Gender, sexual orientation and victim blame regarding male victims of sexual assault

Bisexual women are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to receive negative reactions to disclosures of sexual assault than heterosexual and lesbian women. However, few studies have examined the extent to which victim sexual orientation and related factors influence perceptions of sexual assault victims and perpetrators. To fill this gap, the current study used an experimental manipulation to examine the influence of victim sexual orientation and coercion type on perceptions of sexual assault victims and perpetrators. Participants (N = 826) were randomly assigned to read one of nine vignettes in which the sexual orientation of the female victim (bisexual, lesbian, heterosexual) and the type of coercion (verbal, physical, alcohol incapacitation) were varied. Then, participants were asked a series of questions about the victim and the perpetrator. Results indicated that bisexual and heterosexual female victims were both perceived as having wanted to have sex with the perpetrator more and as having “led the perpetrator on” more than lesbian victims. In contrast, victim sexual orientation was not associated with explicit ratings of victim or perpetrator responsibility or victim suffering. Bisexual female victims were also perceived as more promiscuous than both lesbian and heterosexual female victims. In turn, perceiving the victim as more promiscuous was associated with perceiving the victim as more responsible, having wanted to have sex with the perpetrator more, having “led the perpetrator on” more, and suffering less, and with perceiving the perpetrator as less responsible. In sum, our findings suggest that efforts to reduce sexual violence toward bisexual women should attend to negative attitudes toward bisexual women, especially the perception of bisexual women as promiscuous.

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“You Should Have Known Better”: The Social Ramifications of Victimization-Focused Sexual Assault Prevention Tips

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520913650 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052091365

Author(s):

Sydney Cherniawsky ◽

Melanie Morrison

Keyword(s):

Sexual Assault ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Social Institutions ◽

Ambivalent Sexism ◽

Unintended Consequences ◽

Victim Blame ◽

Sexual Assault Prevention ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Prevention Strategies ◽

Assault Prevention

Common sexual assault prevention strategies emphasize individuals’ responsibility to protect themselves from victimization. Using a feminist theoretical approach, the present study was the first to assess the unintended, negative consequences that result when taking a victimization-focused approach to sexual assault prevention. Participants ( N = 321) were primarily heterosexual, Caucasian undergraduate students from a Western postsecondary institution. A between-participants experimental design was employed, whereby participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) victimization-focused prevention tips ( n = 114; e.g., “Be alert and aware of your surroundings”); (b) perpetration-focused prevention tips ( n = 103; e.g., “Don’t slip any unwanted substances into drinks at bars or parties”); or (c) study tips for control purposes ( n = 104; e.g., “Take a ten-minute break every hour”). Following prevention tip exposure, participants read a sexual assault vignette and completed measures of victim culpability and several related constructs (i.e., ambivalent sexism, belief in a just world, and rape myth acceptance). Results indicated that participants who received victimization-focused prevention tips attributed significantly more blame to the victimized woman in the vignette than participants in both the control condition and perpetration-focused condition. Based on these results, it is recommended that social institutions further evaluate the efficacy and unintended consequences of prevalent victimization-focused sexual assault prevention strategies. Specifically, institutions should consider the implications of endorsing strategies that are evidenced to enhance victim blame, thereby perpetuating rape culture. Prevention strategies that engage bystanders and seek to prevent perpetration should be considered as an alternative approach.

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Making Gender-Responsive Programming More Queer Responsive

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.532 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Lindsay L. Kahle ◽

Jill Rosenbaum

Keyword(s):

Sexual Orientation ◽

Sexual Assault ◽

Young Women ◽

Young Men ◽

Female Victims ◽

Feminist Criminology ◽

The Creation

The emergence of feminist criminology several decades ago heralded the creation of theoretical and justice-involved spaces that are specifically centered and tailored to the unique needs of women. More specifically, this shift turned attention to issues that weren’t typically discussed, for example, female victims and offenders, male battery, and sexual assault, as well as sexual and familial violence. One of the greatest contributions made by feminist criminology is gender-responsive programming, which recognizes that unique “pathways to delinquency” exist for girls and that these pathways often involve trauma and abuse. As a result, this type of programming attends to the specific needs of girls and young women, as they differ from those of boys and young men. Although research shows that these programs work to improve the lives of girls, they often overlook how sexual orientation—as it intersects with gender—often compounds such pathways altogether.

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Negative Third-Party Reactions to Male and Female Victims of Rape: The Influence of Harm and Normativity Concerns

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520914565 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052091456 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eva Mulder ◽

Gerd Bohner

Keyword(s):

Sexual Violence ◽

Third Party ◽

Victim Blame ◽

Future Research ◽

Male Victims ◽

Secondary Victimization ◽

Male And Female ◽

Female Victims ◽

Online Study ◽

Two Measures

Male and female victims of sexual violence frequently experience secondary victimization in the form of victim blame and other negative reactions by their social surroundings. However, it remains unclear whether these negative reactions differ from each other, and what mechanisms underlie negative reactions toward victims. In one laboratory study ( N = 132) and one online study ( N = 421), the authors assessed participants’ reactions to male and female victims, and whether different (moral) concerns underlay these reactions. The reactions addressed included positive and negative emotions, behavioral and characterological blame, explicit and implicit derogation, and two measures of distancing. It was hypothesized that male victimization would evoke different types of (negative) reactions compared with female victimization, and that normative concerns would predict a greater proportion of the variance of reactions to male victims than female victims. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) were conducted to test whether reactions to male and female (non-)victims differed. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the influence of gender traditionality, homonegativity, as well as binding and individualizing moral values on participants’ reactions. Results revealed that participants consistently reacted more negatively to victims than to nonvictims, and more so to male than to female targets. Binding values were a regular predictor of negative reactions to victims, whereas they predicted positive reactions to nonvictims. The hypothesis that different mechanisms underlie reactions to male versus female victims was not supported. The discussion addresses implications of this research for interventions targeting secondary victimization and for future research investigating social reactions to victims of sexual violence. It also addresses limitations of the current research and considerations of diversity.

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Attributions of victim responsibility in revenge pornography

Journal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research ◽

10.1108/jacpr-03-2019-0408 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 263-272 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jeff Gavin ◽

Adrian J. Scott

Keyword(s):

Design Methodology ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Victim Blame ◽

Male Victims ◽

Female Victim ◽

Content Type ◽

Male Victim ◽

Female Perpetrator ◽

Victim Responsibility ◽

Male Perpetrator

Purpose Revenge pornography is a growing risk among adolescents and young adults. Often stemming from sexting, some victims of revenge pornography report experiencing victim-blame similar to that accompanying the reporting of rape. The purpose of this paper is to explore the assumptions that underlie attributions of victim-blame, with a focus on perpetrator and victim responsibility, as well as gendered assumptions surrounding sexting. Design/methodology/approach A total of 222 UK university students (111 male, 111 females) read one of two versions of a hypothetical revenge pornography scenario, one involving a male victim of a female perpetrator, the other a female victim of a male perpetrator. They then responded to an open-ended question regarding responsibility. Findings Qualitative content analysis of these responses identified three inter-related themes: the victim’s behaviour, mitigating victim responsibility and minimising the behaviour. Social implications The majority of participants in this study attributed at least some responsibility to the victims of revenge pornography depicted in the scenarios. Sex of the victim played a less important role than assumptions around sexting. Originality/value The study suggests that victim-blame is linked to the consent implied by sharing intimate images with a partner, but is also mitigated by the normative nature of this relationship practice. There was some evidence that the experience of male victims of revenge pornography is trivialised. These findings have implications for e-safety and victim support.

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