Perceptions Of Rape Term paper
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PrevalenceSexual assault remains one of the most serious and fastest growing violent crimes in America. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (1997), a woman is raped every two minutes. In 1996, 307,000 women were the victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997). According to West's California (Penal) Codes (1998), rape is defined as the "act of sexual intercourse [or] .penetration of genital or anal openings by foreign objects, etc., accomplished against a person's will" (p. 82-85) by means of coercion. Although this broad definition of rape includes spousal rape, rape of males, and rape of minors, this study will focus solely on acquaintance rape. Research indicates that 68% of rape victims knew their assailant (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997). Furthermore, acquaintance rape appears to be the most common form of sexual assault among females, ages 16 to 24 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997). According to the FBI Uniform Crime Report (1996), sexual assault is the most commonly committed and least reported crime in America.Recognizing Sexual AssaultVictims of sexual assault are highly unlikely to report an incident, especially if the perpetrator is an acquaintance (Mills & Granoff, 1992). This unwilling to report sexual assault by an acquaintance may be related to feelings of embarrassment, shame, and the victim's fear that she will not be believed, and/or even the failure on the part of the victim to label the attack as sexual assault. In comparison to victims of stranger rape, victims of acquaintance rape are less likely to perceive their experiences as rape (Koss, Dinero, Seibel, & Cox, 1988). Previous research suggests that individuals may not view acquaintance rape as seriously as stranger rape; some may not perceive acquaintance rape as a "true" instance of rape at all (Quackenbush, 1989; Tetreault & Barnett, 1987). Warshaw (1988) found that 73% of their sample of 3,187 college women studied (M age = 21.0 years) failed to label their experience as (acquaintance) rape, when in fact their encounters met the legal criteria for rape. Thus, despite the fact that the experiences of many women meet the legal definition of rape or sexual assault, significant numbers of these women are unable to perceive or label them as such.General Perceptions & SocializationPeople may have difficulties labeling an encounter as a rape because of their ideas about what constitutes rape. Individuals hold a wide variety of beliefs about rape and these perceptions are structured by what individuals learn from their cultures and society (Proite, Dannells, & Benton, 1993; Willis, 1992). For example, individuals who hold the traditional view that women should not initiate sexual play are highly unlikely to perceive a situation in which a woman goes to a man's home on a first date as rape. That is, in the minds of these conservative individuals, the woman's willingness to engage in sexual intercourse is implied in her behavior.Gender role socialization plays a significant part in one's perceptions of rape and one's ability to label an experience as rape. Individuals may be classified as more traditional or egalitarian in their views of gender roles. Bem (1981) views traditional individuals as those who are "motivated to keep her or his behavior consistent with an idealized image of femininity or masculinity accomplished both by selecting behaviors and attributes that enhance the image and by avoiding behaviors and attributes that violate the image" (p.4). "Nontraditional individuals may be characterized as those individuals who represent an "integration of femininity and masculinity" (Bem, 1981, p. 4). Specifically, individuals who hold traditional gender role attitudes tend to rely more on stereotypic notions of rape and rape myths to shape their perceptions of rape in comparison to nontraditional individuals (Burt, 1980; Shotland & Goldstein, 1983; Willis, 1992). When compared to egalitarian individuals, traditional individuals also perceive victims to be more responsible and perpetrators less responsible in situations of acquaintance rape and are more hesitant to identify an assaultive incident as rape (Shotland & Goldstein, 1983; Szymanski, Devlin, Chrisler, & Vyse, 1993). Furthermore, people with traditional attitudes are more tolerant of the act of date rape than people with egalitarian viewpoints (Muehlenhard, 1988). It appears that individuals with traditional gender role attitudes may be more likely than egalitarian individuals, to hold misconceptions about rape due to their reliance on rape myths, such as women can resist rape and women who dress provocatively are responsible for rape, and stereotypes, such as African-American rape victims are more blameworthy for rape than Caucasian rape victims (Burt, 1980; Hymes, Leinhart, Rowe, &Rogers, 1993; Willis, 1992).Another consistent research finding is the differential effect of gender on perceptions of rape victims and perpetrators. That is, reliance on rape stereotypes and myths seems to differ for males and females. In comparison to women, men tend to hold more negative attitudes towards women, hold stronger beliefs in rape myths, and hold more pro-rape attitudes (Holcomb, Holcomb, Sondag, &Williams, 1991; Jenkins & Dambrot, 1987; Szymanski et al., 1993). Conversely, when compared to men, women tend to view victims more favorably and to emphasize with the victims (Deitz, Blackwell, Daley, & Bertley, 1986). In addition, traditional males tend to perceive rape as more justifiable when compared to their egalitarian male counterparts (Muelhlenhard, Friedman, & Thomas, 1985).Cultural stereotypes may lead to particularly biased perceptions of acquaintance rape. One's ideas and attitudes about rape may be especially influenced by stereotypical views about the length of the victim-perpetrator relationship (Bridges, 1991; Gerdes et al., 1988; Kanekar & Seksaria, 1993). Studies of victim-perpetrator relationship in acquaintance rape situations reveal that both male and female observers attribute greater blame to victims and less blame to perpetrators than in instances of stranger rape. Evidently, individuals who rely on stereotypes that characterize rape as occurring only between strangers tend to negate all other rape situations in which participants may be acquainted. The idea that rape can occur between people who know one another runs counter to the stereotypical notions of rape being an assault that occurs between strangers. Further, male and female perceptions of rape depend largely upon characteristics attributed to the rape victim. These include ambiguity for consent to sexual intercourse (Johnson & Jackson, Jr., 1988); perpetrator and victim race (Hymes, Leinart, Rowe, & Rogers, 1993; Willis, 1992); victim resistance, specifically, degree of verbal and/or physical protest (Kanekar & Seksaria, 1993; Ryckman, Kaczor, & Thornton, 1992; Spencer, 1987; Willis, 1992); and victim sexual experience (number of prior sexual relations) and provocativeness (attire: baggy jeans vs. tight dress) (Kanekar & Seksaria, 1993). Findings indicate that male and female observers viewed rape victims less favorably when the victims were provocatively dressed and sexually experienced (Kanekar & Seksaria, 1993); engaged in sexual activity prior to the rape (Johnson & Jackson, Jr., 1988); displayed a low degree of resistance prior to and/or during the rape (Kanekar & Seksaria, 1993; Ryckman et al., 1992; Spencer, 1987; Willis, 1992); and were African-American, rather than Caucasian (Giacopassi & Dull, 1986; Hymes et al., 1993; Willis, 1992). Again, it appears that the common stereotypes and myths associated with rape (women can resist rape; women who dress provocatively are responsible for rape) may influence one's perceptions of rape and of rape victims (Burt, 1980).Jury Perceptions and Judgments Given the current societal perceptions toward rape, it would be only right to consider such perceptions from a jury standpoint. To understand jury outcomes and decisions regarding rape, it is critical to look. In an attempt to understand jury verdicts in rape trials, research has looked at the effects of demographic variables (e.g., juror gender) with findings indicating that females tend to vote more toward guilty verdicts than males in simulated acquaintance rape trials (Fischer, 1991; Fischer, 1997; Tetreault & Barnett, 1987). The effects of trial variables (e.g., offender and victim characteristics) have also been researched. Findings indicate that juror perception and interpretation of trial testimony are influenced by defendant race (Pfeifer & Ogloff, 1991), typically, with jurors more likely to convict and recommend longer sentences for black than white defendants (Klein, Petersilia, & Turner, 1990). The race of the victim has been considered as well, with jurors rendering more guilty verdicts when the victim was white than when the victim was black (Hans & Vidmar, 1986). Furthermore, jurors are more likely to vote guilty when the race of defendant and victim differed (i.e., interracial), than when the race of defendant and victim were the same (i.e., intraracial) (Hans & Vidmar, 1991; Ugwuebu, 1979). In addition, jurors are more likely to render guilty verdicts in an acquaintance rape trial when the victim's race differed from their own (Hymes et al., 1993). Other trial variables considered are victim attractiveness and resistance, with jurors more likely to find the defendant guilty if the victim were attractive or displayed a reasonable amount of resistance during the attack; however, jurors were less sure of the offenders guilt if the victim was unattractive despite resistance (Deitz, Littman, & Bentley, 1984). Other studies looked at the effects of attitudinal variables (e.g., juror empathy with victim) on jury verdicts. These studies found that jurors, generally more females than males, who emphasized more with the victim of an acquaintance rape, tended to render more guilty verdicts than those reporting low empathy (Weir & Wrightsman, 1990). In addition, those who blamed the victim were more inclined to render guilty verdicts than those who blamed the offender (Fischer, 1991). There has been an abundance of research conducted in the area of jury decision making. However, there is still a need for further research in this area, especially in how it relates to crimes such as rape. This would enable members of the justice system to better depict those aspects of court proceedings, which jurors consider most salient and responsible for jury decisions. Furthermore, the majority of these studies were conducted within the context of criminal court proceedings, as opposed to civil proceedings. With the increase of sexual assaults, there have been programs established to compensate victims for medical and other expenses that were the result of an assault. In addition to these programs, victims can also sue an assailant for personal injury in civil court under the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (West's California Civil Codes, 1998). Therefore, the present study will focus solely on jury decision making in civil court proceedings.Present StudyGiven the abundance of research on various effects on jury decision making in acquaintance rape criminal trials, the present study will focus solely on the effects of victim and defendant characteristics on jury decision making in acquaintance rape civil proceedings. In addition, juror perceptions and attitudes toward rape will be examined as well. It is hypothesized that:1. Subjects (jurors) will more likely find in favor of the plaintiff (i.e., victim) and assign a greater amount of monetary compensation to victims involved in an interracial (i.e., White/Hispanic or Hispanic/White) acquaintance rape context than in an intraracial (i.e., White/White or Hispanic/Hispanic) acquaintance rape context.2. In comparison to Caucasians, Hispanics will hold more negative attitudes toward rape victims (ARVS) and more traditional attitudes toward women (TESR), will exhibit stronger beliefs in rape myths, and be more likely to mislabel the acquaintance rape transcript and more accepting of rape myths (RMAS),MethodSubjectsParticipants will be 200 undergraduate students attending California Sate University, Fullerton. Students will receive course...
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