NCJ Number
226760
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 24 Issue: 4 Dated: May 2009 Pages: 255-262
Date Published
May 2009
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the influence of three factors on rape responsibility attributions: subjects’ gender, subjects’ ethnicity, and victim and perpetrator’s ethnicity.
Abstract
Perceptions hypothesized of the rapist were only partially supported in this study. Consistent with previous research significant effects of the gender and ethnicity of participants on the attribution of responsibility to the perpetrator were found. It was also indicated that perpetrator responsibility and the length of imprisonment recommended for him were affected by an interaction between the gender and ethnicity of participants. Arab males attributed less responsibility to the rapist than did Jewish males; yet, they were stricter than Jews and recommended longer prison sentences for the rapist. Arab females attributed less responsibility to the rapist and recommended less severe sentences than Jewish females. Research focusing on subjects’ perceptions of rape victims and perpetrators is extensive. In this study of 247 undergraduate students in 2 universities in the center of Israel, it was hypothesized that (1) male subjects would attribute more responsibility to the victim and less responsibility to the perpetrator than female subjects, (2) that subjects regardless of their ethnic affiliation would perceive the responsibility of Arab rapists to be lower if the victim was also Arab, (3) that the subjects would attribute greater responsibility to the perpetrator when the victim was a member of the same ethnic group as the subjects and the perpetrator belonged to a different ethnic group, and (4) that increased sentences would be recommended for Arab perpetrators, especially if the victim was Jewish. Tables and references