Social Psychological Aspects of Rape (From Violence Against Women - A Critique of the Sociobiology of Rape, P 59-84, 1985, Suzanne R Sunday and Ethel Tobach, eds. - See NCJ-99563)

• NCJ Number: 99566
• Author(s): F L Denmark; S B Friedman
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: Gordian Press, Inc.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter reviews research pertaining to victim and observer attitudes toward assignment of responsibility in rape cases and discusses the mass media's influence on violence against women, the psychological effects on rape victims, and services for rape victims.

Abstract

Research that has examined observer and victim attitudes toward the assignment of responsibility in rape cases reveals a tendency to blame women, whether they are the victim, the rapist's wife, or the rapist's mother, and to justify male behavior as being provoked or caused by women, most notably the victim. Such attitudes reflect cultural values that perpetuate and justify male sexual violence against women. Such violence is promoted through the widespread distribution of 'aggressive-erotic' pornography and mass media portrayals of gender stereotypes. Some facts about rape that challenge traditional myths are: it is a crime of violence unprovoked by the victim, it violates the victim's civil rights, and produces debilitating psychological effects in the victim that require a variety of services and support efforts. What is required to reduce rape behavior is a concerted public education effort that promotes equality of the sexes and healthy male-female relationships while increasing the stigmatization associated with rape. Fifty-two references are listed.