Research in legal decision making has demonstrated the tendency to blame the victim and exonerate the perpetrator of sexual assault. This study examined the hypothesis of a special leniency bias in rape cases by comparing them to cases of robbery. N = 288 participants received descriptions of rape and robbery of a female victim by a male perpetrator and made ratings of victim and perpetrator blame. Case scenarios varied with respect to the prior relationship (strangers, acquaintances, ex-partners) and coercive strategy (force vs. exploiting victim intoxication). More blame was attributed to the victim and less blame was attributed to the perpetrator for rape than for robbery. Information about a prior relationship between victim and perpetrator increased ratings of victim blame and decreased perceptions of perpetrator blame in the rape cases, but not in the robbery cases. The findings support the notion of a special leniency bias in sexual assault cases.

Two longitudinal studies examined German adolescents' sexual scripts in relation to the normative acceptance of sexual aggression, the behavioral enactment of risk factors, and the experience of sexual aggression/victimization. Study 1 comprised a sample of 283 10th and 11th grade high school students who completed measures of sexual scripts, normative acceptance of risk elements associated with sexual aggression, behavioral risk-taking, and normative acceptance of sexual aggression in relationships twice with a nine-month interval. General and individual scripts differed significantly in terms of the prevalence of risk elements, with individual scripts containing fewer risk elements. Normative acceptance of risk elements was linked to the enactment of risky behavior in sexual interactions and also to the normative acceptance of sexual aggression, both concurrently and over time. In Study 2, 232 12th and 13th grade students completed measures of sexual scripts and of sexual aggression or sexual victimization. Higher risk scores in the individual scripts were predictive of sexual aggression among boys and sexual victimization among girls. The findings were discussed in terms of the significance of sexual scripts as guidelines for sexual behavior.

This paper reviews the international literature on intimate partner violence with a focus on gender differences in perpetration and victimization rates. A total of 35 studies from 21 countries are discussed that report prevalence or incidence rates of men's and women's involvement in physical and/or sexual aggression against an intimate partner. In addition, evidence on risk factors as well as consequences of intimate partner violence for men and women is presented. Conceptual and methodological differences between the studies and the lack of comparable databases within countries are discussed as limitations of the evidence, and perspectives for future research are outlined in the framework of cross-cultural psychology.KEY WORDS: intimate partner violence; gender differences; cross-cultural psychology.Studies on intimate partner violence outside North America are few and far between, and studies examining gender differences in the perpetration or victimization by intimate violence in relationships are even rarer. The debate about equal or unequal involvement of men and women in violence against an intimate partner has taken place almost exclusively on the basis

Two studies addressed the impact of rape schemata on judgements about rape cases. In Study 1, 286 undergraduate students rated perpetrator and victim blame for five rape scenarios and completed the Perceived Causes of Rape Scale. Most blame was assigned to victims of an ex-partner rape, followed by acquaintance and stranger rape. Least blame was assigned to perpetrators of ex-partner rapes, followed by acquaintance and stranger rapes. Female precipitation beliefs increased victim blame and reduced perpetrator blame. In Study 2, 158 students rated rape scenarios that varied in victim perpetrator relationship and coercive strategy and completed a measure of Female Precipitation Beliefs. Half expected to be held accountable for their judgements. The perpetrator was held less liable and the victim blamed more when the perpetrator exploited the victim's incapacitated state versus using physical force. Accountability instruction reduced the impact of female precipitation beliefs on perceived perpetrator liability and victim blame.

This is the unspecified version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Germany. In Study 1, 451 undergraduate law students rated rape scenarios varying with respect to defendant-complainant relationship and coercive strategy (force versus exploitation of the complainant's alcohol-induced defenselessness). Acceptance of rape myths was also measured. Permanent repository linkLikelihood of defendant liability was rated to be lower when there was a prior relationship between the parties and when the defendant exploited the complainant's defenselessness as compared to when he used force (except in the ex-partner rapes where blame was higher in the alcohol-related than in the force-related cases). Complainant blame was higher when there was a prior relationship between the parties and was higher in the alcohol-related cases than in the force-related cases, except in the ex-partner rape where the pattern was reversed. Participants with high rape myth acceptance held the defendant less liable and blamed the complainant more, especially when the two had known each other. Study 2 largely replicated these findings with 129 postgraduate trainee lawyers and showed that sentencing recommendations also varied as a function of defendant-complainant relationship and coercive strategy. Providing participants with the legal definition of rape did not reduce reliance on rape-stereotypes. there is a consensus among practitioners and researchers that stereotypical conceptions of rape shared by the public and members of the criminal justice system play an important role in this problem (Temkin & Krahé, 2008). These include the belief that women often precipitate rape through their own behavior or appearance and that accusations of rape made against a former sexual partner are likely to be fabricated (see Temkin & Krahé, 2008, Chapter 2, for a review).Despite the fact that legal decision-making is normatively defined as data-driven, i.e.relying exclusively on the facts and the evidence, there is plenty of scope for schematic conceptions about rape rooted in rape myths to infiltrate. In common law systems, a familiar strategy adopted by the defence at trial is to seek to undermine the complainant's credibility in the eyes of the jury by casting doubt on her truthfulness and reputation, e.g., by questions about Prospective Lawyers' Rape Stereotypes 4 her lifestyle and sexual conduct. This strategy is rooted in widely shared beliefs that "real rape"is an attack by a stranger on an unsuspecting victim who is overcome by force (Stewart, Dobbin, & Gatowski, 1996), and also in gender stereotypes delineating what is fit and proper behavior for women (Krahé, 1988). If such stereotypic beliefs are endorsed by legal professionals, this may assist in undermining the position of the victim in the criminal justice system and may be a causal factor underlying the high attrition rates in rape cases (Brown, Hamilton, & O'Neill, 2007). Lawyers' rape-related stereotypes also matter in countries that do n...