Women’s hostility toward women in rape trials: Testing the intra-female gender hostility thesis

Batchelder, John Stuart; Koski, Douglas D.; Byxbe, Ferris R.

doi:10.1007/bf02885871

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…28 All of the studies involved a female complainant -no studies that have looked at mock juror deliberations in a case where the complainant is male were identified. Batchelder et al (2004) undertook research with 151 community participants, who read a trial transcript of a rape case (the length of which is not specified, but it did include legal directions) in which a female complainant and male defendant, who were both students, met in a bar before going back to her room, where the incident took place. The mock jurors then deliberated in groups of 12 (bar two smaller juries of eight and seven) and deliberations were recorded and transcribed.…”

Section: Qualitative Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do we know about rape myths and juror decision making?

Leverick

2020

The International Journal of Evidence & Proof

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This paper presents overwhelming evidence that prejudicial and false beliefs held by jurors about rape affect their evaluation of the evidence and their decision making in rape cases. The paper draws together for the first time the available evidence from both quantitative and qualitative studies (most of which are not found in law journals, but rather in scientific outlets, most commonly those focusing on experimental psychology). The quantitative research demonstrates that mock jurors’ scores on so-called ‘rape myth scales’ are significant predictors of their judgments about responsibility, blame and (most importantly) verdict. The qualitative research indicates that jurors frequently express problematic views about how ‘real’ rape victims would behave and what ‘real’ rape looks like during mock jury deliberations and that even those who score relatively low on abstract rape myth scales can express prejudicial beliefs when deliberating in a particular case. The studies vary in terms of their realism, but it is important to note that some of the studies reported here were highly realistic trial reconstructions, involving representative samples of jurors drawn from the community, live trial reconstructions, evidence-in-chief and cross-examination, accurate legal directions and deliberation in groups. The review concludes by examining the evidence on whether juror education—whether in the form of judicial directions or expert evidence—might be effective in addressing problematic attitudes.

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Section: Qualitative Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do we know about rape myths and juror decision making?

Leverick

2020

The International Journal of Evidence & Proof

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“…The second time the response was very different and Nancy believed that the officer had not read the previous report; she felt blamed: The gender of the police officer. The incident above seemed to be an example of the intra-female gender hostility thesis (Batchelder, Koski, & Bysbe, 2004), which argues that women police officers are less sympathetic to female victims in an attempt to distance themselves from victims and accommodate to a male-dominated police culture (Chesler, 2001, as cited in Wentz & Archbold, 2012). However, one participant told the researcher that she agreed to be interviewed because she wanted to tell us that it was the response of a sympathetic and reassuring female officer who was "really, really good" with her that gave her the confidence to disclose her abuse.…”

Section: Perceptions Of Police Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Victim Experiences and Perspectives on Police Responses to Verbal Violence in Domestic Settings

Stewart

Langan

Hannem

2013

Feminist Criminology

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This interdisciplinary, qualitative study explores why individuals called the police in noncriminal, verbally aggressive situations and how they perceived police responses. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 individuals, mostly women. While some reported positive perceptions of the police response, the participants' accounts underscored the seriousness of verbal violence and revealed that when women seek help from police they often perceive the resulting response as inadequate and/or unfair. This study highlights the importance of recognizing that verbal violence is often part of a "fabric of abuse" that may include criminal behavior and considers implications for police practice.

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“…Some of these studies have examined whether there exists a degree of intra-female hostility on the perceptions of rape victims (Cowan, 2000; Fischer, 1997; Rumsey & Rumsey, 1977). Recently, Batchelder et al (Batchelder, Koski, & Byxbe, 2004) introduced the Intra-Female Gender Hostility Thesis (IFGHT), which is the idea that women will be more hostile toward other women who have been victimized. This thesis was tested by using a mock rape trial to see whether female jurors would be more likely to adhere to rape myths and victim blaming compared to male jurors.…”

Section: The Intra-female Gender Hostility Thesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During deliberations, female jurors were more vocal about what they would have done differently if they were in the victim’s situation. In addition, some of the female jurors had swayed male jurors into voting for not guilty verdicts during deliberations (Batchelder et al, 2004). When examining male mock jurors’ verdicts prior to deliberations, many of them had voted “guilty.”…”

Section: The Intra-female Gender Hostility Thesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Police Perceptions of Sexual Assault Victims

Wentz

Archbold

2012

Police Quarterly

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This study explores variation in the perception of sexual assault victims among male and female police officers in a Midwestern police agency. Surveys that include both qualitative and quantitative questions are completed by 100 patrol officers. An analysis of qualitative data revealed some support for the Intra-Female Gender Hostility Thesis, which posits that female officers subscribe to rape myths and victim blaming more than male officers. Quantitative analysis showed no significant differences in the way that male and female officers perceived sexual assault victims. Policy implications based on these findings are presented and discussed at the end of this article.

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Women’s hostility toward women in rape trials: Testing the intra-female gender hostility thesis

Cited by 7 publications

References 50 publications

What do we know about rape myths and juror decision making?

What do we know about rape myths and juror decision making?

Victim Experiences and Perspectives on Police Responses to Verbal Violence in Domestic Settings

Police Perceptions of Sexual Assault Victims

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