Perceptions of Sexual Assault: Effects of Victim Physiological Arousal and Victim Gender on Jurors’ Decisions

Abstract

Limited research has assessed juror decision making in cases of female perpetrated sexual assault and the role played by factors such as the victim’s gender, physiological arousal, and participant’s gender in the decision making process. Participants (n = 215) were presented with one of four trial vignettes that varied the perpetrator and victim’s gender and victim’s physiological arousal. The impact of these variables was examined on guilty verdicts rendered, credibility, and blameworthiness of the victim and accused. Results demonstrate that the male victim was blamed more than the female victim. Further, male participants viewed the male victim to be less credible than the female victim. Lastly, male participants viewed the accused to be more credible when the victim was depicted as a male with signs of physiological arousal. The results reveal the disadvantages a male victim of female perpetrated sexual assault may face if he pursues his sexual assault at trial. Keywords: sexual assault, rape myths, juror bias, gender, physiological arousal