Knowing a Rape Victim, Personal Sexual Victimization Experience, and Gender Predicting Rape Victim Empathy

Although college students who are sexual and gender minorities (SGM) experience higher rates of sexual victimization than their peers who identify as heterosexual and cisgender, there is a paucity in the literature investigating how college campuses can address the needs of SGM college students in violence prevention and response. The present research examines a subset of data from the Healthy Minds Survey (HMS), a national web-based survey administered across two universities from 2016 to 2017. We examined the role of SGM status in the rates of sexual violence, perceptions of their college/university’s institutional response to reports of sexual violence (e.g., taking a report seriously and taking corrective action), and the perceived impact of reporting sexual violence (e.g., students would support the person making a report). Logistic regression analyses revealed higher rates of sexual victimization among sexual minority students (compared to heterosexual), women (compared to men), and transgender and gender diverse (TGD) students (compared to cisgender). In addition, sexual minority (compared to heterosexual), women (compared to men), and TGD (compared to cisgender) students were more likely to perceive their institution would have a poor response to reports of sexual violence. Women and sexual minority students were also likely to believe that students who report sexual violence would suffer academically. These findings highlight the need for continued efforts to enhance sexual assault prevention and response efforts on college campuses, especially for SGM students.

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Rape-Victim Empathy Scale (REMV): An Exploratory Study in a Portuguese Sample

Psychological Thought ◽

10.5964/psyct.v6i2.82 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 283-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Maria Clara Ferrão ◽

Gabriela Gonçalves ◽

Tiago Parreira ◽

Jean-Christophe Giger

Keyword(s):

Exploratory Study ◽

Rape Victim ◽

Victim Empathy ◽

Empathy Scale

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Binegativity Exacerbates the Effects of Sexual Victimization Disclosure on Posttraumatic Stress and Drinking Among Bisexual Women

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211047961 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110479

Author(s):

Selime R. Salim ◽

Lee R. Eshelman ◽

Terri L. Messman

Keyword(s):

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Sexual Victimization ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Clinical Intervention ◽

Hazardous Drinking ◽

Victim Blame ◽

Lesbian Women ◽

Bisexual Women ◽

Victimization Experience ◽

Bisexual Identity

Bisexual women experience higher rates of sexual victimization and mental health problems compared to heterosexual and lesbian women. Bisexual women also receive more unsupportive or overtly negative reactions when they disclose experiences of sexual victimization. The current study aimed to examine the interaction of negative social reactions and binegativity (i.e., experiences of stigma due to bisexual identity) in predicting posttraumatic stress, depression, and hazardous drinking among bisexual women. The sample consisted of 161 young adult bisexual women (ages 18–35) who disclosed a sexual victimization experience to at least one person. Moderation analyses were conducted via the PROCESS macro for SPSS. “Turning against” reactions to disclosure (e.g., victim blame and avoidance of the victim) predicted increased posttraumatic stress and hazardous drinking in the presence of binegativity. In addition, reactions to disclosure that acknowledged the experience but were unsupportive predicted increased drinking in the context of binegativity. Depression was not associated with either type of negative reactions, regardless of binegativity. Thus, findings suggest that binegativity in combination with negative responses to disclosure of sexual victimization are important factors in specific types of distress related to sexual violence among bisexual women. Implications for research, clinical intervention, and policy are discussed.

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The Impact of Lifetime Victimization and Polyvictimization on Adolescents in Québec: Mental Health Symptoms and Gender Differences

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-14-00020 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 3-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Katie Cyr ◽

Claire Chamberland ◽

Marie-Ève Clément ◽

Jo-Anne Wemmers ◽

Delphine Collin-Vézina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Gender Differences ◽

Sexual Victimization ◽

Trauma Symptoms ◽

Mental Health Symptoms ◽

Health Symptoms ◽

Witnessing Violence ◽

Child Victimization ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact

This study documents lifetime experiences of victimizations, polyvictimization, and trauma symptoms among 1,400 adolescents from the province of Québec. The vast majority (81%) of adolescents were victimized during their lifetime, with most victims (82%) being the target of more than one form of victimization. Polyvictimization accounted for most variability in scores of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anger/aggression compared to individual victimization categories. Sexual victimization and maltreatment still made an independent contribution in predicting all trauma scores once polyvictimization was considered. Gender differences were found in the victimization experiences contributing to the prediction of mental health symptoms. Sexual victimization was a significant predictor of PTSD and anger/aggression symptoms for girls, whereas witnessing violence predicted anger and PTSD symptoms for boys, and assault predicted their anger. This study outlines the importance of assessing various types of victimization among adolescents. Systematic data and observation of trends on child victimization are needed in Canada and elsewhere.

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Effects of Nurse-Police Facilitated Rape Education on Rape Myths Acceptance, Rape Victim Empathy and Rape Risk Behaviors of Adolescents

Saudi Journal of Nursing and Health Care ◽

10.36348/sjnhc.2021.v04i01.002 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 4-13

Author(s):

Adesola A. Ogunfowokan ◽

Mary O. Obiyan ◽

Omowumi R. Salau

Keyword(s):

Risk Behaviors ◽

Rape Myths ◽

Rape Victim ◽

Victim Empathy ◽

Rape Education

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The Role of Displays of Emotions and Ethnicity in Judgments of Rape Victims

International Review of Victimology ◽

10.1177/026975809700400402 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 255-265 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Aldert Vrij ◽

Agneta Fischer

Keyword(s):

Impression Formation ◽

Present Experiment ◽

White Male ◽

Rape Victim ◽

Rape Victims ◽

Male And Female ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact

The present experiment investigated the impact of displays of emotions and ethnicity of a rape victim on impression formation of white male and female observers. It was expected that victims would be assessed more favourably when they behaved angrily, rather than sadly, and when they were white rather than black. Moreover, it was expected that female observers would assess victims more positively than male observers. In the present experiment 51 male and 49 female observers watched a videotape of a victim of rape (an actress) during a simulated police interview. The ethnicity of the victim (white vs. black) and the emotion displayed by the victim (sad vs angry) was systematically manipulated. Observers' interpretations of what had happened were investigated by means of a questionnaire. The findings supported hypotheses relating to display of emotions and gender of the participants but failed to support the hypothesis concerning ethnicity.

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Responding to Disclosure of Sexual Assault: The Potential Impact of Victimization History and Rape Myth Acceptance

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260519898429 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626051989842

Author(s):

Hanna M. Grandgenett ◽

Anne L. Steel ◽

Rebecca L. Brock ◽

David DiLillo

Keyword(s):

Sexual Assault ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Sexual Victimization ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Self Report ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Sexual Assault Survivors ◽

Victimization Experience ◽

Victimization History ◽

Myth Acceptance

Victims of sexual assault often disclose their victimization experiences to friends and family members in the hope of gaining support. However, a number of factors may influence the manner in which these confidants respond to the disclosure (e.g., severity of the victim’s assault). The purpose of this study was to examine the role of two unique factors—the disclosure recipient’s sexual victimization history and endorsement of rape myths—in predicting responses to disclosure. Participants were 114 undergraduate students who indicated that a close friend or family member had previously disclosed a sexual victimization experience to them. The participants’ responses to that disclosure, personal sexual victimization history, and rape myth attitudes were assessed via a self-report. Results indicated that a history of victimization predicted increased emotionally supportive responses to disclosure. Lower rape myth acceptance predicted increased supportive responses (i.e., emotionally supporting the victim and aiding the victim) and decreased unsupportive responses (i.e., treating the victim differently after the abuse, distracting the victim from the abuse, and blaming the victim). These results have implications for prevention efforts and those working with sexual assault survivors.

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