Young Adults’ Attitudes towards Rape and Rape Victims: Effects of Gender and Social Category

Abstract

Violence against women, especially rapes, has been a pervasive problem in the society. It is well documented that victims of rape not only experience serious short and long-term psychological harm as a direct result of the assault, but may also be stigmatized by others (e.g., be blamed for not resisting enough). While there are sufficient studies in the developed countries that have examined how various gender and other ideologies relate to prejudiced attitudes toward rape victims, much less work has been done in developing nations such as India. Because of increased incidents of rapes in the recent past, it becomes increasingly necessary to understand the attitude people form towards rape and rape victims. Thus the present study was planned to understand the prevalent rape myths and attitudes of young adults, and to explore gender and social identity as factors influencing the attitudes towards rape and rape victims. A total of 208 participants, both males and females responded to a Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, Attitude towards Victims Scale and Causal Attribution towards Sexual Violence Scale. Results indicated that compared to male respondents, females hold lesser rape myths but have more negative attitude towards victims of rape. Results also reveal the significant effects of social category and gender on causal attribution for sexual violence. The results of this study are important in improving our understanding of the attitudes young adults hold towards rape and rape victims and present a need to develop strategies to dispel negative stereotypes that individuals hold about victims of rape.