Rape and Victim Blaming 1

The Importance of Feminist Education about Rape for Decreased Victim Blaming

Sara Conrad and Kirsten Kyle

Concordia University College of Alberta

 Rape and Victim Blaming 2

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if education about rape decreases the amount of

blame placed upon victims. 62 university students participated in our experiment. Of the 28

participants in the Human Sexuality class that listened to our presentation about rape, 2 identified

themselves as male, 1 identified their self as intersexed, and 23 identified themselves as female.

The uneducated group consisted of 34 students in the introductory religion class. Twenty-three

identified themselves as female, and 11 identified themselves as male; age ranged from 18-26 for

a mean age of 18.94; they identified themselves as Caucasian, Canadian, East Indian, Aboriginal,

Hispanic, Iranian, or did not specify their ethnicity. There were no significant difference in

victim blame in the stranger rape situation between the group that was educated about rape (M

= .36, SD = 1.311) and the control group (M = .88, SD = 4.347). There was a significant

difference in victim blame in the party situation with the educated group blaming victims less (M

= 3.75, SD = 17.65) than the control group (M = 17.65, SD = 22.096). There was a significance

difference in victim blame in the short skirt scenario with the educated group blaming victims

less (M = 5.00, SD = 18.24) than the control group (M = 18.24, SD = 25.253). There was no

significant difference in victim blame for the date rape situation where the rapist and victim split

the cost of the date between the educated group (M = 1.79, SD = 7.724), and the control group

(M = 6.62, SD = 20.103). There was no significant difference in victim blame in the situation

where the rapist pays for the entire date in the educated group (M = 5.00, SD = 13.194) and the

control group (M = 5.44, SD = 14.162). Education about rape is important for decreasing victim

blaming and rape proclivity in society overall. Education about feminism and feminist rape

theory are especially important because they remove blame from the individual and place it on

society as a whole. Individuals in high school and Introductory Psychology should undergo
 Rape and Victim Blaming 3

education about rape and feminist rape theory, and parents should be encouraged to socialize

sons to be unaggressive and not entitled. Decreased victim blaming will make it somewhat easier

for a victim to recover from secondary trauma associated with the rape from the negative

reactions of others, as well as decreased guilt and self-blame. Education about feminist rape

theory will also make rape less acceptable in society.

 Rape and Victim Blaming 4

The Importance of Feminist Education about Rape for Decreased Victim Blaming

Rape is a disgustingly common problem in Canada and the United States. Rozee & Koss,

(2001) estimated that 21-27% of college students experienced rape or attempted rape (as cited in

Yamawaki, Darby, & Quieroz, 2007). Fisher et al. (2000) estimated that 20-25% of college

women experienced a completed or attempted rape (as cited in Crooks & Barr, 2011). Many

individuals that are raped do not report it, and rape is the most under reported crime in the United

States (Crooks & Barr, 2011). Victims do not report rape because they blame themselves for

what happened, fear being held responsible for the rape by other people, out of concern for the

rapist, fear of revenge from the rapist or the rapists’ friends and family, and to attempt to block

out their horrible memories surrounding the rape, mistrust of the police force or legal system,

and do not wish to endure unwanted attention surrounding the incident (Crooks & Barr, 2011).

Acceptance of sexual aggression in Canadian society contributes to victim blaming overall,

making rape even more traumatic for the rape victim.

Rape myth acceptance is positively correlated with acceptance and expectation of rape

(Morry & Winkler, 2001). Rape myths include beliefs like “women can’t be raped if they don’t

really want to be”, “women say no when they mean yes”, ‘many women “cry rape”’, “all women
 Rape and Victim Blaming 5

want to be raped”, “all rapists are obviously mentally ill”, and “the male sex drive is so high that

men cannot control their sexual urges” (Crooks & Barr, 2011). High amounts of rape myth

acceptance are more likely to indicate that sexual assault is accepted and expected (Morry &

Winkler, 2001). People who believe that coercive behaviour is never acceptable indicate that

coercive behaviour is sometimes expected in certain situations (Morry & Winkler, 2001).

Because people often expect rape to occur under certain circumstances, many individuals can

blame the victim for being in the situation where they are raped (Morry & Winkler, 2001).

Anti-feminist attitudes are associated with acceptance of rape and victim blaming.

According to the feminist perspective of rape, social acceptance of male dominance, socialisation

of girls and women to become passive and compliant, traditional gender roles, and male

entitlement all work together to make sexual aggression acceptable in our culture (Morry &

Winkler, 2001). Stereotypical gender roles are somewhat responsible for rape and sexual assault,

as men are socialized to be aggressive and take what they want in life (Crooks & Barr, 2011).

People with traditional gender role beliefs also tend to blame the victim for the rape (Morry &

Winkler, 2001). If a rape victim violated any conservative social norms, did not fight back hard

enough, is considered physically attractive, or is considered sexually provocative, she or he will

be blamed more for rape (Renner, Wackett, & Ganderton, 1988). The presence of alcohol or

drugs and the existence of a prior relationship between the rapist and victim are also associated

with high amounts of blame placed on the victim (Yamawaki, Darby, & Quieroz, 2007). The

victim is blamed more in acquaintance rape scenarios than in stranger rape scenarios (Grubb &

Harrower, 2009). Sadly, because of these various cultural factors that make victim blaming

acceptable and rape permissible, the victims themselves often feel guilty and blame themselves

for the rape (Renner, Wackett, & Ganderton, 1988). Victims also experience post-rape trauma
 Rape and Victim Blaming 6

that is caused by the negative reactions of the people around them in addition to the trauma

associated with the assault itself (Yamawaki, Darby, & Quieroz, 2007). Education about rape

could save victims a lot of anguish in terms of guilt and self blame by teaching people in the first

place that rape is never acceptable, and the victim should never be blamed under any

circumstances.

Osland et al. (1996) assessed rape and sexual force proclivities among 159 men at a small

Protestant church-affiliated liberal arts college. Participants completed 8 questionnaires: Burt’s

(1983) 3 violence scenarios, in which a man used increasing levels of violence towards a woman,

were used to assess the participants’ perceptions on the level of violence and their justifications

for the violence; Burt’s (1980) Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence Scale; Spence et al.’s

(1975) Short Form of the Attitudes Towards Women Scale; Burt’s (1985) Rape Myth

Acceptance Scale; Deitz’s (1982) Rape Empathy Scale; Malamuth et al.’s (1980) Likelihood to

Rape Scale; Stille et al.’s (1987) Likelihood to Force Sex Scale; and Mehrabian and Epstein’s

(1972) Rape Empathy Scale (Osland et al., 1996). Osland et al. (1996) found that 34% of

participants reported some likelihood to rape or force sex. Participants who reported likelihood to

engage in both rape and force sex indicated greater acceptance of rape myths, gave more

justifications for increasing amounts of violence against women, had lower amounts of empathy

for rape victims, had more stereotypical attitudes about women, and were more accepting of

interpersonal violence than those who reported no proclivity to engage in rape or force sex

(Osland et al. 1996). Strangely, there was no significant differences in general emotional

empathy among groups (Osland et al. 1996). The results of this study are extremely disturbing.

Since Concordia University College of Alberta is a liberal arts institution affiliated with a

protestant denomination like the one in Osland’s 1996 study, our results should be similar. Based
 Rape and Victim Blaming 7

on this information, perhaps one-third of men attending Concordia would show likelihood to

engage in rape or forced sex. If the students at Concordia are indeed similar to the participants in

Osland’s 1996 study, at least one-third of the students at Concordia should hold the victim

responsible for the rape.

Bell, Kuriloff, and Lottes (1994) divided 333 university students into four groups, where

the participants in each group read one of 4 scenarios describing a heterosexual rape with a

female victim. Two of the scenarios described a stranger rape situation, one of the scenarios was

a date rape situation that mentioned the man was a student, and one of the scenarios did not

specify the occupational status of the perpetrator (Bell, Kuriloff, & Lottes, 1994). On a 5-point

Likert scale, participants rate how similar they felt to the man and woman, how responsible the

victim was for being in the situation, the degree to which the rape victim was careless and

seductive, how much the woman’s character and behaviour was to be blamed for the rape, how

responsible the woman was overall for the rape, and how responsible the man was for the rape

overall (Bell, Kuriloff, & Lottes, 1994). Participants then completed Davis’ (1980) Interpersonal

Reactivity Index to measure empathy (Bell, Kurliloff, & Lottes, 1994). Bell, Kurliloff, and

Lottes (1994) found that women felt more similar to the rape victim but men felt more similar to

the rapist, and participants felt more similar to the victims in the stranger rape scenarios than

they did to the victims in the date rape scenarios. Bell, Kuriloff, and Lottes (1994) also found

that racial identity of participants had no effect on perceived similarity to either the rapist or

victim regardless of their ethnicities. Bell, Kuriloff, and Lottes (1994) also found that men

blamed to victim to a greater extent than women, and participants of both sexes attributed more

blame to the victim in date rape situations than stranger rape situations. Based on this

knowledge, students participating in our experiment will blame the victim for the rape more in
 Rape and Victim Blaming 8

the date rape scenarios than they will in a stranger rape scenario.

Sexual assault education can reduce rape myth beliefs (Morry & Winkler, 2001). It is

possible that lack of gender differences in victim blaming sometimes found in studies (Morry &

Winkler, 2001) are due to increased education about rape. Education about sexual assault may

make individuals more aware of when rape may occur, but at the same time teach that the

behaviour is unacceptable in all circumstances (Morry & Winkler, 2001). Education about

feminist theories pertaining to rape is particularly important, as they consider the cultural context

and society’s ideologies that make sexual aggression and victim blaming acceptable.

Based on the literature available, we predict that individuals who are educated about rape

(including facts, psychosocial theories, feminist perspectives, and rape myths) will hold victims

less responsible for the rape than individuals who do not receive education about rape in all

situations. We also predict that students will hold victims more accountable for the rape in the

acquaintance rape scenarios than in the stranger rape scenario. We predict that the short skirt

scenario will differ significantly in amount of blame placed on the victim between the two

groups based on the literature than the victim will be condemned for acting seductively by

dressing provocatively. Due to entitlement of men in Canadian society, we predict that the

students will hold the victim more accountable for the rape in the date rape situation where the

rapist pays for everything than they will in the date rape situation where the rapist and victim

split the cost of the date equally.

Method

Participants

Sixty two Concordia students participated in this study. The sample was a convenience
 Rape and Victim Blaming 9

sample: students in a Human Sexuality class and students in an introductory Religion class were

asked to complete the survey. The survey was completely voluntary, anonymous, and no external

incentives were provided. Major demographic information were not collected for the Human

Sexuality class to ensure anonymity of our classmates. However, 28 students completed the

survey in the Human Sexuality class: 2 students identified themselves as male, 1 student

identified themselves as intersexed, and 25 students identified themselves as female. Thirty four

students completed the survey in the introductory Religion class: 11 identified themselves as

male, and 23 identified themselves as female. The ages of the participants in the introductory

Religion class ranged from 18 to 26, with a mean age of 18.94. Twenty one of the participants in

the introductory Religion class identified themselves as Caucasian, 5 did not specify ethnicity, 3

identified themselves as Canadian, 2 were east Indian, 1 was Aboriginal, 1 was Hispanic, and 1

was Iranian.

Materials

A poster was presented to the Human Sexuality class that included facts about rape, types

of rape, and rape myths. The text that appeared on the poster is included in Appendix 1.

The scenarios used to assess victim blaming were Matlin’s (2008) five scenarios in her

Assigning Responsibility for Rape survey. All scenarios were in a heterosexual context, with the

woman as the victim. Scenario 1 described a stranger rape situation; Scenario 2 described an

acquaintance rape situation at a party; Scenario 3 described an acquaintance rape situation where

the victim was wearing a very short skirt; Scenario 4 described a date rape situation where both

the victim and rapist paid for the date; and Scenario 5 described a date rape situation where the

rapist paid for everything. Participants were instructed to assign a percentage (between 0 and

100) to state how much they believed the victim responsible for the rape. The survey was printed
 Rape and Victim Blaming 10

out on paper and distributed by hand. Matlin’s (2008) Assigning Responsibility for Rape survey

is included in Appendix 2.

Procedure

Students in the Human Sexuality class formed our experimental group. During a 50

minute class, students walked around the room and leisurely examined the information on our

poster and asked questions. We spent the final 10 minutes of class presenting the information to

our Human Sexuality class formally. Immediately after we finished presenting our information,

the survey was distributed.

Students in the introductory Religion class formed our control group. We distributed the

survey without providing any information about rape.

Neither group was told what we were measuring.

Five t tests were conducted to test for statistical significance in difference between mean

blame among both groups in all of the five rape scenarios.

Results

For the stranger rape scenario, there was no significant difference between means for the

group that was educated about rape (M = .36, SD = 1.311), and the group that received no

education about rape (M = .88, SD = 4.347), t (60) = .616, p = .540.

There was a significant difference between means in blame assigned to the victim in the

party scenario. The group that was educated about rape (M = 3.75, SD = 11.273), assigned less

blame to the victim than the uneducated group (M = 17.65, SD = 22.096), t (50.938) = 3.197, p

= .002.

There was a significant difference between means in the party scenario where the victim

was wearing a very short skirt. The group that was educated about rape (M = 5.00, SD =12.147),
 Rape and Victim Blaming 11

held the victim less responsible for the rape than the uneducated group (M =18.24, SD =25.253),

t (49.598) = 2.695, p = .010.

For the date rape scenario where both rapist and victim pay for the date, there was no

significant difference between the means of the group that was educated about rape (M = 1.79,

SD =7.24) and the uneducated group (M = 6.62, SD =20.103), t (44.157) = 1.291, p = .204 in

amount of blame placed on the victim.

For the date rape scenario where the rapist pays for everything, there was no significant

difference in the amount of blame placed on the victim in the educated group (M = 5.00, SD

=13.194), and the uneducated group (M = 5.44, SD = 14.162), t (60) = .126, p = .900.

Discussion

We originally predicted that there would be a significant difference between mean

amounts of blame assigned to the victim in all rape scenarios. However, this was not the case. In

the stranger rape situation, the control group held the female victim responsible for less than 1%

of the rape on average, and the educated group held the victim responsible for less than .5% of

the rape. Though these results are contrary to our original hypothesis, they are in accord with

previous findings. People tend to blame the victim less in a stranger rape scenario than they

would an acquaintance rape scenario (Crooks & Barr, 2011; Bell, Kurliloff, & Lottes, 1994;

Yamawaki, Darby, & Quieroz, 2007; Grubb & Harrower, 2009).

We also predicted that there would be a significant difference between mean amounts of

blame assigned to the victim in acquaintance rape scenarios. In the party scenario, the educated

group blamed the victim significantly less, holding the victim responsible for approximately 4%

of the rape overall, whereas the control group held the victim responsible for 18% of the rape on

average. Our hypothesis is supported, and confirms previous relevant research. Participants in
 Rape and Victim Blaming 12

the control group may have thought that the victim was behaving provocatively or seductively by

dancing with a man at a party. Perhaps participants in the control group thought the man had

achieved status of an acquaintance, and therefore held the victim more responsible for the rape

than in the stranger rape scenario.

For the very short skirt scenario, we predicted that there would be a significant different

between means in victim blame. Our results confirm our hypothesis. The educated group held the

victim responsible for 5% of the rape on average, whereas the control group held the victim

responsible for approximately 18% of the rape overall. However, the experimental group

attributed just as much victim blame on average as they did for the date rape scenario where the

man pays for everything, with an average of 5%; these averages of blame were also the highest

of all the scenarios. The standard deviation of the control group (25.253) was huge for this

scenario, suggesting that this was a controversial scenario that brought about great individual

variability. However, our results are consistent with previous literature, as women who behave

seductively and provocatively, perhaps dressing scandalously, are often blamed for the rape

(Crooks & Barr, 2011; Renner, Wackett, & Ganderton, 1988).

Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no significant difference among means for the

educated and uneducated groups in the acquaintance rape scenario where both the rapist and

victim pay for the date. This does not confirm previous findings, as education should make a

difference on amount of blame placed on the victim (Morry & Winkler, 2001), and blame should

be high in an acquaintance rape scenario (Crooks & Barr, 2011; Bell, Kurliloff, & Lottes, 1994;

Yamawaki, Darby, & Quieroz, 2007; Grubb & Harrower, 2009).

For the acquaintance rape scenario where the man pays for everything, it was

hypothesized that there would be a significant difference among means between the educated
 Rape and Victim Blaming 13

group and control group. It was also predicted that the victim would be blamed more in this

situation than in the situation where both man and woman pay for the date, due to feelings of

entitlement many men have as a result of gender socialization. Both predictions were not

supported by the results of the study. There was no significant difference between the mean

amounts of blame for the educated and control groups. The educated group held the victim 5%

responsible for the rape on average, as opposed to 2% in the scenario where the cost of the date

is split between the man and the woman. The control group held the victim responsible for 7% of

the rape in the situation where both man and woman pay for the date, and accountable for 6% of

the rape when the man paid for everything. These results suggest that people see men as less

entitled to sex just because they give something to the woman; perhaps sex is not seen as

something that woman should exchange for money or food among university students.

According to our results, education about rape decreases victim blaming significantly in a

party situation and in a situation where the victim is provocatively dress. This is excellent news,

as people tend to blame the victim in acquaintance rape situations and in situations where the

victim is deemed provocative and seductive more than in other situations (Crooks & Barr, 2011;

Yamawaki, Darby, & Quieroz, 2007; Bell, Kuriloff, & Lottes, 1994). However, education about

rape in all situations would still benefit society by decreasing individual variability in the form of

extreme opinions, reducing the large individual variation as displayed in the huge standard

deviations in our sample. The language in all scenarios was very blatant; in all the scenarios the

rapist “knocks her down/pins her down and rapes her”. The fact that victim blame is significant

in situations where language is this blatant is appalling. Perhaps future rape should be conducted

on “ambiguous” situations, such as where the rapist and victim are married, or where the rapist

and victim are in bed together fooling around already. In “ambiguous” situations, victim blame
 Rape and Victim Blaming 14

would probably be much higher.

Conclusion

Education about rape is important for decreasing victim blaming in society overall. By

holding rape victims less responsible for the rape, rape victims will experience far less secondary

trauma in the form of negative reactions from others. If there are less negative reactions from

others, the victim will “heal” from the trauma associated with the rape much sooner than she or

he would otherwise. Education about feminist rape theory is particularly important, because

feminist rape theory takes cultural factors into consideration, and criticizes the socialization of

men to be made aggressive. This takes the blame off of the victim and places it on the society in

its entirety. Therefore, feminist rape theory also makes rape unacceptable for all society.

To decrease victim blaming and incidence of rape in Canadian society, all people should

undergo education about rape including feminist rape theory, preferably as part of the high

school curriculum and again in University in Introductory Psychology. Immigrants also should

be educated about rape regardless of whether they are men or women. Because feminist beliefs

are associated with decreased victim blaming and rape proclivity, education about feminism in

general as part of the high school curriculum would strongly benefit society by decreasing rape

and victim blaming overall. In addition, parents should be encouraged to socialize their sons not

to be aggressive and feel entitled, and to socialize their daughters to be assertive.

 Rape and Victim Blaming 15

References

Bell, S.T., Kuriloff, P.J., & Lottes, I. (1994). Understanding attributions of blame in stranger and

date rape situations: An examination of gender, race, identification, and students social

perceptions of rape victims. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 24(19), 1719-1734.

Chapleau, K.M & Oswald, D.L. (2010). Power, sex, and rape myth acceptance: Testing two

models of rape proclivity. Journal of Sex Research, 47 (1), 66-78.

Crooks, R. & Bauer, K. (2011). Our Sexuality. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.

Grubb, A. R. & Harrower, J. (2009)Understanding attribution of blame in cases of rape: An

analysis of participant gender, type of rape, and perceived similarity to the victim.

Journal of Sexual Aggression, 15 (1), 63-81.

Matlin, M. (2008). The Psychology of Women. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, Inc.

Osland, J.A., Fitch, M., & Ellis, E. E. (1996). Likelihood to rape in college males. Sex Roles, 35,

171-184.

Morry, M.M., & Winklery, E. (2001). Student acceptance and expectation of sexual assault.

Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science 33(3), 188-192.

Renner, K. E., Wackett, C., & Ganderton, S. (1988). The “social” nature of sexual assault.

Canadian Psychology 29(2), 163-173.

Yamawaki, N., Darby, R., & Quieroz, A. (2007). The moderating role of ambivalent sexism:
 Rape and Victim Blaming 16

The influence of power stats on perception of rape victim and rapist. The Journal of

Social Psychology, 147(1), 41-56.

APPENDIX 1.

Types of Rape

• Rape is defined as sexual intercourse occurring under actual or threatened forcible

compulsion that overcomes the earnest resistance of the victim (in most American states)

• The word “rape” is not used in the Canadian criminal code; the law makes “sexual
assault” a criminal offence

• In Canada, sexual assault is defined as sexual contact that occurs without a person’s
consent (the voluntary agreement of the person to engage in the sexual activity in
question)

• Stranger rape is rape of a person by an attacker who is unknown to them

• Acquaintance rape is sexual assault by someone who is known to the victim

• Statutory rape is intercourse with a person who is under the age of consent (16 in
Canada, but varies from 14 to 18 in the states)

Prevalence of Rape

• Many individuals who are raped do not report it

• Rape is the most under-reported crime in America

• 1 out of 6 women indicated that they had been raped; 3 % of men said they had been
raped (Tjaden &Thonnes, 1998)

• 20-25% of college women experienced a completed or attempted rape (Fisher et al.,

 Rape and Victim Blaming 17

2000)

• Victims do not report rape because they blame themselves for what happened, fear being
held responsible for the rape by other people, out of concern for the rapist, fear of
revenge from the rapist or the rapists’ friends and family, and to attempt to block out their
horrible memories surrounding the rape, mistrust of the police force or legal system, and
do not wish to endure unwanted attention surrounding the incident

• A woman may believe that rape is violent and is done by a stranger, not an acquaintance,
and may not to believe the rape reportable criminal behaviour

False Beliefs About Rape

• False Belief: “Women can’t be raped if they really don’t want to be.”

Truth: Men are usually physically larger and stronger than women, female-gender role
conditioning trains women to be compliant and submissive, the rapist chooses the time
and place, and sometimes weapons or threats or physical force can be used, so women
can in fact be raped even if they don’t want to be

APPENDIX 1 CONTINUED

• False Belief: “Women say no when they mean yes.”

Truth: Women don’t actually say no when they mean yes; sometimes men believe that
women want to be coerced into sexual activity, or resisting is normal sex play; poor
sexual communication in general may lead men to believe that women must appear to
resist so they don’t appear promiscuous

• False Belief: “Many women ‘cry rape’.”

Truth: The FBI estimates that fewer than 1 in 10 rape accusations are shown to be false;
also, because it is so difficult to report and prosecute a rape, few women could proceed
with an unfounded rape case

• False Belief: “All women want to be raped.”

Truth: Erotic fantasy and conscious desire to be harmed are not the same thing!

False Belief: “Rapists are ‘obviously’ mentally ill”.

Truth: Most rapes are not committed by someone who is mentally ill, but by someone
who is known to the victim. Convicted rapists, who are more inclined to antisocial
 Rape and Victim Blaming 18

behaviours, represent less than 1% of actual rapists.

• False Belief: “The male sex drive is so high that men cannot control their own sexual
urges.”
Truth: Society perpetrates the belief that women are in control of their own sexuality,
and are responsible for turning men down; therefore, when a woman is raped, society
again shifts the blame onto the woman. This belief is nothing but a sorry excuse.

Psychosocial Basis of Rape and the Media

• Researcher Peggy Reeves Sunday compared rape incidence in 95 societies.

• She found that “rape-prone” societies tolerate and glorify masculine violence,
encouraging boys to be competitive and aggressive both physically and socially
• In rape-prone societies men have greater economic and political power than women, and
do not do woman’s work like child rearing and household duties
• In rape-free societies, share power and authority equally and are involved of the
wellbeing of the community together. Also, children of both sexes in these societies are
socialized to value nurturing behaviours and avoid violence.
• The US has the highest incidence of rape in all western nations
• Stereotypical gender roles are somewhat responsible for rape and sexual assault, as men
are socialized to be aggressive and take what they want in life
• Pornographic material perpetuates the notion that women want to be raped
• Pornography sometimes takes violence against women and sexualizes it
• Sexually violent video games, films, magazines, etc. contribute to some rapists assaultive
behaviours

APPENDIX 1 CONTINUED

• Exposure to degrading but nonviolent pornography also increase certain men to engage in
coercive sex

Characteristics of Rapists
• Although power and domination are often involved in sexual assault, usually in stranger
rape, acquaintance rape is also frequently motivated by a desire for sexual gratification
• Men who embrace traditional gender roles, particularly that of male dominance, are more
likely to commit rape than feminist men
• May have anger towards women
• Alcohol contributes to rapist behaviour
• May have a narcissistic trait or Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Characteristics of Female Rape Victims

• Women ages 16-24 make up the bulk of rape victims in the US
• Being raped before the age of 18 greatly increases the chances for future rape
• The younger the victim, the more likely the rape was committed by a relative or
acquaintance
 Rape and Victim Blaming 19

• Women who were victims of sexual abuse in childhood are more likely to be raped as
adults
• Battered women may be raped by their partner as often as several times a month
• The lower the woman’s SES, the more often the women were victims of sexual assault

Date Rape Drugs

• Rohypnol (“roofies”) is a powerful tranquilizer that produces a sedative effect 20 to 30

minutes after ingestion that lasts for several hours, is odourless, and induces muscle
relaxation and mild amnesia
• Gamma hydroxybutrate (GHB) was initially used as an anaesthetic but was instantly
noticed for its mind altering effects; it is a central nervous system depressant that can be
lethal when combined with alcohol
• Ketamine hydrochloride produces hallucinogenic effects for up to 2 hours when ingested,
as well as a dissociative state that may last longer

The Aftermath of Rape

• The victim may feel powerless, angry, fearful, guilty, depressed, and ashamed
• May use substances to desensitize themselves from the traumatic feelings
• Physical symptoms such as nausea, genital injuries, sleep disorders, headaches, and
gastrointestinal issues often occur
• Sexual activity after the rape may induce anxiety rather than arousal
• Posttramatic Stress Disorder may develop
• Disturbing dreams, nightmares, depression, anxiety, and feelings of extreme vulnerability
may occur
APPENDIX 1 CONTINUED

• Supportive counselling received as soon as possible after the assault is associated with
less severe emotional repercussions than women who’s treatment is delayed or than
women who receive no treatment

Rape and Sexual Assault of Males

• Men are even less likely than women to have report being raped
• Heterosexual men may rape other men, sometimes with one or more cohorts
• Men who do the raping frequently identify themselves as heterosexual
• Violence and power are more associated with male rape then it is female rape
• Homosexual men are frequently raped by heterosexual men
• Homosexual men are also often raped by another homosexual man who is a current or
former sex partner
• Rape of inmates in prison is prevalent
• It is also considered rape if a man is forced to penetrate someone’s anus, mouth, or
vagina with his penis as well as being penetrated against his will
• Some men have been coerced by women who threaten physical harm
• Both sexes can function in a variety of severe emotional states.
 Rape and Victim Blaming 20

• Society tends to blame the victim for the rape, which perpetrates several rape myths;
however, acceptance and endorsement of rape myths make men more likely to
commit rape

Grubb, A. R. & Harrower, J. (2009). Understanding attribution of blame in cases of rape: An

analysis of participant gender, type of rape, and perceived similarity to the victim.

Journal of Sexual Aggression, 15 (1), 63-81.

• 156 participants completed a questionnaire, which included a measure of attitudes

towards the scenarios stranger rape, acquaintance rape, and seduction rape. Participants
rated the extent to how much the victim and rapist were to be blamed for the situation.

• Male participants blamed the victim more than the female participants did.

• Both participants blamed the victim least for the stranger rape scenario, followed by the
date rape scenario, and most for the seduction rape scenario

• Seduction rape: one person, typically a man, believes that all he did was seduce a person,
not rape them

Chapleau, K.M & Oswald, D.L. (2010). Power, sex, and rape myth acceptance: Testing two

models of rape proclivity. Journal of Sex Research, 47 (1), 66-78.

APPENDIX 1 CONTINUED

• Assessed power-sex believes in 102 male college students, rape myth acceptance, and
predisposition to rape

• Rape myth acceptance was associated with rape proclivity and implicit power-sex
association and power-sex beliefs

Osland, J.A., Fitch, M., & Ellis, E. E. (1996). Likelihood to rape in college males. Sex Roles, 35,

171-184.

• Gave a questionnaire rape to 158 undergraduate males at a small liberal arts

university affiliated with a protestant church.
 Rape and Victim Blaming 21

• 34% of participants reported some likelihood to engage in rape or forced sex.

APPENDIX 2

Read the first scenario in this demonstration. Then decide who is responsible for the occurrence
of the rape; John or Jane. If you believe that John is entirely responsible, assign a value of 100%
to the John column and 0% to the Jane column. If they are both equally responsible, assign a
value of 50% to each one. If Jane is entirely responsible, assign a value 0% to the John column
and 100% to the Jane column. Use any values between 0% and 100%, as long as the two values
sum to 100. To make the situations comparable, assume that both John and Jane are college
student in all five scenarios. After completing the first scenario, read and evaluate each
subsequent one.

1. Jane is walking back to her dorm from the library at 9:00 p.m, taking a route that
everyone considers safe. As she passes the science building, John leaps out, knocks her
down, drags her to an unlit area, and rapes her.
 Rape and Victim Blaming 22

_________ John _________ Jane

2. Jane is at a party, where she meets a pleasant-looking student named John. After dancing
for a while, he suggests they go outside to cool off. No one else is outside. John knocks
her down, drags her to an unlit area, and rapes her.

_________ John __________ Jane

3. Jane is at a party, and she is wearing a very short skirt. She meets a pleasant looking
student named John. After dancing for a while, he suggests they go outside to cool off.
No one else is outside. John knocks her down, drags her to an unlit area, and rapes her.

__________ John __________ Jane

4. Jane is on a first date with John, whom she knows slightly from her history class. After a
movie, they go out for an elegant late-night meal. They decide to split the cost of both the
movie and the meal. In the car on the way home, John stops in a secluded area. Jane tries
to escape once she realizes what is happening, but John is much larger than he is, and he
pins her down and rapes her.

___________ John __________ Jane

5. Jane is on a first date with John, whom she knows slightly from her history class. After
the movie, they go out for an elegant late-night meal. John pays for the cost of both the
movie and the meal. In the car on the way home, John stops in a secluded area. Jane tries
to escape once she realizes what is happening, but John is much larger than she is, and he
pins her down and rapes her.

___________ John __________Jane