Prospective lawyers’ rape stereotypes and schematic decision making about rape cases

Abstract

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...

Judgments of marital rape as a function of honor culture, masculine reputation threat, and observer gender: A cross‐cultural comparison between Turkey, Germany, and the UK

“…An additional limitation concerns our samples, comprising of mostly college students which are not representative of their respective nation's population, as college students are more educated and tend to have more liberal attitudes than the average population. Although nonrepresentative samples can yield valid conclusions (Straus, 2009), future studies should seek representative or random samples, and investigate current or prospective criminal justice workers whose attitudes and perceptions of marital rape victims and perpetrators have direct consequences for fair handling of marital rape cases (see Krahé et al, 2007, 2008).…”

“…For instance, a large‐scale survey conducted across Europe found that 27% of young men and 20% of young women think that the female victim is partially responsible for the rape in some situations such as when voluntarily going home with someone, or wearing revealing or sexy clothing (European Commission, 2016). These findings are alarming given that blaming rape victims for their plight can significantly undermine their recovery process as well as legal handling of rape cases (Krahé, Temkin, Bieneck, & Berger, 2008).…”

A Brief Report on Rape Myth Acceptance: Differences Between Police Officers, Law Students, and Psychology Students in the United Kingdom

“…However, lower levels of acceptance were found for some myths (e.g., only 4.1% agreed many women secretly wish to be raped; 6.0% agreed a woman that goes to the home of a man on their first date, implies she is willing to have sex; 6.6% agreed that in the majority of rapes, the victim is promiscuous or has a bad reputation). The latter is reflected by LeDoux and Hazelwood (1985) who found that police officers had in general a low adherence to some rape myths. Page (2008) also found that police officers who were higher in rape myth acceptance were less likely to believe a victim who did not match the "real" rape stereotype compared to police officers who had lower or moderate rape myth acceptance (see also Lee, Lee, & Lee, 2012).…”

Face the consequences: Learning about victim's suffering reduces sexual harassment myth acceptance and men's likelihood to sexually harass

“…Furthermore, for men who had used sexual coercion in the past, rape myths were chronically more accessible (Bohner, Jarvis, Eyssel, & Siebler, ). Recent studies showed that RMA also affects the processing of rape‐related information, which results in lower ratings of defendant guilt (Eyssel & Bohner, ; Krahé, Temkin, & Bieneck, ; Krahe, Temkin, Bieneck, & Berger, ; Süssenbach, Bohner, & Eyssel, ; Süssenbach, Eyssel, & Bohner, ). Research on sexual harassment myths provides evidence that the general mechanisms are the same: Vanselow, Bohner, Becher, and Siebler (), for example, showed that SHMA significantly correlates with men's likelihood to sexually harass (LSH).…”