NCJ Number
199195
Journal
Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: 2002 Pages: 73-83
Date Published
2002
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article reports on the attitudes toward rape victims of 312 visitors to a Danish Web site (www.voldtaegt.dk) designed to meet the needs of rape victims in acute distress as well as the needs of the public and of professionals.
Abstract
The sample of Web site visitors was administered the Attitudes Toward Rape Victims Scale (ARVS). Seventy-eight percent of the respondents were women, and the mean age of the sample was 20.5 years old. The ARVS is a 25-item questionnaire constructed to assess attitudes toward victim blame, resistance, credibility, denigration, responsibility, trivialization, and deservedness. ARVS findings show that males had less favorable attitudes toward rape victims than the women respondents; however, male attitudes toward rape victims were more favorable among older and more educated male respondents. Respondents' experiences of rape, accidents, and losing someone close also influenced attitudes toward rape victims in a favorable direction. The Danish sample of Web site respondents had more favorable attitudes toward rape victims than a Singapore student sample, a United States male student sample, and an Australian student sample; however, the Danish sample had a less favorable view of rape victims than a United States female student sample. The study concludes that the ARVS is a valuable and sensitive instrument for cross-cultural research in victimology. 2 tables and 22 references