Gender, Myths, and Assumptions: Correlates of Risk Perception in Sexual Assault Scenarios

Sexual violence continues to plague college campuses even with the implementation of bystander intervention programs. Previous research has demonstrated that diminished situational risk recognition increases the risk for sexual assault victimization. However, there is a paucity of research comparing men’s and women’s risk perception in sexual assault scenarios, risk perception from a victim or perpetrator perspective, or the role of previous sexual violence history, rape myth acceptance, and world assumptions on sexual risk perception. The current study examined male and female college students’ risk perception while reading a sexual assault scenario. Participants also completed measures of victim and perpetrator blame, rape myth acceptance, and beliefs in a just world. The results suggested that men’s and women’s risk perception is influenced by different rape myths and world assumptions. Specifically, women’s risk perception and victim blame are associated with sexual communication myths and beliefs in the randomness of the world, while men’s risk perception and victim blame are related to the acceptance of myths that women ask for sexual assault and that the world is a just, cruel place. The results call for the incorporation of additional training on how rape myths and world assumptions may impact risk recognition and intervention in sexual assault education. It will also be important to target different barriers to intervention for men and women.

Dynamic accountability and the role of risk reporting during a global pandemic

PurposeThis article lays out some conceptual considerations of how dynamic accountability and risk reporting practices could be tailored during and after a global pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper seeks to foster the debate on the crucial role of risk reporting considering the impact and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and stakeholder information needs in this context. The authors draw upon neo-Durkheimian institutional and legitimacy theories and elements of the accounting and risk management literature to discuss the challenges that the pandemic poses to risk recognition and assessment and the subsequent disclosure decision of risk information.FindingsRisk reporting has its roots in risk recognition and assessment. To live up to their accountability in these times of uncertainty, organisations need to address their stakeholders' new and changing information needs. Ad hoc disclosures and linking risk management and reporting to their business models (BM) would improve the risk recognition and assessment practices and the meaningfulness of the disclosed information. Hence, we provide some examples and discuss potential avenues to address these challenges and adapt risk reporting accordingly.Originality/valueThis conceptual paper contributes to the risk reporting and accountability research fields. Previous studies on communication during a crisis have focused on sustainability reporting. Thus, this study contributes to that literature by considering the role of risk reporting in times of an unexpected large-scale global crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and by highlighting possibilities for moving risk reporting towards becoming more accountability based.

Freeride Skiing—Risk-Taking, Recognition, and Moral Boundaries

Freeride skiing is an activity that is, or at least can be, quite dangerous. Risk-taking in high-risk sports has usually been understood within a psychological framework. Building on Pierre Bourdieu's sociology, this article highlights the social dimension of risk-taking in freeride skiing by scrutinizing values within a freeride culture. A central question in this article is: what kind of actions are given recognition and credibility in freeride skiing? The findings show that there is a clear link between risk-taking and credibility and that risk-taking might be seen as a form of capital. However, risk-taking's link to recognition is not straightforward—it is limited by the skiers' skill level. To further develop our understanding of the social dimension of risk-taking we use Michelle Lamont's theory of symbolic boundaries. By expanding the Bourdieusian understanding of social practice with Lamont's work, we gain insight into how risk-taking is socially regulated by social conventions within a subculture. This means that we in this article describe three social dimensions of risk-taking: (1) The link between risk-taking and recognition, (2) The limits of the risk-recognition nexus, and (3) The moral boundaries of risk-taking.

Making Evacuation Routine Behavior: Impact of Experiencing Severe Flood Damage on Recognition and Advance Evacuation Behavior

This study analyzes the impact of experiencing a disaster on subsequent risk recognition and evacuation behavior using data collated from the interview of victims of the flood and landslides that followed the 2014 Hiroshima Heavy Rain Disaster. The high accuracy of the storm and flood damage prediction system has made it possible to limit human casualties by routinizing advance evacuation behavior. The study explores conditions for the routinization of evacuation behavior and its findings are as follows: (i) a series of experiences such as timing of incidental awareness, evacuation, housing damage, and human damage define the damage recognition of each victim. The difference between each damage recognition has different influences on their post-disaster risk recognition and behaviors; (ii) experiencing severe disasters generally enhances disaster risk recognition. However, whether it promotes advanced evacuation behavior is dependent on the magnitude of the damage and pre-disaster risk recognition. If risk recognition is ambiguous, the effect of the experience is minimal even if the damage is severe; (iii) for disaster victims to inculcate an evacuation behavior in preparation for the next disaster, they must first have clear pre-disaster risk recognition mechanisms. It is also necessary to have a reliable destination that is incorporated into the daily life of the residents, which can serve as an evacuation site.

Associations of Alcohol Consumption, Sexual Assault History, Severity, and Revictimization With College Women’s Bystander Behaviors in Alcohol-involved Settings

Sexual assault victimization (SAV) histories may impede, increase, or have no effect on women’s risk recognition. Yet, even though risk recognition is a component of bystander intervention, the effect of SAV on bystander behaviors is understudied. For example, how different SAV histories, such as the severity of the assault and if women were revictimized since entering college, have not been examined with bystander behaviors; we intended to address this gap in the literature. Building on recent work, we also examined the potential interactive effects of alcohol consumption and SAV history in predicting bystander behaviors. College women ( n = 560) completed a web-based survey on alcohol consumption, SAV experiences since entering college, and bystander behaviors in alcohol-involved settings. We found that the effect of SAV history on bystander behavior varied based on alcohol consumption. As women’s alcohol consumption increased so did their self-reported engagement in bystander behaviors. For non-victims, increased alcohol consumption had a greater positive effect on their bystander behaviors than victims. However, after a certain quantity of alcohol was consumed, both victims and non-victims reported decreased bystander behavior. Finally, alcohol consumption did not interact with severity of SAV or revictimization status in predicting bystander behavior. Findings suggest alcohol consumption may be more influential on bystander behaviors for women with no history of SAV; however, consuming a greater quantity of alcohol is related to a decrease in bystander behavior—regardless of SAV history. Given these findings, more work is needed to explore when and how alcohol impedes, and potentially encourages, bystander behavior. How SAV histories relate to bystander behaviors also warrants further research.

Women’s Experience of Sexual Coercion and Reactions to Intimate Partner Sexual Violence

Sexual coercion is one of the most subtle manifestations of gender-based violence and may profoundly affect victims’ sexuality. This research analyzed the association of previous experiences of sexual coercion by an intimate partner (intimate partner sexual coercion [IPSC]) with women’s reactions and responses to a scenario of sexual violence. Female college undergraduates ( N = 207) completed a computer task in which they watched a video about a couple that ended in a woman having unwanted sex with her male partner. Participants answered several questions about tolerance (risk recognition, risk response, delays in behavioral response, and probability of leaving the relationship). They also responded about their level of commitment to their current partner, as well as their previous experience of sexual coercion. Results showed no differences between victims and nonvictims on the time they took to perceive the situation of sexual violence as threatening (risk recognition). However, victims of current sexual coercion took more time deciding to leave the abusive situation of the video (risk response), required a greater time lag between risk recognition and risk response, and they would be less likely to leave the relationship than victims of past sexual coercion and nonvictims. Finally, commitment predicted later risk recognition and risk response only for victims of past sexual coercion. Overall, the results suggested that previous sexual coercion by an intimate partner and being committed to the relationship may be risk factors associated with the increase of women’s tolerance toward situations involving the risk of sexual victimization.