The
effects of onset were mediated by perception of the victim as
desiring sexual intercourse. The degree of force used by the
perpetrator yielded similar effects, mediated by the judges'
perception of the incident as violent but only for male
judges."
7)
Article title: Blaming the victim of rape: The culpable
control
model perspective
Journal title:
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-
Sciences-and-Engineering
Database to took in: PsycInfo
APA
citation:
Pauwels, B. (2002). Blaming the victim of rape: The
culpable control
model perspective.
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-
Sciences-and-Engineering,
63(5-B), .
This is a scholarly article examing why we
blame the victim rather than the perpetrator of
rape.
Abstract:
"Three
vignette-based studies are presented that represent the
first attempt to examine rape victim blame within the
context of an
explicit, comprehensive theory of blame.
Study 1 examined the
hypothesis that evaluative
information about a victim of rape would
have a greater
effect upon victim blaming when the victim's personal
control over the rape was portrayed as somewhat elevated,
rather than unambiguously low."
8)
Article title: Attribution of rape blame as a function
of victim gender and sexuality, and perceived similarity to
the victim
Journal title: Journal of Homosexuality
Database to look in: contemporary womens
issues
APA
citation:
Shaver, . (2002). Attribution of rape blame as a
function of victim gender and sexuality, and perceived
similarity to the victim. Journal of Homosexuality,
43(2), .
Abstract:
This
study examined respondents' perceived level of blame and
responsibility for three victims of rape, as a function of
attitudes toward homosexuals, and perceived similarity to the
victim, as indicative of Shaver's (1970) Defensive Attribution
Hypothesis. Victims were a homosexual and heterosexual male,
and a female. A sample of 168 university students completed
questionnaires, which included three rape scenarios and
subsequent questions, the Index of Attitudes Toward
Homosexuals (Hudson & Ricketts, 1980), and the short-form
Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Reynolds, 1982).
Results indicated that respondents higher in homophobia
(regardless of gender) blamed the homosexual male rape victim
and the behavior and character of the heterosexual male rape
victim, more than the female rape victim. Male respondents in
general also blamed the heterosexual male rape victim, more
than female respondents. Shaver's defensive attribution
hypothesis was not supported. Results are discussed in terms
of the possible link between homophobia and male rape
blame.
9)
Article
title: Madcap Misogyny and Romanticized Victim-Blaming:
Discourses of Stalking in There's Something About
Mary
Journal title:
Women
& Language
Database to look in: contemporary womens
issues
APA
citation:
Anderson , K. J. & Accomando, C. (1999). Madcap
Misogyny and Romanticized Victim-Blaming: Discourses of
Stalking in There's Something About Mary. Women &
Language, 1, 24-28.
Quote:
"One aspect of
victim-blaming is the belief in rape myths. Rape myths serve a
patriarchal world view, in which men possess and deserve
greater power and privilege than women. Such myths include the
construction that women cause, deserve, or even enjoy being
raped. Blaming the victim of rape also shifts causality in
interesting ways. On the one hand, in stereotypical
representations, men are depicted are powerful and active
while women are depicted as powerless and passive. On the
other hand, rape myths shift causality to preserve male
privilege (in this case the right of access to women's bodies)
by constructing women as agents of their own rape. Women
become temptresses and men appear at the mercy of women and of
their own hormones. A more general theory to explain
victim-blaming is the belief in a just world. The "just world"
hypothesis is the tendency to believe that the world is a fair
and just place and that good things happen to good people and
bad things happen to bad people. Thus, to maintain this
belief, one must search for evidence to suggest that victims
instigated their misfortune (see Lonsway & Fitzgerald,
1994, for a review). Ryan (1971) explains victim-blaming as a
strategy to avoid the hard work of societal change. He argues
that by blaming victims for their misfortunes, society can
then work to change specific unfortunate individuals rather
than change institutional and widespread prejudices.
Therefore, instead of examining why some men stalk women and
why that is viewed as normal, one can examine women for
characteristics about them that must have caused them to be
stalked."
10)
Article title: The relationship of optimism,
empathy, internality, interpersonal violence, and gender to
rape blame under four victim conditions
Journal title:
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-Sciences-and-Engineering
Database to look in:
Psychinfo
APA
citation:
Moonstarr, M.
(2000). The relationship of optimism, empathy, internality,
interpersonal violence, and gender to rape blame under four
victim conditions.
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-Sciences-and-Engineering,
61(3-B ), 1699.
Abstract:
The relationships of optimism, rape empathy, locus of
control, degree of acceptance of interpersonal violence, and
gender upon attributions of rape blame were examined in four
experimental conditions. The conditions were four variations
on one rape scenario. These conditions varied a positive or
negative character portrayal and a positive or negative
behavior portrayal of the victim. Behavioral and
characterological assessments of victim blameworthiness were
obtained. The dependent measures for victim blameworthiness
were an index for behavioral blame and an index for character
blame. Predictor variables selected for study were those
indicated in the literature as potential mediators for rape
blame attributions. Participants were 321 undergraduate and
graduate students at Howard University. A questionnaire was
used to assess type of blame attributed to the victim based on
the scenario as well as demographic and attitude information.
Other blame sources and victim experiences were also examined.
It was hypothesized that participants would be expected to
blame a rape victim's behavior rather than character, the
higher their optimism, empathy, internal locus of control and
rejection of interpersonal violence. Further, it was
hypothesized that blame type would vary dependent upon
participant's gender and victim descriptions. Hypotheses were
partially confirmed. Attitudes found to be related to
victim-blame were primarily interpersonal violence and
secondarily empathy. In the conditions of negative behavior
portrayals for victims, despite character, higher behavioral
blame was attributed. It appeared that a victim's behavior
rather than character influenced attributions of either
behavior or character victim-blame. Finally, regardless of
victim description, men blamed the victim's character
significantly more than women did. As another research
interest, age was examined in relation to type of
victim-blame. Students over the age of 25 placed significantly
less behavioral blame on the rape victim. Breaking this
analysis up by scenario did not reveal any differences in this
pattern. A final research inquiry was added by examining
change in victim-blame should the rape victim insist upon
condom use. Results indicated an increase in both
victim-blames, which was augmented in the scenarios with
negative character descriptions.
Additional article:
McCaul, K. D., Veltum,
L. G., Boyechko, V., & Crawford, J. J. (1990).
Understanding attributions of victim blame for rape:
Sex, violence, and forseeability. Journal of Applied
Social Psychology, 20,
1-26.
|
Books
Raine,
N. (1998). After Silence: Rape and My Journey Back. New
York: Crown Publications, Inc., .
Reviews available from
amazon
Professional Review:
"Very
soon after she was raped, Raine discovers that talking about
the rape--even to her closest friends and family--was
"dangerous." Throughout the book, Raine describes how she
negotiates the mine-field of others' resistance, and she
reflects on how their resistance impacted her. This focus
allows for a deep and insightful appreciation of how our
cultural myths about women and rape work to marginalize
survivors' speech and, as a result, dramatically impede the
healing process. She succinctly and powerfully sums up this
dilemma, "Other people's embarrassment or discomfort makes me
feel as if I were the rapist's co-criminal, an accomplice who
is 'confessing' something ... everyone keeps saying I need to
'come to terms' 'integrate' the rape into my life. [How] can I
come to terms if the terms are not shared?" (pp. 212-213)."
Cosgrove, Lisa PhD
If you have a resource you would like added to this
page please list it here. Comments are also
welcome.
Google research-only online resources for victim
blame.
Why people blame
the rape victim
A
victim blame bibliography
Rape is the
only crime of which the victim must prove his or
her innocence.
"Perhaps we
can't see the victim as innocent, because by so doing we would
have to admit that similar things might happen even to us. We
blame the victim in order to feel more in control."
Anyara
What is
victim blame?
"Victim blaming
is holding the victim responsible for what has happened to
her/him. One way in which victim blaming is perpetuated is
through rape
myths. Rape myths allow us to blame the
victim and are often common false beliefs."
http://www.umaine.edu/SafeCampusProject/RS.htm
Belief in a
just world
Only 2% of accused rapists are
convicted. In contrast FBI studies indicate that only
2% of all rape reports
are false. "Low conviction
rates result from insufficient evidence to prosecute,
dismissal of trial due to technicalities and reluctance of
victims to testify. For these reasons, low conviction
rates do not imply false
reporting."
One of the main
theories behind victim blaming is the just world
hypothesis. "Individuals
that have a strong belief in a just world can have this belief
challenged when they encounter a victim of random misfortune
such as a rape victim. The individual wants to believe that
the world is a safe, just place where people get what they
deserve and deserve what they get.
Even when evidence
suggests otherwise, the individual is very reluctant to give
up this belief that the world is not just.
In the face of
contradicting evidence, research suggests (Kleinke and Meyer,
1996) that
people with a high belief in a just
world will do one of two things: either they will try to
eliminate the suffering of the innocent victims or else they
will derogate them for their fate. Since it is impossible to
reverse the crime of rape, and thus relieve the victim of her
suffering, the rape victim is often subjected to derogation
and blame. In this manner, the person who believes in a just
world can maintain this belief as there is no longer a
suffering person, but a woman who deserves her
misfortune."
No one wonders what the victim
of a mugging or violent murder did to deserve it.
Rape is a crime of violence, power and control. No
one "deserves" it.
"Rape is
loss. Like death, it is best treated with a period of mourning
and grief. We should develop social ceremonies for rape,
rituals, that, like funerals and wakes, would allow the
mourners to recover the spirits that the rapist, like death,
steals. The social community is the appropriate center for the
restoration of spirit, but the rape victim is usually shamed
into silence or self-imposed isolation," (Metzger, 1976, pp.
406)
http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/justworld/interpersonal.shtml
What can you expect from a
survivor?
" Two
main styles of emotion were shown by the victims within the
first few hours after the rape: expressed and
controlled. In the expressed style. the victim
demonstrated such feelings as anger, fear and anxiety.
They were restless during the interview, becoming tense when
certain questions were asked, crying or sobbing when
describing specific acts of the assailant, smiling in an
anxious manner when certain issues were stated. In the
controlled style, the feelings of the victim were masked or
hidden, and a calm, composed or subdued affect could be
noted. "
Why do rape victims feel guilty for
being the victim of a crime?
If someone
verbally or physically harasses a rape victim or survivor it
may be considered a hate
crime or hate speech. For
immediate victim assistance call
206-350-4283
or 1 800-879-6682 24 hours a day or fill
out this online
hate crime report form.
"Last year the
American Psychological Association issued the report Hate
Crimes Today: An Age-Old Foe in Modern Dress. In the report
Dr. Jack McDevitt, a criminologist, stated, "Hate
crimes are message crimes. They are
different from other crimes in that the offender is sending a
message to members of a certain group that they are unwelcome.
Preliminary research indicates that hate crimes have more
serious psychological effects than non-bias motivated crimes."
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hatecrimes.html
The
Oxford English
Dictionary defines a hate
crime as:
- Hate crime
-orig.
U.S., a crime, usually
violent, motivated by hatred or
intolerance of another social group, esp. on the basis of
race or
sexuality; crime of this type; freq. attrib. (occas.
in pl.),
designating legislation, etc.,
framed to address such
crime.
- Hate
speech -orig.
U.S., speech expressing
hatred or intolerance of other social groups, esp. on the
basis of race or sexuality; hostile verbal abuse (though the
term is sometimes understood to encompass written and
non-verbal forms of
expression).
"Fact: The incidence of false
reporting of rape is about 2 percent. This is about
the same as that for false reporting of other felonies
(Department of
Social Services).
Survivors of sexual assault are often traumatized again when
they report the assault or rape since the process of making a
police report itself can be very difficult. This
re-victimization makes the likelihood of false reporting very
minimal. It is far more likely that rape is very
under-reported. Some experts estimate that only 1 in 10 rapes
are ever reported."
http://www.ksu.edu/counseling/csweb/topics/relationships/rape.html
The Rape
of Mr. Smith
"Rape is loss. Like death, it is
best treated with a period of mourning and grief. We should
develop social ceremonies for rape, rituals, that, like
funerals and wakes, would allow the mourners to recover the
spirits that the rapist, like death, steals. The social
community is the appropriate center for the restoration of
spirit, but the rape victim is usually shamed into silence or
self-imposed isolation," (Metzger, 1976, pp. 406)
Bibliography
Online
resources
_____________________________________________
1)
Beyond rape myths: A
more complex view of perceptions of rape victims -
Author:
Amy M. Buddie,
Arthur G. Miller
Sex Roles: A
Journal of Research,
August, 2001
Quote:
"This research
examined personal beliefs and perceptions of cultural
stereotypes surrounding rape victims. Students (ages 18-21) at
a primarily Caucasian University listed either their personal
beliefs or their perceptions of cultural stereotypes
surrounding rape victims and rated a specific rape victim
either according to their personal beliefs or their
perceptions of cultural stereotypes. Personal beliefs about
rape victims tended to focus more on perceptions of victim
reactions to the rape (e.g., depression, anxiety, etc.) rather
than on rape myths (e.g., she asked for it, was promiscuous,
etc.). Perceptions of cultural stereotypes, however, comprised
rape myths rather than the victim reactions to rape. We
propose that perceptions of rape victims are more multifaceted
than has previously been suggested."
2)
Victim blame and the disinhibition of sexual arousal to
rape vignettes.
Author: Sundberg SL, Barbaree HE, Marshall
WL.
Violence Vict. 1991 Summer;6(2):103-20.
Quote:
"The present study examined the effects of differing
levels of victim blame on the sexual arousal of males to rape
vignettes. In the first experiment, a between-subjects
experimental design was used to compare four groups of eight
university males for their erectile responses to vignettes
rated as low, medium, and high along a victim blame continuum.
All groups found a consenting vignette more arousing than a
nonconsenting vignette, however, this difference was
significantly smaller for subjects in the high blame condition
compared to the low and medium blame conditions. A second
experiment supported the disinhibiting effect of the high
victim blame manipulation using 12 university males in a
within-subjects experimental design. The disinhibiting
influence of victim blame on male sexual arousal to rape cues
was discussed in relation to our broader understanding of
sexual assault."
3)
But she was
unfaithful: benevolent sexism and reactions to rape victims
who violate traditional gender role expectations - Brief
Report
Author: Viki G. Tendayi
Sex Roles: A Journal of Research,
Sept, 2002
Quote:
"In the present research we examine victim blame in
relation to different types of victims of acquaintance rape.
In predicting victim blame, we consider the role of rape myth
acceptance, but our main focus is on the role of benevolent
sexist beliefs."
4)
http://www.inpsyte.ca/priceg.htmlNon-Rational Guilt in Victims of
Trauma
Author:Gail M. Price, Ph.D.
The author is
associated with the Trauma Clinic at Massachusetts Mental
Health Center in Boston, MA
Abstract
"The guilt many victims of physical and
psychological trauma experience in response to their
victimization often contains non-rational content which, when
analyzed, is more appropriate to the perpetrator. This
non-rational perpetrator guilt is imposed on the victim under
two primary conditions: 1) attribution, in which the
perpetrator disavows guilt and blames the victim for the
victimization; and 2) terror, which results in the victim's
rapid incorporation of essentially the entire world view of
the perpetrator, including the perpetrator's guilt. Guilt
results when some aspect of a moral system is transgressed.
There are four aspects of a moral system reflecting different
levels of guilt and four basic components of guilt within each
level. The perpetrator's violation of one aspect of a moral
system may be processed by the victim at the level of another
aspect, making resolution difficult. Resolution involves careful
analysis of the content of the guilt to enable the victim to
identify its source."
5)
The Rape of Mr.
Smith
From "The Legal
Bias Against Rape Victims (The Rape of Mr. Smith)" by Siobhan
Morrissey. American Bar Association Journal. April 1975.
Reprinted by permission of the ABA
Journal.
Quote:
"The law
discriminates against rape victims in a manner that would not
be tolerated by victims of any other crime. In the following
situation, a lawyer asks questions of a hold-up
survivor."
6)
Rape
is...discussion guide
Quote:
"From a
feminist perspective, the reason people are focused on the
woman's responsibility is because it lets sexual coercers off
the hook for their predatory behavior. If you can blame the
victim, you don't have to take responsibility for your own
actions. It is best to steer conversations away from this
pitfall. Instead, ask, "How does this fit into the larger
picture?" Part of the effort of this film is to look at the
larger picture of rape, outside of the "he said, she said"
debate. What does it mean that we try to hold the victim
responsible for her rape? Does this mean we believe that women
can't wear tank tops and short skirts? Does this mean we are
saying women can't go out at night? Are we saying that anyone
who goes to a bar and meets someone gets what he or she
deserves? Are we saying that we don't have the right to drink
and be safe from sexual assault and rape? Are we saying that
being drunk is a form of consent?"
7)
Rape
Prevention with College Males: The Roles of Victim Empathy,
Rape Myth Acceptance, and Outcome
Expectancies
William O’Donohue,
Ph.D., Matthew
Fanetti
Quote:
"Irrational
beliefs about women and sexuality (rape myths) such as
"Women really want to be raped" and "If a man pays for a date
then he is entitled to sex" cause men to rape. Finkelhor
(1986) also suggests that the endorsement of rape myths act as
a factor that reduces internal inhibitions to rape. In
Pithers' (Hildebran & Pithers, 1992) model of sexual
offending apparently irrelevant decisions and poor victim
empathy (a cognitive-affective variable) contribute to sexual
offending. McFall (1990, p.
318) has stated in his
information processing model of rape:
"This evidence paints
the following portrait of sexually aggressive men. They enter
heterosexual relationships holding distorted cognitive
schemata that
predispose them to sexual misunderstandings
and misguided actions. It is as though these men were 'primed'
by their schemata to read positive sexual
connotations into
women's neutral or negative messages; to believe that women
secretly wish to be victims of sexual coercion; to
misinterpret women's refusals of sexual advances merely as
coquettish acceptances; to dismiss women's
physical
resistance as a primeval sexual ritual; to
misperceive women's cries of pain as squeals of pleasure; and
to redefine any attempted rebuffs as proof that women
are
'teases' who deserve whatever they get."
8)http://www.radford.edu/~gstudies/speakers/currier/violence.htm The
Culture of Violence Against Women
Author: Dr. Danielle Currier
Quote:
"different forms of
violence, the gendered nature of violence, cultural aspects of
and variations in violence against women, and the things
unique to a college campus that make it an environment in
which violence against women is prevalent.
Dr. Currier's
presentation is part of the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence
Awareness Month activities. Sources and links listing these
activities are indicated below
Dr. Currier may
contacted via Email at: dmcurrier@radford.edu "
Includes a bibliography and online
resources.
Online
Popular Resources
_____________________________________________________
1)
Author:
Anyara 2003
Quote:
"Perhaps we
can't see the victim as innocent, because by so doing we would
have to admit that similar things might happen even to us. We
blame the victim in order to feel more in control.
"
2)
Cultural rape
myths from survivors emerging
Author:
Astrid
Quote:
"we have
the right to live our lives without threat of harm. The
fact that women find this to nearly impossible must be
changed. We face this fear
every time we leave our homes. We will find our empowerment
when we can place the blame where it
belongs-"
3)
Rape Coverage: Shifting the Blame
Author: Laura Flanders
Quote:
"Rape, and in particular acquaintance rape, has become
something of a human interest story-of-choice for mainstream
newspaper editors recently. But more coverage has usually not
meant better.
...Instead of hearing the cries of survivors, the press
is hearing the complaints of apologists;
instead of condemning cruelty, the press promotes
excuses."
4)
http://www.feminista.com/archives/v2n1/aaron.html
Dont blame victim of sexual violence
Author: Ron Aaron
Quote:
"Failing to lock doors and windows or going out alone
at night doesn't cause rape. Indeed, it's not her
responsibility to prevent rape. It's his obligation to stop
doing it. "
5)
http://www.feminist.com/resources/ourbodies/viol_blame.html
Blaming the Victim
Author: Boston Women's Health Book
Collective
Quote:
"The most common emotional responses to sexual
harassment, battering, and rape are guilt, fear,
powerlessness, shame, betrayal, anger, and denial. Guilt is
often the first and deepest response."
Scholarly Journal Articles
__________________________________________________
1)
Article title: An exploratory approach to self-blame
and self-derogation by rape victims
Journal title:American-Journal-of-Orthopsychiatry
Database to look in:Social Work Abstracts
APA citation:
Libow, J. & Doty, D. (1979). An exploratory
approach to self-blame and self-derogation by rape victims.
American-Journal-of-Orthopsychiatry, 49(4),
670-679.
Abstract:
A study was undertaken to determine whether
self-attributed blame or self-derogation is empirically
verifiable for acute rape victims, and whether belief in a
just world and avoidance of harm or blame are relevant
explanatory constructs. Quantitative and interview data were
gathered from seven rape victims. Results supported
self-blaming as an important aspect of response to rape, and
future avoidance of harm rather than a belief in a just world
was found as the most relevant motive. The factor of
compensation to the victim appeared important as a means to
reduce the victim's need to derogate herself as a result of
the rape. The phenomenon of compassion for, or identification
with, the rapist also emerged from the data. Clinical
implications of these findings for the adjustment of victims,
the therapeutic exploration of compensation, counseling
strategies, and the legal system are
discussed.
2)
Article title: Social Perception
of Rape: How Rape Myth Acceptance Modulates the Influence of
Situational Factors
Journal title:
Journal-of-Interpersonal-Violence
Database to look in:
Psychinfo
APA citation:
Frese, B., Moya, M., & Megius, J. L. (2004). Social
Perception of Rape: How Rape Myth Acceptance Modulates the
Influence of Situational Factors.
Journal-of-Interpersonal-Violence, 19(2),
143-161.
Abstract:
This study assessed the role of rape myth acceptance
(RMA) and situational factors in the perception of three
different rape scenarios (date rape, marital rape, and
stranger rape). One hundred and eighty-two psychology
undergraduates were asked to emit four judgements about each
rape situation: victim responsibility, perpetrator
responsibility, intensity of trauma, and likelihood to report
the crime to the police. It was hypothesized that neither RMA
nor situational factors alone can explain how rape is
perceived; it is the interaction between these two factors
that best account for social reactions to sexual aggression.
The results generally supported the authors' hypothesis:
Victim blame, estimation of trauma, and the likelihood of
reporting the crime to the police were best explained by the
interaction between observer characteristics, such as RMA, and
situational clues. That is, the less stereotypic the rape
situation was, the greater was the influence of attitudes
toward rape on attributions.
3)
Article title: Perceptions of Stranger and Acquaintance
Rape: The Role of Benevolent and Hostile Sexism in Victim
Blame and Rape Proclivity
Journal title:
Journal-of-Personality-and-Social-Psychology
Database to look in: Psychinfo
APA citation:
Abrahms,
D., Viky, G., Masser, B., & Gerd, B. (2003). Perceptions
of stranger and acquaintance rape: The role of benevolent and
hostile sexism in victim blame and rape proclivity.
Journal-of-Personality-and-Social-Psychology,
84(1), 111-125.
Abstract:
In Studies 1 and 2, after reading an acquaintance-rape
but not a stranger-rape scenario, higher benevolent sexist but
not hostile sexist participants blamed the victim
significantly more. In Study 2, higher hostile sexist but not
benevolent sexist male participants showed significantly
greater proclivity to commit acquaintance (but not stranger)
rape. Studies 3 and 4 supported the hypothesis that the
effects of benevolent sexism and hostile sexism are mediated
by different perceptions of the victim, as behaving
inappropriately and as really wanting sex with the rapist.
These findings show that benevolent sexism and hostile sexism
underpin different assumptions about women that generate
sexist reactions toward rape victims.
4)
Article title: Blaming the victim of rape: The culpable
control model perspective.
Journal title:
Dissertation-Abstracts-International
Database to look in: PsycINFO
APA
citation:
Pauwels, B. (2002). Blaming the victim of rape: The
culpable control model perspective.
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-
Sciences-and-Engineering,
63(5-B), .
This
is a scholarly article examing why we blame the victim rather
than the perpetrator of rape.
Abstract
"Three
vignette-based studies are presented that represent the first
attempt to examine rape victim blame within the context of an
explicit, comprehensive theory of blame. Study 1 examined the
hypothesis that evaluative information about a victim of rape
would
have a greater effect upon victim blaming when the
victim's personal control over the rape was portrayed as
somewhat elevated, rather than unambiguously
low."
5)
Article title: High school and college students'
attitudes toward rape.
Journal title: Adolescence
Database to look in:Social Work Abstracts
APA citation:
Blumberg, M. & Lester, D. (1991). High school and
college students' attitudes toward rape. Adolescence,
26(103), 727-729.
Abstract:
This study explores the relationship between agreement
with myths about rape and the tendency to blame the victim in
a sample of high school and college students. It was found
that high school males believed more strongly than did both
high school females and college males in myths about rape, and
they assigned greater blame to the victims of rape. For both
high school males and females, belief in myths about rape was
associated with assigning more blame to the victims. (Journal
abstract.)
6)
Article title:
Models of Rape Judgment: attributions concerning event,
perpetrator, and victim.
Journal title:
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation
Database to look in:
psycinfo
APA citation:
Langley, T., Yost, E.A., O'Neal, E.C., Taylor, S.L., et
al. (1991). Models of Rape Judgment: attributions concerning
event, perpetrator, and victim. Journal of Offender
Rehabilitation, 17, (1-2), 43-54.
Abstract
"Discusses analytical models developed to identify
perceptions that may serve as cognitive mediators of rape
judgments, including blaming victims, attribution of rape
culpability, date rape attribution, and the influence of
violent behavior. Victim blame appears to play little role in
mediating judgment regarding punishment, restitution, and
whether or not rape occurred. Earlier onset of victim protest
increased recognition of the incident as rape, the likelihood
that the offender would be convicted, and the likelihood that
Ss would choose to award civil damages to the victim. The
effects of onset were mediated by perception of the victim as
desiring sexual intercourse. The degree of force used by the
perpetrator yielded similar effects, mediated by the judges'
perception of the incident as violent but only for male
judges."
7)
Article title: Blaming the victim of rape: The culpable
control
model perspective
Journal title:
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-
Sciences-and-Engineering
Database to took in: PsycInfo
APA
citation:
Pauwels, B. (2002). Blaming the victim of rape: The
culpable control
model perspective.
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-
Sciences-and-Engineering,
63(5-B), .
This is a scholarly article examing why we
blame the victim rather than the perpetrator of
rape.
Abstract:
"Three
vignette-based studies are presented that represent the
first attempt to examine rape victim blame within the
context of an
explicit, comprehensive theory of blame.
Study 1 examined the
hypothesis that evaluative
information about a victim of rape would
have a greater
effect upon victim blaming when the victim's personal
control over the rape was portrayed as somewhat elevated,
rather than unambiguously low."
8)
Article title: Attribution of rape blame as a function
of victim gender and sexuality, and perceived similarity to
the victim
Journal title: Journal of Homosexuality
Database to look in: contemporary womens
issues
APA
citation:
Shaver, . (2002). Attribution of rape blame as a
function of victim gender and sexuality, and perceived
similarity to the victim. Journal of Homosexuality,
43(2), .
Abstract:
This
study examined respondents' perceived level of blame and
responsibility for three victims of rape, as a function of
attitudes toward homosexuals, and perceived similarity to the
victim, as indicative of Shaver's (1970) Defensive Attribution
Hypothesis. Victims were a homosexual and heterosexual male,
and a female. A sample of 168 university students completed
questionnaires, which included three rape scenarios and
subsequent questions, the Index of Attitudes Toward
Homosexuals (Hudson & Ricketts, 1980), and the short-form
Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Reynolds, 1982).
Results indicated that respondents higher in homophobia
(regardless of gender) blamed the homosexual male rape victim
and the behavior and character of the heterosexual male rape
victim, more than the female rape victim. Male respondents in
general also blamed the heterosexual male rape victim, more
than female respondents. Shaver's defensive attribution
hypothesis was not supported. Results are discussed in terms
of the possible link between homophobia and male rape
blame.
9)
Article
title: Madcap Misogyny and Romanticized Victim-Blaming:
Discourses of Stalking in There's Something About
Mary
Journal title:
Women
& Language
Database to look in: contemporary womens
issues
APA
citation:
Anderson , K. J. & Accomando, C. (1999). Madcap
Misogyny and Romanticized Victim-Blaming: Discourses of
Stalking in There's Something About Mary. Women &
Language, 1, 24-28.
Quote:
"One aspect of
victim-blaming is the belief in rape myths. Rape myths serve a
patriarchal world view, in which men possess and deserve
greater power and privilege than women. Such myths include the
construction that women cause, deserve, or even enjoy being
raped. Blaming the victim of rape also shifts causality in
interesting ways. On the one hand, in stereotypical
representations, men are depicted are powerful and active
while women are depicted as powerless and passive. On the
other hand, rape myths shift causality to preserve male
privilege (in this case the right of access to women's bodies)
by constructing women as agents of their own rape. Women
become temptresses and men appear at the mercy of women and of
their own hormones. A more general theory to explain
victim-blaming is the belief in a just world. The "just world"
hypothesis is the tendency to believe that the world is a fair
and just place and that good things happen to good people and
bad things happen to bad people. Thus, to maintain this
belief, one must search for evidence to suggest that victims
instigated their misfortune (see Lonsway & Fitzgerald,
1994, for a review). Ryan (1971) explains victim-blaming as a
strategy to avoid the hard work of societal change. He argues
that by blaming victims for their misfortunes, society can
then work to change specific unfortunate individuals rather
than change institutional and widespread prejudices.
Therefore, instead of examining why some men stalk women and
why that is viewed as normal, one can examine women for
characteristics about them that must have caused them to be
stalked."
10)
Article title: The relationship of optimism,
empathy, internality, interpersonal violence, and gender to
rape blame under four victim conditions
Journal title:
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-Sciences-and-Engineering
Database to look in:
Psychinfo
APA
citation:
Moonstarr, M.
(2000). The relationship of optimism, empathy, internality,
interpersonal violence, and gender to rape blame under four
victim conditions.
Dissertation-Abstracts-International:-Section-B:-The-Sciences-and-Engineering,
61(3-B ), 1699.
Abstract:
The relationships of optimism, rape empathy, locus of
control, degree of acceptance of interpersonal violence, and
gender upon attributions of rape blame were examined in four
experimental conditions. The conditions were four variations
on one rape scenario. These conditions varied a positive or
negative character portrayal and a positive or negative
behavior portrayal of the victim. Behavioral and
characterological assessments of victim blameworthiness were
obtained. The dependent measures for victim blameworthiness
were an index for behavioral blame and an index for character
blame. Predictor variables selected for study were those
indicated in the literature as potential mediators for rape
blame attributions. Participants were 321 undergraduate and
graduate students at Howard University. A questionnaire was
used to assess type of blame attributed to the victim based on
the scenario as well as demographic and attitude information.
Other blame sources and victim experiences were also examined.
It was hypothesized that participants would be expected to
blame a rape victim's behavior rather than character, the
higher their optimism, empathy, internal locus of control and
rejection of interpersonal violence. Further, it was
hypothesized that blame type would vary dependent upon
participant's gender and victim descriptions. Hypotheses were
partially confirmed. Attitudes found to be related to
victim-blame were primarily interpersonal violence and
secondarily empathy. In the conditions of negative behavior
portrayals for victims, despite character, higher behavioral
blame was attributed. It appeared that a victim's behavior
rather than character influenced attributions of either
behavior or character victim-blame. Finally, regardless of
victim description, men blamed the victim's character
significantly more than women did. As another research
interest, age was examined in relation to type of
victim-blame. Students over the age of 25 placed significantly
less behavioral blame on the rape victim. Breaking this
analysis up by scenario did not reveal any differences in this
pattern. A final research inquiry was added by examining
change in victim-blame should the rape victim insist upon
condom use. Results indicated an increase in both
victim-blames, which was augmented in the scenarios with
negative character descriptions.
Additional article:
McCaul, K. D., Veltum,
L. G., Boyechko, V., & Crawford, J. J. (1990).
Understanding attributions of victim blame for rape:
Sex, violence, and forseeability. Journal of Applied
Social Psychology, 20,
1-26.
|
Books
Raine,
N. (1998). After Silence: Rape and My Journey Back. New
York: Crown Publications, Inc., .
Reviews available from
amazon
Professional Review:
"Very
soon after she was raped, Raine discovers that talking about
the rape--even to her closest friends and family--was
"dangerous." Throughout the book, Raine describes how she
negotiates the mine-field of others' resistance, and she
reflects on how their resistance impacted her. This focus
allows for a deep and insightful appreciation of how our
cultural myths about women and rape work to marginalize
survivors' speech and, as a result, dramatically impede the
healing process. She succinctly and powerfully sums up this
dilemma, "Other people's embarrassment or discomfort makes me
feel as if I were the rapist's co-criminal, an accomplice who
is 'confessing' something ... everyone keeps saying I need to
'come to terms' 'integrate' the rape into my life. [How] can I
come to terms if the terms are not shared?" (pp. 212-213)."
Cosgrove, Lisa PhD
If you have a resource you would like added to this
page please list it here. Comments are also
welcome.
Google research-only online resources for victim
blame.
"Rape is loss. Like death, it is best treated with a
period of mourning and grief. We should develop social
ceremonies for rape, rituals, that, like funerals and wakes,
would allow the mourners to recover the spirits that the
rapist, like death, steals. The social community is the
appropriate center for the restoration of spirit, but the rape
victim is usually shamed into silence or self-imposed
isolation," (Metzger, 1976, pp. 406)
|
