Consent Myths and Norm Violation Responses: Reconceptualizing Rape Myth Theory in Sexual Assault Sentencing in China.

Victims' Rights from a Restorative Perspective

Reducing Barriers to Students Reporting Sexual Assaults

Since rape myths were codified in 1980 (Burt, 1980), scholars have shown that individuals who endorse rape myths perceive victims as less credible and more responsible for rape and perpetrators as less responsible. Studies also show that rape myths hinder successful adjudication of rape cases by influencing juries' assessments of perpetrator guilt (Dinos et al., 2015). While most of this research focuses on sexual assaults involving adult victims, some scholars have found that victims as young as 12 are blamed for rape. If rape myths influence the perceptions of sex offenses even when victims are children, then defense attorneys in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases may be motivated to highlight rape myth in CSA trials. In the current study, we conducted a content analysis of the cross-examinations of 122 children, aged 6 to 17, alleging CSA to determine if and how defense attorneys question children about rape myths. We looked for questions about force and resistance, motives to lie, victim precipitation, and character issues (e.g., habitual drug use). We found that defense attorneys commonly referenced rape myths in CSA trials. A total of 10% of all defense attorneys' lines of questioning referenced a rape myth, and attorneys asked 77% of children at least one rape myth line of questioning. Whether or not attorneys asked about different myths and the content of these questions varied by children's age. Our findings indicate that defense attorneys use rape myths strategically to undermine children's credibility in CSA trials, but they adapt (adult) rape myths in ways that are plausible in the CSA context. Policies formed to prevent the prejudicial impact of rape myths at sexual assault trials involving adults (e.g., rape shield laws) may not adequately prevent their impact in CSA trials. Prosecutors, therefore, should address rape myths at CSA trials.

Rape myths are false beliefs about sexual violence that shift blame to the victim rather than the perpetrator. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (IRMA) scale measures these myths, but critiques have led to the creation of gender-neutral versions. This study aimed to investigate how participants perceive gender in these versions. Surveys were given to U.S. college students, with variations in victim and perpetrator gender. Results showed no significant differences in IRMA scores based on gender-neutral versions. However, most participants still associated a female victim and a male perpetrator with sexual assault, indicating the persistent gendered nature of rape myths.

The study examines the similarities and differences between China and the United States with regard to rape myths. We assessed the individual level of rape myth acceptance among Chinese university students by adapting and translating a widely used measure of rape myth endorsement in the United States, the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (IRMA) scale. We assessed whether the IRMA scale would be an appropriate assessment of attitudes toward rape among young adults in China. The sample consisted of 975 Chinese university students enrolled in seven Chinese universities. We used explorative factor analysis to examine the factor structure of the Chinese translation of the IRMA scale. Results suggest that the IRMA scale requires some modification to be employed with young adults in China. Our analyses indicate that 20 items should be deleted, and a five-factor model is generated. We discuss relevant similarities and differences in the factor structure and item loadings between the Chinese Rape Myth Acceptance (CRMA) and the IRMA scales. A revised version of the IRMA, the CRMA, can be used as a resource in rape prevention services and rape victim support services. Future research in China that employs CRMA will allow researchers to examine whether individual's response to rape myth acceptance can predict rape potential and judgments of victim blaming and community members' acceptance of marital rape.

The primary aim of this paper is to offer a Cognitive Linguistics analysis of the language used for and about children in the judicial system of England and Wales, as well as the reports of such cases in UK media. The treatment of children when questioned by the police and in court has been an ongoing issue. A number of outdated, social myths persevere in rape cases involving both adults and children. These myths generally include the ‘Rape Myth’ and the ‘Autonomous Testosterone Myth’, and for children also include other adverse, expected patterns of behaviour, such as a general expectation that children ‘lie’, ‘cannot differentiate truth from fiction’, and ‘are easily confused about other people’s intentions’. This paper offers a review of the legal process in England and Wales involving children, before illustrating how the above myths and expectations are triggered by the questions put to the witnesses. The analysis shows how these associations are networked in elaborate semantic domains that may trigger inferential information that prejudices hearers against those same young victims.

The ABCs of caring for sexual assault patients

The authors examined the impact of a mandatory, coeducational sexual assault prevention program on college freshmen's rape myth attitudes. Data from 174 college freshmen required to attend the program indicated that, regardless of gender, the proposed sexual assault prevention program significantly decreased participants' rape myth acceptance attitudes. Implications of the findings for college counselors and directions for future research are discussed.

PurposeWhile awareness of sexual assaults on college campuses has increased, the majority of efforts to address it are focused on female victims. The relative neglect of male victims may be due in part to problematic rape myths that suggest men cannot be sexually assaulted, especially by women. The purpose of this paper is to compare rates of different types of sexual assault between male and female undergraduates, and explore the relationship between acceptance of traditional rape myths focused on female victims, and rape myths surrounding male victims.Design/methodology/approachStudents at a mid-sized university in Pennsylvania (n=526) answered an online questionnaire about their own experiences of sexual assault since coming to college, as well as their endorsement of male and female rape myths.FindingsWhile women experienced more sexual assault overall, men were just as likely to have experienced rape (i.e. forced penetration) or attempted rape. Acceptance of male and female rape myths was significantly correlated and men were more likely than women to endorse both. Participants were also more likely to endorse female than male rape myths.Research limitations/implicationsBy analyzing sexual assaults in terms of distinct behaviors instead of one composite score, the authors can get a more nuanced picture of how men and women experience assault.Practical implicationsCampus-based efforts to address sexual assault need to be aware that male students also experience assault and that myths surrounding men as victims may impede their ability to access services.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to our knowledge of a relatively understudied topic: undergraduate male victims of sexual assault.

We sought to test the effects of sexual assault form and complainant/defendant gender on jurors' perceptions of the prototypicality of a sexual assault case, complainant, and defendant. We examined whether these perceived prototypicality measures predict mock jurors' complainant/defendant blame and credibility assessments and if these assessments predict verdict decisions in a simulated sexual assault trial. We predicted that the female complainant-male defendant condition, vaginal intercourse condition, and their combination would be perceived as more prototypical than their counterparts, which would predict blame/credibility assessments, ultimately predicting verdict. Mock jurors (N = 437) recruited via Prolific Academic read a trial transcript involving an alleged sexual assault (oral or vaginal sex forced onto the complainant) with a female complainant-male defendant or a male complainant-female defendant. They provided a verdict and assessed the perceived prototypicality of the case/complainant/defendant, provided blame/credibility assessments for the complainant/defendant, and responded to rape myth questionnaires. Sexual assault form did not significantly affect any of our outcomes. Mock jurors perceived the male complainant-female defendant condition as less prototypical of a sexual assault case/complainant/defendant than the female complainant-male defendant condition, resulting in negative evaluations of the complainant, favorable evaluations of the defendant, and lowered probability of conviction. Simultaneously, for fixed levels of prototypicality, the female complainant received more negative evaluations, and the male defendant received more favorable evaluations, which lowered the probability of conviction; mock jurors' rape myth acceptance moderated this effect. Rape myths were predictive of decision-making in cases involving a female complainant, and male rape myths were predictive in cases involving a male complainant. Results demonstrate that prototypicality is a mechanism behind mock jurors' decisions in sexual assault trials and elucidate the distinctive role of prototypes and rape myths on juror decision-making, with practical implications for the field of psychology and the criminal legal system.

Social workers responsible for developing rape prevention programs on college campuses must have valid evaluation instruments. This article presents the challenges encountered by the authors when they attempted to keep rape myth measures relevant to student populations by updating the language to reflect the subtleties involved with rape myths. The development of a modified version of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale is described. Focus groups were conducted to gather feedback about the language used by college students related to sexual encounters and rape. The instrument was then tested with 951 undergraduate students at a large northeastern university. Exploratory structural equation modeling was used to assess the factor structure of the scale. In addition, multiple-indicators multiple-causes modeling was used to assess the potential differential item functioning of the measure's items by gender, previous experience with sexual assault prevention programming, and knowing someone who was sexually assaulted. A four-factor structure was hypothesized and a five-factor structure supported, indicating a separate factor that looks at alcohol and accountability. Implications for social workers are discussed, including the necessity of continuously updating rape myth measures to ensure validity. KEY WORDS: measurement; prevention; rape ********** According to the most recent National Violence Against Women Survey, 17.7 million women in the United States were raped at some point in their lives (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2006). The high number of victims has resulted in the implementation of rape prevention programs in a variety of social work practice settings, especially in high schools and on college campuses, where rape seems to be especially problematic. The primary focus of rape prevention programs in schools is often on changing individuals' beliefs in rape myths, defined as false beliefs about rape shaped by sexism and other prejudices individuals hold (Burt, 1980; Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). Common rape myths cited over time include the belief that the way a woman dresses or acts indicates that she asked for it and that rape occurs because men cannot control their sexual impulses. Researchers have demonstrated that the acceptance of rape myths not only indicates problematic attitudes, but also is an explanatory predictor in the actual perpetration of sexual violence or proclivity to rape (Hinck & Thomas, 1999). The failure to have psychometrically sound outcome measures has hampered the accumulation of evidence-based practice knowledge in this area (Farmer & McMahon, 2005; Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1995). One of the major validity problems with rape myth measures hinges on the issue of language. The reliability and validity of surveys depends, in part, on questions being clear and relevant to the respondents, yet the language used in rape myth measures is often outdated, antiquated, and irrelevant to groups such as high school and college students. Many rape education prevention programs use instruments that were developed years or even decades ago, which raises serious concerns about their validity for high school and college students, as the instruments' language and context are not a part of current student culture. SUBTLE RAPE MYTHS Many of the measures currently used to assess rape myth attitudes fail to capture the more subtle and covert rape myths that have evolved. As many high schools and colleges have implemented some form of education on issues of sexual violence over the past decade, students have greater awareness that certain traditional rape myths are not socially acceptable (Frazier, Valtinson, & Candell, 1994). However, these myths may exist in various, more subtle and covert forms that are not being accurately assessed because of the phrasing of questions, language used, and subsequent social desirability bias. The complexity of rape myths is especially apparent among college students, who likely received exposure to rape prevention education in some shape or form by the time they graduated from high school. …

The occurrence of sexual assault is common and problematic, especially among those with disabilities. While many other characteristics of the victim, perpetrator, and situation involving a sexual assault have been shown to affect perceptions, only one study has examined the impact of a hypothetical victim with a physical disability. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect that a victim and/or perpetrator's physical disability status has on individuals' classification of encounters as sexual assault.University students over the age of 18 (n = 207) completed an anonymous online survey which included reading an ambiguous scenario involving a sexual assault in which either the victim, perpetrator or neither was in a wheelchair. Participants classified the scenario as either representing a sexual assault or not and completed the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale and demographic information. A binary logistic regression model was conducted to examine the effects of conditions, participant gender and RMA score on sexual assault classification.In the scenario with the victim in a wheelchair, 71.6% of participants agreed sexual assault occurred; when the perpetrator was in a wheelchair 58.6% classified the scenario as sexual assault. In the control condition 61.4% agreed sexual assault occurred. Condition was not associated with classification at a statistically significant level; however, the effect sizes indicate participants were more likely to classify sexual assault when the victim was in a wheelchair (OR = 1.41), but less likely to blame a perpetrator in a wheelchair (OR = 0.69) compared to the control condition.Despite a lack of statistical significance, the data show a clear trend away from blaming individuals with disabilities in sexual assault scenarios. These findings can have implications within the legal system where incorrect decisions may be made due to bias based on disability status.

The present study explored the prevalence of myths about male sexual assault, assault by penetration, and rape in a male general population sample (N = 98; mean age = 26.17 years), with the aim of determining potential barriers to the reporting of incidents of male sexual victimization and reasons for reluctance to report. In addition, the impacts of prior experience of male sexual victimization, both direct and indirect, on rape and sexual assault myth acceptance and on attitudes to reporting were evaluated. Participants completed an online survey indicating their levels of agreement with a range of statements reflecting different rape and sexual assault myths identified within the previous literature. Overall, there were high levels of disagreement (>90%) with the majority of the statements. The only items generating higher agreement ratings were those suggesting that the police are unlikely to take male sexual victimization seriously and—where the offence in question was sexual assault or assault by penetration and the perpetrator female—that men should be able to defend themselves against such crimes. Those without any prior experience of male sexual victimization tended to disagree more with the rape myths than those with previous experience. When asked whether they would report these offences if they were to happen to them, participants said that they were more likely to report each of the types of offences when the perpetrator was male than when they were female. Potential implications of the findings, for male sex offence investigations and for the criminal justice system more generally, are discussed.

The current study examines the independent and interactive effects of rape-myth acceptance and perceived peer approval for sexual violence on men’s ability to recognize sexual assault within a written vignette, and on men’s prior sexual assault perpetration history. Participants included a sample of 610 first-year college men from a large Midwestern University in the United States. Men completed survey assessments of rape myth acceptance, perceived peer approval for sexual violence, and history sexual assault perpetration since the age of 14. Participants also rated the extent to which hypothetical vignettes portraying coercive sexual activity were considered to be sexual assault. Data indicated significant main effects of both rape myth acceptance and perceived peer approval on recognizing sexual assault and for prior perpetration of sexual assault. A significant interaction between rape myth acceptance and perceived peer approval for sexual violence was detected for prior perpetration of sexual assault, indicating that expression of rape myths may be inhibited when peers are seen as unsupportive. Interactive effects between rape myth acceptance and perceived peer approval for sexual violence were not detected for recognizing sexual assault. Implications for sexual assault prevention are discussed, including the possibility that combining rape myth education correction of peer norms may inhibit individuals from acting on rape myths.

Low rates of reporting sexual assault to law enforcement have been attributed to a culture of rape myth acceptance. Yet, rape myth acceptance rates and specific barriers to reporting have not been examined by sexual assault and reporting histories. This study compared the rape myth acceptance levels of reporting survivors, non-reporting survivors, and individuals without sexual assault histories. The sample consisted of 579 undergraduate students (68.0% White, 72.5% women) at a public university in the southeastern U.S. Differences in non-reporting survivors' experienced barriers to reporting and the perceived barriers of those without sexual assault histories were also examined. Results indicate differences in rape myth endorsement by sexual assault and reporting status, with the highest rape myth adherence rates endorsed by individuals without a sexual assault history and the lowest endorsed by reporting survivors. While non-reporting survivors and those without sexual assault histories shared two of the top three barriers to reporting (i.e., wanted to avoid thinking or talking about it, did not want family or friends to find out), non-reporting survivors were more likely to endorse personal reasons for not reporting, and those without sexual assault histories were more likely to endorse concerns about the law enforcement response to rape. Several barrier factors were identified among non-reporting survivors (i.e., fear of law enforcement involvement, personal reasons, ambiguity of the event, responsibility) and among individuals without sexual assault histories (i.e., risks outweigh benefits, victim blaming, ambiguity). Although both survivors and individuals without sexual assault histories acknowledge the personal, social, and legal risks of reporting a sexual assault to law enforcement, survivors' experienced barriers differed in nuanced ways from the presumed barriers of individuals without sexual assault histories. Findings may enhance sexual assault prevention trainings and awareness campaigns by targeting both rape myth beliefs and specific barriers to reporting of those with and without sexual assault histories.