Vict dis

Lisa

RE: Discussion - Module 4

COLLAPSE

Public Misconceptions Regarding Sexual Assault

“Look how she was dressed,” “She was asking for it,” “I never heard her say No.” These are all statements that have been uttered when discussing the victim of sexual assault and rape. Being the victim of a crime can cause physical and mental injuries that the victim must overcome (Daigle, 2018). Victims at times will develop “self-blame,” where they blame themselves for becoming a victim (Daigle, 2018). Victim blaming refers to the predisposition of accusing the victim of triggering a crime; they assume responsibility for their tragedies, while perpetrators suffer no obligation. Although the phenomenon occurs in different crimes, victims of sexual abuse mainly bear the burden of adverse events that happen to them. According to Gravelin et al. (2019), sexual assault victims endure blame depending on the extent of the attack, perceiver, or assailant. Consequently, the victims tend to experience more fault than other crimes due to misconceptions and socialization that expose them to perpetrators.

According to Ferrao and Goncalves, women are often stigmatized and perceived responsibility for their fate when being the victim of sexual assault or rape (Ferrão & Gonçalves, 2015). Women are disbelieved and held responsible by society and their social support structure; this leads to self-blame and victim-blaming (Ferrão & Gonçalves, 2015). Prevalent myths revolve around socialization and the nature of the interaction between victims and assailants. One of the misconceptions is that an action is not sexual abuse when done after drinking or taking drugs. Perpetrators assume that the target consents to their intentions. This myth contradicts the fact that any sexual activity without the victim’s approval amounts to abuse. Besides, assaulters take advantage of victims under the influence of drugs. Another misconception involves the belief that strangers commit most sexual assaults. However, family members, partners, or friends commit most sexually motivated offenses. Myths expose sexual assault victims to substantial blame as opposed to other crimes.

Accordingly, victim-blaming regarding sexual assault differs across countries. The crimes of sexual assault and rape frequently occur on the campuses of universities both in the U.K. and United States (Camp et al., 2018; Hackman et al., 2017). One of the similarities between the two countries and rape on a college campus is the association between alcohol and rape. It has been proven that alcohol over-consumption leads to victim-blaming when a sexual crime occurs. (Camp et al. 2018; Hackman et al., 2017). Students from both countries felt that if the female was drunk when she was raped, she is somewhat responsible for letting it happen (Camp et al., 2018; Hackman et al., 2017). In the United States, students’ part of a focus group discussed “slut-shaming” and alcohol consumption as reasons they participated in victim-blaming (Hackman et al., 2017). One male student believed that if girls decided to drink from a punch bowl that obviously had something in it and then later became victims, that was their fault (Hackman et al., 2017). A unique difference between the two countries was in the U.K., and they discussed how obtaining verbal consent to engage in sexual activity may benefit both individuals (Camp et al., 2018).

Reference

Camp, S.-J., Sherlock-Smith, A. C., & Davies, E. L. (2018). Awareness and support: Students’ views about the prevention of sexual assault on UK campuses. Health Education, 118(5), 431–446. https://doi.org/10.1108/he-02-2018-0007

Daigle, L. E. (2018). Victimology (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing

Chapter 3, “Consequences of Victimization” (pp. 32-46)

https://class.content.laureate.net/16b32c1d6badcfdbf387352bf696137c.pdf

Ferrão, M., & Gonçalves, G. (2015). Rape crimes reviewed: The role of observer variables in female victim blaming. Psychological Thought, 8(1), 47–67. https://doi.org/10.5964/psyct.v8i1.131

Gravelin, C. R., Biernat, M., & Bucher, C. E. (2019). Blaming the victim of acquaintance rape: Individual, situational, and sociocultural factors. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2422. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2018.02422

Hackman, C. L., Pember, S. E., Wilkerson, A. H., Burton, W., & Usdan, S. L. (2017). Slut-shaming and victim-blaming: A qualitative investigation of undergraduate students’ perceptions of sexual violence. Sex Education, 17(6), 697–711. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2017.1362332

Arianna

RE: Discussion - Module 4

COLLAPSE

The way that the public perceives sexual assault can have a large impact on victims. Some of these misconceptions that I have heard include: asking what the victim did to “deserve” the crime that was committed against them, saying that spousal rape isn’t a real crime, and saying that the victim “wanted” the sexual crime that was committed agains them. The concept of victim blaming is when one puts the responsibility and onus on the victim of the crime instead of the offender. Although victim blaming can occur with any crime, it is more likely to be experienced at a greater rate with sexual assault victims.

This week we had an article in the resources that explained why victims of sexual assault are more likely to experience vicitm blaming titled, “Rape Crimes Reviewed: The Role of Observer Variables in Female Victim Blaming.” Ferrao and Goncalves stated that many variables play a role in sexual assault victim blaming to include the victim’s and perceivers personal characteristics (2015, p. 48). In some countries it may be more likely for sexual assault victims to experience more victim blaming than victims of other crimes. In some countries, sexism plays a role in victim blaming of sexual assault victims. For example, what is considered “spousal rape” in America is legal in countries like Ghana, and Sri Lanka. Victims of other crimes may not get as much victim blaming for several reasons. One reason could be that they are socially considered a vulnerable population such as the elderly, children, or mentally disabled. In America, society has a general opinion of vulnerable populations that shouldn’t have crimes committed against them. This may affect society’s perceptions and cause them to not victim blame when it comes to victims of other crimes.

References

Ferrão, M. C., & Gonçalves, G. (2015). Rape crimes reviewed: The role of observer variables in female victim blaming. Psychological Thought, 8(1), 47- 67