Labeling Acts of Sexual Violence: What Roles do Assault Characteristics, Attitudes, and Life Experiences Play?

Abstract

The label assigned to a given act of sexual violence (e.g., rape, sexual assault) can have a notable impact on perceptions of the incident and the role of the individuals involved. Research has identified personal rape scripts and assault characteristics as factors that influence the labeling of sexual violence. This study advances the field by providing information about the influence of participant-related variables (e.g., life experiences, personal attitudes) on the labeling of a sexual violence vignette. Results from this online study of 379 participants revealed that victim empathy, perpetrator empathy, rape myth acceptance (RMA) and receipt of a rape disclosure were associated with correctly labeling a sexual violence vignette as a rape; RMA remained a significant predictor of labeling after all variables were entered into the regression simultaneously. Assault characteristics, victimization history, acknowledgement of victimization and gender were not associated with the label assigned to the vignette in the regression, although inspection of qualitative reasons given for labeling the vignette revealed that some of these factors may influence label choice. Importantly, participants who labeled the event as a rape were less likely to assign responsibility for the assault to the victim. Implications of correctly identifying and labeling experiences of sexual violence, both for victims and for support providers, are discussed.

Bros Will Be Bros? The Effect of Fraternity Membership on Perceived Culpability for Sexual Assault

“…Overall, perpetrators who use physical force to coerce a victim are seen as more culpable than those who do not (Bieneck & Krahe, 2011;Romero-Sanchez, Megias, & Krahe, 2012; for null results see Sasson & Paul, 2014). Perpetrators who used physical force to coerce a victim were considered more responsible than those who used alcohol (Bieneck & Krahe, 2011;Romero-Sanchez et al, 2012), and victims were perceived as more likable when perpetrators used physical coercion than verbal coercion (Hockett, Saucier, & Badke, 2016).…”

Analyzing Domestic Violence Behaviors in Their Contexts: Violence as a Continuation of Social Strategies by other Means

“…To analyze domestic violence behaviors and strategies in this way, we first started with the broad model developed as the Duluth Model, with additional materials from other papers and books (Factora-Borchers, 2014;McMillan, 2008;Paymar, 2000;Pence & Paymar, 1993;Sasson & Paul, 2014). The aim was to list some concrete behaviors commonly observed in domestic violence as starting points for analyzing the contextual strategies or contingencies which might be involved.…”

Diferencias de género en percepciones sobre violencia sexual, igualdad y agresiones sexuales facilitadas por drogas en ocio nocturno

“…En esta línea, la violencia cultural se refiere a los aspectos culturales que justifican la violencia directa o estructural y que reprimen las respuestas de las víctimas (Galtung, 1990). Una sociedad que no percibe los diversos tipo de violencia sexual no solo no los va a reprimir ni perseguir, sino que, y lo que es más importante, será incapaz de implementar políticas de prevención, en particular entre los jóvenes (Sasson y Paul, 2014). Existe una brecha entre la población en general y las personas involucradas activamente en el campo de la violencia sexual, en lo que se refiere a la percepción de las definiciones y causas de la violencia sexual, y también respecto de las ideas sobre víctimas y agresores (O'Neil y Morgan, 2010).…”