Rape Situation Research Articles

English

Rohypnol is hypnotics that are commonly used to treat insomnia, anxiety and seizure disorders. It has been abused by both sexes and club men often drop the tablets into women's drinks to create a potential rape situation. Thirty-six animals (Wistar rats) were used for this study. They were grouped into three (N=12); Group 1 (Control) received 0.04 ml/kg body weight (bwt) of distilled water, Group 2 (Normal dose) received 0.04 mg/kg bwt of rohypnol and Group 3 (overdose) received 0.08 mg/kg bwt of rohypnol. The exposure was done once every week for three weeks, and three animals per group were sacrificed every 24 h post-administration. Blood samples were collected at every time of the sacrifice for hormonal assessment and the ovaries and uterus were removed and preserved for histological analysis. The last batch of animals was sacrificed 3 weeks after the third exposure. The results obtained from the hormonal analysis showed statistically significant (p<0.05) reduction in estrogen production for all groups 2 and 3 animals at a repeated normal dose (2nd and 3rd exposures) when compared with the control. The group of animals that received the overdose and repeated overdose of rohypnol showed high statistically significant decrease in all the analyzed reproductive hormones (Estrogen, Progesterone, Luteinizing and Follicle-stimulating hormones); while the hormonal pattern of the last batch of animals across all groups, showed a perfect correlation with the control. Histology of the ovary and the uterus, however, showed no pathological changes in all the groups. This work has concluded that repeated uses and the overdose of the drug can disrupt the normal hormonal profile of the female reproductive system which may be corrected naturally on stoppage of exposure. Key words: Rohypnol, hormones, sedatives, overdose, histology.

Interpreting Sexual Dating Encounters: Social Information Processing Differences in Men and Women

Research has shown that college women are at considerable risk for sexual assault by dating partners, and studies have shown early detection of threat risk cues is an important factor in rape avoidance. This study examined how men and women process sexual encounters in a date rape situation and how they differ in interpretation of cues and response decision-making using Crick and Dodge’s (1994) model of social information processing (SIP). Participants listened to an audio vignette depicting a female resisting sexual contact as the male continues to make sexual advances. The vignette was paused at a point in which there is ambiguity concerning the sexual intentions of the actors, and multiple choice/forced answer questions reflecting five stages in social information processing (causal and intent interpretation, goal clarification, response decision, response efficacy, and response evaluation) were administered. Analyses revealed males and females significantly differed in all SIP stages, and emotional reaction was a significant predictor of response decision. Implications of the findings were discussed.

Perpetrator characteristics and blame attributions in a stranger rape situation

Both real-life events and research show that rape victims are sometimes blamed for their victimization. The effect of perpetrator characteristics on victim blaming has rarely been studied. In an experiment using a community sample (N = 161), we investigated the effect of the perpetrator's previous conviction and age, as well as participants’ gender and belief in a just world (BJW) on blame attributions using a vignette methodology. It was predicted that less victim blame and more perpetrator blame would be attributed when the perpetrator had a previous conviction. Results showed that level of BJW was associated with victim blame (positively) and perpetrator blame (negatively). Men blamed the victim more and women blamed the victim less when the perpetrator had a previous conviction. Women blamed the perpetrator more and men less when the perpetrator had a previous conviction. Hence, gender is an important factor in explaining variation in blame attributions.

“Just Call the Cops:” The College Student’s Advice to the Rape Victim

Rape incidents involving college students have recently gained national attention resulting in an open debate about whether a college environment is prone to sexual violence. Although studies show that most rape victims talked to friends or relatives and that the victims took their advice for the next action, few studies have examined the type of advice given by college students. A sample of undergraduate students was provided with vignettes describing a hypothetical rape situation and a series of questions about their belief in rape myths, attitudes toward women, and their individual characteristics and backgrounds. Findings suggest that the attribution of less responsibility to the victim, an acquaintance assailant, victim resistance, a belief in egalitarian views of women, men, and African-Americans, were associated with an increased likelihood of advice to contact the police. Implications are discussed with particular attention to the college population.

Attributions of Responsibility for Rape: Differences Across Familiarity of Situation, Gender, and Acceptance of Rape Myths1

In 2004 in Australia, controversy over the alleged involvement of elite footballers in incidents of sexual assault highlighted a tendency to denigrate the victims and excuse the perpetrators. To investigate whether rape myths were prevalent enough to explain this public response, 102 university students were surveyed for their beliefs and determinations of blame in rape situations. Although there was a gender difference in the rates of rape myth acceptance, with males more likely to accept these beliefs, these were not evident in decisions about victim blame or perpetrator blame. However, males and high rape myth acceptors were significantly more likely to minimize the seriousness of the rape situation. These effects increased with familiarity depicted in the situation.

Creating Lasting Attitude and Behavior Change in Fraternity Members and Male Student Athletes

Fraternity members and male student athletes responded to open-ended questions assessing the impact of an empathy-based rape prevention program. All participants reported either lasting attitude or behavior changes; most reported both. Participants reported increased understanding of how rape might feel and attributed this change to seeing a videotape describing a male-on-male rape situation. Participants refrained from telling jokes about rape and reported feeling more effective when helping survivors seeking assistance. These behavior changes were attributed to the videotape and to a section of the program encouraging participants to confront rape jokes and challenge sexist behaviors.

Social perception of rape: how rape myth acceptance modulates the influence of situational factors.

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.

Sexual Assault and Coercion among Incarcerated Women Prisoners: Excerpts from Prison Letters

There are few existing studies that address sexual misconduct of women offenders toward other women prisoners. This qualitative study examined themes of sexual coercion and sexual assault among women offenders that surfaced in letters sent by one woman offender from prison during a period of 5 years. Four themes emerged from the data: (a) female apathy toward sexual coercion and sexual assault, (b) the femme as the sexual aggressor, (c) insight into one female rape situation, and (d) institutional factors contributing to sexual coercion. To prevent incidences of sexual assault by other offenders, policy suggestions specific to the study included a staff focus on identifying and consistently curbing sexual coercion and installing monitored cameras in restriction dorms.

Attributions About Rape in a Continuum of Dissolving Marital Relationships

This study explored what actions taken by married women to dissolve their marital relationships might result in different attributions about husband rape perpetration. A sample of 233 undergraduates (120 men, 114 women) read one of three rape scenarios in which a married woman changed her marital status with her husband perpetrator (moved out, legally separated, or divorced). Two other scenarios (currently married and stranger) were used as comparison situations. Participants answered questions to assess their rape-supportive and sex role stereotypical attributions of victim blame. Results indicated that participants endorsed the most rape-supportive attributions in the currently married situation. Participants made intermediate levels of rape-supportive attributions in the legally separated, moved out, and divorced scenarios. The least rape-supportive attributions were made in the stranger rape situation. Across all scenarios, men were more likely to make rape-supportive and sex role stereotypical victim blame attributions than women. Legal and theoretical implications are discussed.

Understanding Attributions of Blame in Stranger Rape and Date Rape Situations: An Examination of Gender, Race, Identification, and Students' Social Perceptions of Rape Victims1

This study examined factors that may influence attributions of rape victims. Three hundred and three university students completed a questionnaire, which included a measure of dispositional empathy and a vignette depicted either a date rape or a stranger rape situation. Subjects rated the extent that they blamed the rape victim as well as the degree to which they identified with the victim and perpetrator. Results indicated that male students blamed the victim to a greater extent than did female students; students consistently attributed more blame to the victim in date rape situations than they did in stranger rape situations; and, while empathy was not associated with students' attributions, perceptions of similarity to the rape victim and perpetrator were both related to attributions of blame. These findings are consistent with the notion of “judgmental leniency” presented in Shaver's defensive attribution theory (1970). Implications for rape prevention efforts and future research are also discussed.

Police officers' definitions of rape: A prototype study

AbstractThe study investigates police officers' definitions of different rape situations. On the basis of the concept of ‘cognitive prototypes’ a methodology is developed which elicits consensual feature lists describing six rape situations: the typical, i.e. most common rape, the credible, dubious, and false rape complaints as well as the rape experiences that are particularly hard vs. relatively easy for the victim to cope with. Qualitative analysis of the data allows the identification of the characteristic features defining the prototype of each rape situation, as well as comparisons between the situations in terms of their common and distinctive features. It is shown that police officers, while sharing some of the widely held stereotypes about rape, generally perceive rape as a serious crime with long‐term negative consequences for the victim. The quantitative analysis of prototype similarity between the six situations corroborates this conclusion by demonstrating a high similarity between the prototypes of the typical and the credible rape situation. In addition, subjects' general attitude towards rape victims is measured to compare the prototypes provided by respondents holding a positive vs. negative attitude towards rape victims. Findings for the two groups, however, reveal more similarities than differences in their descriptions of rape prototypes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the feasibility of the prototype approach presented in this study as a strategy for investigating implicit or common‐sense theories of rape.

Rape Victims and the Justice System: Utilization and Impact

Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes, making it a difficult issue to study with confidence in the validity of the data collected. The present article examines the research literature regarding victim decisions to report the crime and to prosecute assailants. Reporting appears to depend on several factors, including aspects of the rape situation, victims' demographic and psychological characteristics, availability and influence of social supports, experiences and perceptions of law enforcement personnel, and victim attitudes and beliefs about the court process and about personal capacities to control the environment. The impact of the legal process on victims is then reviewed with respect to studies of emotional reactions to police contact, the hearing and trial proceedings, and the verdict and sentencing decisions. Implications of these findings are discussed, including an evident need to assist victims in regaining a sense of control.

Sexual Harassment as a Determinant of Women’s Fear of Rape

SynopsisPrevious research has revealed that women who have not been raped nevertheless show high levels of rape-related fear. This study investigated the experience of sexual harassment as a determinant of fear of rape. Twenty-one women were interviewed about their experience of, and affective reactions to, sexual harrassment. A Fear of Rape scale, designed to measure specific rape-related fear in non-clinical populations, was developed as a measure of women’s fear of rape. The experience of fear-inducing sexual harassment was found to be significantly correlated with fear of rape. Additionally, women who had experienced a likely rape situation reported significantly higher fear of rape than women who had not had such an experience. Results suggest that women generally may experience extensive sexual intimidation and that this experience may be implicated in a generalised feeling of vulnerability to rape. The Fear of Rape scale, developed for this study, may have useful applicability in future research in...

Long-term psychological effects of rape in 35 rape victims.

Thirty-five rape victims who had been assaulted from 2 to 46 years earlier were interviewed to determine the long-term effects of sexual assault. Victims were compared to 110 nonabused matched control subjects on their scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the modified Fear Survey Interview. An analysis was also conducted to determine which of the factors characterizing the rape situation had an influence on the victims' scores. Rape victims were found to be significantly more depressed, generally anxious, and fearful than control subjects. Only one rape situation variable, the survivor having been a prior victim of sexual assault, was found to be related to a higher degree of depression and anxiety.

Personality variables and circumstances of sexual assault predictive of a woman's resistance.

The present study investigated degree of resistance to sexual assault as a function of personality variables and circumstances of assault. Death anxiety was the personality variable most predictive of high resistance. The profile of the high-resistant women showed that the absence of a weapon, lower death anxiety, and knowing the assailant accounted for 66% of the variance. It was inferred that the life-threatening aspects of the rape situation are of great importance in determining a potential victim's reaction.

The Classic Rape: When Do Victims Report?

Why do many rape victims not report to the police? This paper suggests that victims of the “classic” rape situation, involving violent attack by a stranger, are most likely to report to police because they see themselves as true crime victims. Women who are raped by men they know, at home or in social settings, are less likely to report because they question their role and responsibility in the attack. I look at the cases of 246 raped women who contacted a rape crisis center, and analyze their relationships to their rapists and such characteristics of the attack as the setting, the threat and use of force, the degree of injury, and the need for medical treatment.

A review of empirical rape research: Victim reactions and response to treatment

The purpose of the following paper is to review results of recent empirical studies on victim reactions following rape and response to treatment. Results focus on three major research projects run concurrently in Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Charleston, as well as several smaller studies. The Atlanta study is described in detail and sampling bias is discussed. Short-term reactions are described and defined as those occurring during the first 3 months post-assault. During this time, most symptoms return to normal levels in most victims. Intermediate reactions, 3 months to one year post-assault, are described under four headings: depression, social adjustment, sexual functioning, and fear and anxiety. At the end of this interval, victims still score significantly higher than nonvictims on measures of fear and anxiety. Long-term reactions, defined as those continuing longer than one year post-assault, are discussed under four headings. No firm conclusions can be drawn as to the long-term symptoms experienced by victims versus nonvictims. Section IV reviews factors associated with adjustment to the assault. Factors within the rape situation are not clearly predictive of adjustment, but psychiatric history prior to the assault and amount of social support following the assault are predictive. In section V, empirical studies of behavior therapy with rape victims are reviewed. While all these studies were successful, they suffer from methodological flaws. Difficulties in doing rape research are discussed. Lastly, section VI offers a theoretical explication which draws on crisis theory to account for short-term and intermediate reactions and differential rates of recovery, and which draws on classical conditioning theory to account for continued high levels of fear and anxiety and selective anhedonia.

Measurement of empathy toward rape victims and rapists.

The purpose of the present study was the construction of the Rape Empathy Scale (RES), designed to measure subjects' empathy toward the rape victim and the rapist in a heterosexual rape situation. The results of psychometric analyses of reliability for both a student and juror sample are presented, in addition to evidence of cross-validation on separate student and juror samples. Significant differences between male and female subjects' RES scores were found, as well as differences between scores of women who had experienced a rape situation (rape victims and rape resisters) and women with no previous exposure to rape. RES scores were predictive of both students' and jurors' ratings of defendant guilt, as well as their recommended sentences for the defendant and their attributions of responsibility for the crime. Furthermore, subjects' RES scores were predictive of their social perceptions of the rape victim and defendant, and male jurors' RES scores were negatively correlated with their reported desire to rape a woman. The results are discussed in relation to the low conviction rate for sexual assault cases and the importance of juror selection as a vehicle for increasing the number of just convictions in rape cases.

Attribution of responsibility to a victim of rape

Two experimental studies of attribution in a rape situation were conducted. In Study 1,240 graduate students read the case report of a rape and gave their opinions regarding the rapist's punishment and the victim's fault. A provocative victim was attributed greater fault than an unprovocative victim, but this effect of provocativeness was significant only with male subjects judging a low status victim and with female subjects judging a high status victim. In study 2,240 undergraduate students read a case report of a rape and gave their opinions regarding the rapist's punishment and the likelihood of rape. Female subjects recommended longer imprisonment for the rapist than did male subjects. Greater likelihood of rape was indicated with a provocative, rather than unprovocative, victim and female subjects indicated greater likelihood of rape than did male subjects in the case of a physically unattractive victim. The results of the two studies were discussed with reference to defensive attribution and in the light of a proposed distinction between causal and moral responsibility.

Initial response to rape: The impact of factors within the rape situation

The relationship between specific aspects of the rape situation and immediate post-rape measures of depression, fear, anxiety, and social and interpersonal functioning in 50 recent victims of sexual assault was examined. The data failed to reveal any significant relationships between rape situation variables (e.g., stranger vs. known assailant, weapon vs. no weapon) and the nature or severity of the victims' psychological response. It is emphasized that this negative finding contradicts previous and current clinical lore, and has a number of implications for the assessment and treatment of rape victims.