Victim Empathy Research Articles

GHB, Chemsex and Chemical Submission: Investigating the Role of Sexuality on Victim Empathy and Blame Attribution in Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault against Men.

Literature is sparse regarding men's attitudes towards male sexual assault and the role that the sexuality of those involved may have. Despite the high prevalence of chemsex and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) participation among men who have sex with men, no study has yet investigated attitudes towards such. Utilising a community sample of 141 UK men, participants were randomly assigned into one of six conditions based on victim sexuality (heterosexual or homosexual) and the drug used present during the sexual assault (chemsex, chemical submission, or no drugs). All participants completed the Male Rape Victim and Perpetrator Blaming Scale and Victim-Blaming Empathy Scale to measure victim-blame and empathy attributions. Results of a two-way MANOVA revealed a significant difference between participant gender and empathic ratings, with heterosexual participants significantly less likely to empathise than their homosexual counterparts. A non-significant difference was observed between the conditions alongside a non-significant interaction. Nevertheless, results indicate that victims in the chemsex condition, along with heterosexual victims, encountered the greatest victim-blaming attributions and the lowest rates of participant empathy overall. Findings overall appear to indicate a general decline in victim-blame attitudes towards men who have sex with men, though a level of uncertainty was apparent among the sample. Implications and limitations of the work are discussed alongside the importance of future research and psychoeducation interventions.

The Portuguese Version of Victim Empathy Distortion Scale: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties

AbstractVictim empathy is a common intervention target in intervention programs designed for individuals who perpetrated child sexual abuse (CSA). Researchers have developed the Victim Empathy Distortion Scale (VES), an instrument designed to assess empathy for victims of CSA. The present study aims to adapt the VES for the Portuguese population and examine its psychometric properties. One hundred and twelve individuals who perpetrated CSA and 245 individuals from the community participated in this study. The confirmatory factor analysis did not show satisfactory indices for the structures previously tested. Consequently, the search for an alternative model revealed a two-factor structure, explaining approximately 50% of the total variance. Results also indicated good internal consistency, discriminant validity, and known-groups validity. Overall, the results support the claim that the Portuguese version of the VES is a valuable and psychometrically reliable instrument for measuring victim empathy in forensic and non-forensic settings.

Show that we exist: Iraqi women’s stories, Rita Leistner, and her seeking human(ity) in the images of conflict

This article presents an analysis of one of the socio-artistic projects of the Canadian photographer Rita Leistner. Her work focuses mainly on how humans function during conflict and crises, including internal ones, but also includes initiatives related to environmental protection and fortitude displayed by her characters in everyday life. By focusing on the human condition and the situation of humanism today, Leistner demonstrates concern and a profound sense of empathy. Our reflections focus on the Safer here project, which tells the story of women incarcerated against their will in a Baghdad psychiatric hospital. Leistner presented their daily struggle for survival, their dignified lives, and how they come to terms with their plight. It was originally part of Unembedded, a project of four photojournalists stationed in Iraq. Our aim is to place Leistner’s story in a broader context that considers how war stories are created and presented to the world. We also consider the demanding and difficult role played by artists in this process, who try to find a balance between being interpreters and being historians. Leistner’s work shows her as, above all, an activist fighting for public attention and empathy for war victims. We use storytelling and visual analysis in our empirical investigations.

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse and the Use of Child Sexual Abuse Materials: Following up on the German Prevention Project Dunkelfeld.

Sexual interest in minors (i.e., pedophilia and hebephilia) is considered a risk factor for Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) and the use of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). This study examined the long-term development of CSA, CSAM use, associated cognitions, and quality of life among self-referred, help-seeking individuals diagnosed with pedophilic or hebephilic disorder (PHD) outside the judicial system. Of the 110 eligible men who had undergone therapy for PHD due to psychological distress or risk of offending, 56 were available for follow-up assessment 1-11 years after treatment. Behavioral manifestations, offense-supportive cognitions, and quality of life were evaluated using interviews and psychometric measures. At follow-up, 7.7% of participants with a history of CSA had re-offended, whereas 89.1% of previous CSAM users reported recidivism, although with less severe material. No new CSA offenses occurred among those without prior CSA. Treatment led to increased cognitive victim empathy and reductions in CSA-supportive and CSAM-supportive attitudes, but only the latter improvement persisted through follow-up. Participants exhibited elevated CSA-supportive attitudes relative to community norms at all time points and diminished quality of life at follow-up. Pedophilic and hebephilic disorder carry a persistent risk of sexual offending, particularly regarding CSAM use. Therapeutic gains in offense-supportive cognitions may erode over time without ongoing care. A comprehensive public health approach encompassing early detection, prevention, and expanded treatment access that addresses both the risk of reoffending and overall well-being is crucial for reducing sexual victimization and improving mental health outcomes for individuals from this target group.

A Sense of Stalinism

This article compares visitor experiences at the Gulag History Museum in Moscow and the NKVD Prison Museum in Tomsk, Siberia. The museums differ in the production of authenticity in the museum experience. The Moscow museum has no direct relationship to a site of memory and therefore utilizes constructed forms of authenticity. In contrast, the Tomsk museum makes use of objective authenticity given its location in an original prison building. The museums share a stated mission to produce a cosmopolitan mode of remembering based on universal values and empathy for victims with a preventive mission for the sake of the future. The article examines original data from visitor focus groups to understand the emotional impact of these museums. The Moscow museum manufactures the atmosphere of the Gulag through interactive sensory stimulation. We found that this can meet resistance from visitors who sense that their emotions are being manipulated. We found that the Tomsk museum directly elicits strong emotional responses but responses could also include dark tourist titillation. In conclusion, we consider how these findings speak to debates around the tension between cosmopolitan, antagonistic, and agonistic modes of remembering.

Keeping score: Past victimization reduces offenders’ conciliatory sentiments for their present transgressions

AbstractMany relationships within which interpersonal transgressions transpire often involve histories of reciprocal wrongdoing, where each party has occupied both the role of victim and offender. We investigate whether past incidents of being wronged by the victim of a present transgression may dampen offenders’ conciliatory sentiments for their present wrongdoing. Across four studies (combined N = 1037), we find evidence that past victimization experiences within the context of an interpersonal relationship can blur offenders’ construal of their role as offender and elicit feelings of victimhood, allowing them to exonerate themselves and feel less guilt for their present wrongdoing, display less empathy for the present victim, and reduce their willingness to reconcile with the present victim. These findings highlight the importance of taking into account historical transgressions within a relationship as a determinant of relationship repair in the aftermath of present wrongdoings.

On the Role of Police Shootings, Recognition of Systemic Racism, and Empathy on White Americans' Support for Police Reform.

The police kill Black Americans at disproportionate rates. Despite this, White Americans remain mixed on support for policing-related policy reform. We examined whether bearing witness to police violence leads to support for policy reforms. Across three studies (N = 943), White participants either viewed a news video about an unarmed Black man killed at the hands of police or in a car accident due to a collision with another driver. Participants lower but not higher in symbolic racism reported more empathy after viewing a police shooting (vs. car accident) news video (Studies 1-3). Empathy predicted policing-related policy reform support (Studies 1-3) and mediated the relationship between condition and policy reform support (Studies 1 and 3), among those lower in symbolic racism (Studies 1-2). Results suggest that empathy for Black victims of police violence predicts policy support but only among those who recognize that such violence is systemic in nature.

Incapacitated and/or Forcible Rape Experience Predicting College Women's Rape Victim Empathy.

Rape experience is common and victim empathy may help address it (e.g., prevention, victim support). We examined rape victim empathy based on type of rape experience (none, incapacitated, forcible, combined). Undergraduate women (n = 658) completed the Rape Victim Empathy-During Subscale and Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Victimization. Rape experience was associated with greater empathy, especially for those with any forcible experience. Perhaps due to weaker memory of their own rape event, incapacitated victims may be relatively less able than forcible victims to understand another victim's perspective during a rape. Researchers should consider examining incapacitated and forcible rape as distinct experiences.

Understanding the support for gender-based harassment perpetrators: the role of closeness and empathy.

Gender-based harassment is a pressing social challenge urgently demanding eradication. While social movements emphasize supporting victims, societal responses sometimes lean toward exculpating perpetrators. This study examines two factors influencing this exoneration: closeness to perpetrators and empathy focus. A total of 345 participants took part in an experimental design to assess how closeness to perpetrators (close vs. distant) and empathy focus (on the perpetrator vs. victim vs. control) impact the moral justification of harassment and the dehumanization of both parties. Results indicate that closeness and empathizing with perpetrators lead to greater leniency-more moral justification and less dehumanization of the perpetrator. Heightened moral justification for close perpetrators is mediated by increased empathy toward them and decreased empathy for victims, and reduced dehumanization of close perpetrators corresponds to heightened empathy toward them. This research highlights how closeness and empathy, two initially positive factors, can foster tolerance toward gender harassment.

The Communication Crisis of Restoring the Reputation of Indonesian National Police Post the Murder of Brigadier Josua on Online Media.

Crisis communication is a strategy for managing crisis situations through the process of sending and receiving information during or after a crisis event with the aim of managing the situation, minimizing damage, and ensuring the safety of the people involved, or victims. The leadership of the National Police institution has an important role in carrying out crisis communications as a communicator in improving the organization's reputation. The scandal, which was not carried out institutionally, but involved the involvement of high-ranking police officials and a number of other police officers, caused the reputation of the police organization to experience the threat of a crisis of public distrust. Law enforcement agencies that are actually faced with violations of the law are demanded by both the families of victims and the public that police agencies prioritize transparency, accountability and justice in resolving cases. The three stages of the press conference as a form of conveying the National Police Chief's crisis communication were chosen for analysis, namely the press conference held on August 4, 9 and 25 2022. Based on the content analysis, it was concluded that the most highlighted messages were relevant messages, messages emphasizing credibility, and statements. ongoing process. Meanwhile, the Timely message and messages of empathy for victims were not highlighted in the National Police Chief's press conference to show that empathy is an important thing in the National Police Chief's crisis message.

White Americans' blame attributions and empathy towards Black victims of police violence: How pejorative stereotypes 'engulf the field'.

We examined the dynamics of minority-directed police violence by considering how our White participants' empathy for Black victims may be influenced by critical intragroup differences related to racial stereotyping. Although the role of stereotyping in reactions to Black Americans accused of crime is well-established, we explore the influence of pejorative Black stereotypes on reactions to Black victims of police violence. Specifically, we investigated the roles of individual differences in the endorsement of the Black criminal stereotype among White observers and manipulated the crime-unrelated stereotypicality (i.e. stereotypical, counterstereotypical) of Black victims of police violence. White US MTurk participants read about a White policeman shooting a Black man (Study 1, n = 140) or sexually assaulting a Black woman (Study 2, n = 166). Across both studies, strong stereotype endorsers reported relatively low empathy for stereotypical victims, mediated by greater blame towards those victims. This finding demonstrates the relevance of heretofore untested motivated reasoning processes in the outgroup empathy deficits literature. Weak stereotype endorsers showed relatively high empathy and low victim blame regardless of Black victim stereotypicality, indicating limited sensitivity to outgroup member suffering is not inevitable. We consider the practical implications of the findings for policing and for citizenship education.

Analisis Framing Robert N. Entman terhadap Kasus Kronologi Penganiayaan Anak di Bawah Umur pada Media Online kompas.com

Case of violence against children is an incident that must be highlighted by the media, because this case involves very sensitive and important aspects in society. The media has a significant role in providing information, forming public opinion, and encouraging social change. This research aims to analyze the way kompas.com frames the chronological case of the abuse committed by Mario Dandy against David, who is a minor. This incident happened on Monday 20 February 2023 at the Green Permata Housing Complex, Pesanggarahan, South Jakarta at around 20:30 WIB. This research uses a qualitative method with a narrative approach, and implements constructivist paradigm. This research uses a content analysis method for news published by kompas.com regarding the abuse case committed by Mario Dandy against David. The analysis model used in this research is Robert N. Entman's analysis through news framing built by kompas.com with four stages of framing analysis model elements. Based on content analysis, this research finds that kompas.com uses framing that emphasizes empathy for victims, raises issues related to preventing violence against children, and places emphasis on legal aspects, as well as the responsibilities of the individuals involved. This media chooses words and images carefully to protect the privacy and identity of the victim.This research seeks to open insight into how online news media such as kompas.com plays a role in shaping public opinion and giving reactions to sensitive cases. By understanding how framing works, it is hoped that the results of this research can provide a deeper understanding of the influence of the media on public perception, as well as provide input for the development of more balanced, ethical and meaningful reporting.

What do we know about ‘rape myth’ research and the claim that there is ‘overwhelming evidence’ that juries are prejudiced in rape trials?

This paper examines the research by Fiona Leverick and demonstrates the methodological flaws in much of the ‘rape myth’ and mock jury research. Other ideas about rape myths and the ‘justice gap’ are explored and seen to be questionable. Furthermore, through a detailed examination of the rape myth acceptance scales, which Leverick describes as being ‘scientifically validated’, we trace the ideological and political-ethical nature of these scales and show a clear one-sidedness in how researchers have used them. Most particularly, we find that there is one-sidedness when it comes to the question of victim empathy. One result of this is that mock jury research has indicated that victim empathetic participants are finding individuals guilty of rape, despite the lack of evidence, and almost nothing has been said about the potential miscarriages of justice being demonstrated in these cases. The argument is thus made that rather than there being overwhelming evidence of rape myth prejudices amongst the public, there appears to be a one-sidedness amongst most rape myth researchers that is encouraging a sentiment of victim empathy that could distort the principles of justice regarding defendants being innocent until proven guilty based on a need to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. 1

Male rape myths: Examining the role of victim empathy and socio-demographics in a cross-sectional sample of UK adults

Whilst much is known about the psychosocial correlates of rape myth beliefs regarding female victims, much less research has investigated factors that underlie male rape myth beliefs. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the role of victim empathy and socio-demographics upon male rape myth beliefs. 303 UK adults aged 18 to 74 (M Age = 31.48) completed the Male Rape Myth Scale (MRMS) and the None-in-Three Victim Responsiveness Assessment (NI3: VRA), alongside assessing socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, education). Results reveal gender and ethnicity differences in affective victim-empathy sub-scales and overall male rape myth beliefs. Regression analyses determined that age, gender, ethnicity, and affective victim-empathy were significant predictors of male rape myth attitudes. The results have important implications for understanding those who are likely to believe falsehoods pertaining to male survivors of sexual victimisation and highlight the need for targeted educational intervention programmes among the UK public, including in their role as jurors.

Empathy With Muslim Victims of Discrimination: Can Personalization and Emotionalization in News Reporting Pave the Way?

Hate crimes against Muslims in the United States have been on the rise since 2016 (FBI, 2022), discouraging this group’s participation in public life. Most Americans, therefore, encounter Muslims only via media representations. We investigated if two journalistic storytelling devices can kindle in white non-Muslim Americans empathy and supportive attitudes toward Muslim women who are victims of discrimination. Indeed, personalization and emotionalization of news stories increased empathy for Muslim victims among participants with high Muslim prejudice. Gender differences moderated the effect of emotionalization, with women participants reporting more empathy and willingness to help victims than men.

Consumer Experiences with Gift Card Payment Scams: Causes, Consequences, and Implications for Consumer Protection

ABSTRACT Retail gift cards are requested by fraud perpetrators in many types of mass marketing scams because they are accessible to consumers and card values can be redeemed remotely and anonymously. We interviewed 27 individuals who experienced a gift card payment scam. Five themes emerged: (1) contexts of vulnerability, (2) cognitive and emotional dissociative states, (3) the mixed efficacy of retail interventions, (4) self-blame, and (5) consumer education and other safeguards. Contextual and situational factors, such as work stress, having a recent experience that corresponded with the premise of the scam, and having an unmet financial or socioemotional need, increased vulnerability. Perpetrators used strong emotional appeals to activate a stress response and to interfere with participants’ reasoned decision making. To prevent victimization, direct questioning by retail employees was less effective than outright refusals to sell them gift cards. Several participants reported severe emotional distress and symptoms associated with trauma following victimization. Participants did not hold the retail stores or gift card issuers accountable for their losses and instead expressed self-blame. They advocated for more consumer education about gift card payment scams as well as more empathy and support for victims.

Measuring Rape Empathy Among University Men in Vietnam

Abstract. Background: Empathy for rape victims is a correlate of sexual aggression and a target of interventions to reduce sexual violence on university campuses. Methods: We administered 17 adapted items from the Rape Empathy Scale to 793 first-year male undergraduates in Hanoi, Vietnam, in September 2020 and March-May 2020. Exploratory/confirmatory factor analysis (EFA/CFA) assessed factor structure and multiple group confirmatory factor analysis assessed measurement equivalence across those reporting different frequencies of sexually violent behavior and over time. Results: The final unidimensional, 10-item scale demonstrated equivalence across groups and over time. Correlations of the scale with rape myths and knowledge of the legality and harm of sexual violence suggested discriminant validity. Latent victim empathy was lower among participants who reported any recent sexually violent behavior. Conclusions: The adapted, validated Rape Empathy Scale-10 provides a useful tool for measuring rape empathy in sexual violence prevention interventions in Southeast Asia.

Group CBT for men with intellectual disabilities and/or autism who have harmful sexual behaviour.

Men with intellectual disabilities and/or autism sometimes engage in harmful sexual behaviour (HSB), but it may be harder for them to access treatment, than it is for non-disabled men. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of attending an adapted CBT group, known as SOTSEC-ID, on men with intellectual disabilities and/or autism who had HSB. Ninety-eight men from intellectual disability services, who had ID and/or autism and a history of HSB were recruited, and they received group CBT for a year (46 of these men have been previously reported). Harmful sexual behaviour, sexual knowledge, distorted cognitions and victim empathy were measured before and after treatment, and at 6 month follow-up. There were low levels of further harmful sexual behaviour: 12% of men engaged in further HSB during the 1-year period of the group, and 8% engaged in further HSB in the 6-month follow-up period. There were also significant improvements in sexual knowledge, distorted cognitions and victim empathy following treatment, maintained at 6-month follow-up. Men with autism showed significantly more non-contact HSB, were less likely to have been interviewed by police and had higher rates of further HSB, compared to men without autism. It is concluded that SOTSEC-ID is a promising treatment for men with ID/autism and HSB. Nevertheless, the study had a number of limitations and lacked a control group, so there is now an urgent need for a proper controlled study.

Empathy or Counter-Empathy? The Victims' Empathic Response Toward Offenders Depends on Their Relationships and Transgression Severity.

Empathy facilitates prosocial behaviors, whereas counter-empathy harms others. The question that remains unanswered is: when and for whom do people show different empathic responses? This study aimed to explore the effects of transgression severity and interpersonal relationships on victims' empathy or counter-empathy toward an offender. Before and after experiencing a slight or serious transgression, 42 college students were asked to imagine that they had different relationships (ie, intimate, strange, or bad) with a person and then report their empathy or counter-empathy toward that person from cognitive and affective aspects. The results showed that, in the affective aspect, the participants' empathy for the intimate friend decreased after a slight transgression and even disappeared after a serious transgression. For strangers, empathy transformed into counter-empathy after the transgression, and its intensity increased with the transgression's severity. For a person in a bad relationship, the participants felt counter-empathy before the transgression, and its intensity increased with the transgression's severity. In the cognitive aspect, participants' counter-empathy toward the stranger and the person in a bad relationship increased with transgression severity. These results suggest that interpersonal relationships and transgression severity can change the type and degree of a victim's empathy toward the offender. Our findings not only deepen our understanding of the cognitive aspect of counter-empathy but also provide insights for handling interpersonal conflict.

Peer victimization and empathy for victims of bullying: A test of bidirectional associations in childhood and adolescence.

Anti-bullying interventions often assume that knowing how it feels to be bullied increases empathy for victims. However, longitudinal research on actual experiences of bullying and empathy is lacking. This study investigated whether within-person changes in victimization predicted changes in empathy over 1 year using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. Self- and peer-reported victimization, and cognitive and affective empathy for victims were measured in a sample of 15,713 Finnish youth (Mage = 13.23, SDage = 2.01, 51.6% female; 92.5% had Finnish-speaking parents; data was collected in 2007-2009 when information about participants' race/ethnicity was not available due to ethical guidelines for the protection of personal information). Results indicated small, positive longitudinal associations from victimization to cognitive empathy. Implications for empathy-raising interventions are discussed.