Identification and Attribution of Blame in Rape Situations by University Students

Abstract

Although society criminalizes rape, many institutions reproduce stereotypes of this sexual assault. Rape can also occur in the university and in various ways that do not correspond to its stereotypes. The article aimed to evaluate how undergraduates identify situations of rape and how they attribute fault to the victim and the aggressor. 228 participants commented on fictional stories of rape that manipulated the variables: sexual assault with or without penetration; previous behavior of the victim; previous relationship between the characters; and presence or absence of physical strength in the rape. The results showed that these variables influence the identification of rape and that male students tend to blame victims more than female students. Understanding the multiple variables that affect identification and attribution of blame can lead to more effective sexual violence prevention and intervention strategies.