NCJ Number
187666
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 294-314
Editor(s)
Claire M. Renzetti
Date Published
March 2001
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study looks at a university woman’s decision to acknowledge a rape, the factors involved in influencing such an acknowledgement, and the ecological model used to investigate rape acknowledgements.
Abstract
An ecological framework was used to examine individual, situational, and social predictors of university women’s acknowledgement of rape experiences. This ecological model studies various factors separately while recognizing the interrelation of factors within and across levels. This model recognizes and compensates by including the interaction between variables within and between levels. Only individual and situational factors uniquely predict acknowledgement. Consistent with past research, the majority of women did not acknowledge their rape experiences. Women were more likely to acknowledge a rape if they experienced higher levels of violence during the rape, possessed factors congruent with an acquaintance rape script (physical restraint, mild physical harm, and drinking by the victims) rather than a blitz rape script (physical attacks, threats of weapon use by perpetrators, screams by victims, and severe physical harm to victims), and blamed their behavior for the rape. All women experienced a generally low amount of self-blame and blamed the perpetrator more than themselves. The study was limited to university women between the ages of 18 and 25 who were primarily white and middle class. References