Perpetrator coercion, victim resistance and respondent gender: their impact on blame attributions in a hypothetical child sexual abuse case

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Rogers ◽  
Michelle Davies ◽  
Lisa Cottam
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Blame Attributions ◽  
Abuse Case ◽  
Sexual Abuse Case ◽  
Victim Resistance

The roles of victim symptomology, victim resistance and respondent gender on perceptions of a hypothetical child sexual abuse case

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Rogers ◽  
Michelle Lowe ◽  
Matthew Boardman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Abuse Case ◽  
Sexual Abuse Case ◽  
Attributions Of Blame ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Victim Resistance ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact victim symptomology, victim resistance and respondent gender have on attributions of blame, credibility and perceived assault severity in a hypothetical child sexual abuse case. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 356 respondents read a hypothetical child sexual abuse scenario in which victim symptomology (negative vs none vs positive) and victim resistance (resistant vs non-resistant) were manipulated before completing six childhood sexual abuse (CSA) attribution items. The impact these manipulations plus respondent gender differences had on attributions ratings was explored via a series of AN(C)OVA. Findings – Overall, respondents judged the victim more truthful if she displayed negative – as opposed to either no or positive (i.e. life affirming) – symptomology and a resistant victim to be more truthful than one who offered no resistance. Finally, men deemed a 14-year-old female victim of sexual assault less reliable and more culpable for her own abuse than women. Men were particularly mistrustful of the girl if she was non-resistant and later failed to display negative, post-abuse symptomology. Practical implications – Findings highlight the need for greater awareness of the fact that not all CSA survivors display stereotypically negative post-abuse symptoms. The current study also extends knowledge of the role victim resistant and respondent gender play in this growing research field. Originality/value – The current study is the first to explore attributions of CSA blame and credibility across negative (i.e. typical) verses no or positive/life affirming (i.e. atypical) post-abuse symptomology.

scholarly journals Allegiance Bias in Statement Reliability Evaluations Is Not Eliminated by Falsification Instructions

2020 ◽  
Vol 228 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Sauerland ◽  
Henry Otgaar ◽  
Enide Maegherman ◽  
Anna Sagana
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Expert Witness ◽  
Expert Witnesses ◽  
Case File ◽  
Abuse Case ◽  
Sexual Abuse Case ◽  
The Given

Abstract. Are expert witnesses biased by the side (defense vs. prosecution) that hires them? We examined this issue by having students act as expert witnesses in evaluating interviews in a child sexual abuse case (Experiment 1, N = 143) and tested the value of an instruction to counteract such allegiance effects. The intervention concerned an instruction to consider arguments both for and against the given hypothesis (i.e., two-sided instructions; Experiment 2, N = 139). In Experiment 3 ( N = 123), we additionally provided participants with three different scenarios. Participants received a case file regarding a case of alleged sexual abuse. With the file, participants received an appointment letter emphasizing elements of the file that questioned (defense) or supported (prosecution) the veracity of the accusation. Participants displayed allegiance bias (Experiments 1–3), but two-sided instructions were not successful in eliminating allegiance bias (Experiments 2 and 3). The findings underscore the importance of legal safeguards in expert witness work.

scholarly journals Kasur Child Sexual Abuse Case

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-104
Author(s):  
Aliyah Ali
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Abuse Case ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Sexual Abuse Case ◽  
The Town

The Kasur child sexual abuse scandal is horrific. 280 children from 2010 to 2014 were forced to have sex while being filmed and 400 movies were leaked out. In a village of Kasur Hussain Khanwala a gang of 25 men who used the hundreds of videos they produced to blackmail the youngsters' parents, according to Latif Ahmed Sara, a lawyer and activist representing the victims. This also indicates the irresponsibility and carelessness of local police and politicians. According to Human Rights Commission these sex tapes were made for commercial purposes. The tapes that were made then used to blackmail the parents of the victims into keeping quiet and into giving money to the paedophilia ring. These tapes were also being sold to locals in the town for Rs 50 and even, according to one report, were being sold to paedophile websites overseas.

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