Victim Blaming 1
Position Paper: Victim Blaming
Kristi Campbell
Liberty University
CJUS 649
May 16, 2025
Victim Blaming
The term victimology has been used for quite some time to describe the scientific study
of crime victims. According to Daigle and Muftic (2020) victimology is defined as the study of
etiology or causes of victimization, its consequences, how the criminal justice system
accommodates and assists victims, and how other elements of society, such as the media, deal
with crime victims. According to Mancini and Pickett (2017) victim blaming is something which
has been around in our society for a long time. Victim blaming can vary based on the person’s
belief system as well as their gender. Rape victims are often associated with victim blaming.
Russell and Hand (2017) found that extensive studies had shown the most common reason a
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victim of rape fails to report the rape is due to self-blaming as well as the fear that others will
blame them for the rape.
Position
Victim blaming is a complicated topic to discuss. Victim blaming focuses on blaming the
victim for the crime that was perpetrated upon them, either partially or entirely. Victim blaming
can prevent a victim from seeking assistance and even reporting the act of abuse. Rape myths
are very prevalent in our society and can vary based off genders. According to Ryan (2020) rape
myths are cliché beliefs regarding rape that diminish rapists, victims, and societal abilities to
correctly identify an event as rape. These myths which can be found in religious teachings and
stem from culture include the following according to Ryan (2020):
1.) Rape victims bear responsibility for their rape
2.) Rape can only be classified as such if there is physical resistance from the victim
3.) Men cannot be victims of rape
Strengths and Weaknesses
Rape myths in the Western world most often blame those who are victims of rape and
honestly it is rather unfair. According to Ryan (2020) there is a belief that rape victims receive
more financial support and attention than many believe are deserved; and a belief that rape
results from the abuse of alcohol and/or drugs, lascivious behaviors, and sexual appetite. Rape
myths restrict acceptable behaviors for women and men while adding to the belief that
potential victims and victims of rape oversee the prevention of rape (Ryan, 2020).
It has been shown that individuals who work to seek justice for rape victims have their
own beliefs of the ideality of the type of person who should be a rape victim. Research has
shown that law enforcement often will question the credibility of a rape accuser, this can
increase the likelihood of victim blaming (Ryan, 2020). It is also assumed that if the victims do
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not fit into a preconceived belief, then they will be victims blamed. Ryan (2020) has found that if
a victim is raped by someone who they were previously in a relationship with then the victim
has a higher chance of being victim blamed.
The justice system itself can also influence victims’ blaming. According to Ryan (2020) a
victim who has bruises on their body from the force of the rape were less likely to be victim
blamed. Jurors have been known to blame a rape victim for sending mixed signals prior to the
rape such as talking to the perpetrator for long periods of time, inviting the perpetrator into
their home, as well as a belief that men have sexual urges and have a difficult time controlling
those urges (Ryan, 2020).
Religions often victim blame the victims of rape. They see the victims as being
responsible for their rape and often promote rape myths against the individuals. According to
Ryan (2020) date rape victims are blamed for showing a lack of judgment as well as not being
more resistant to the perpetrator. The Bible has a specific story about rape, the story of Amnon
and Tamar. “Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for
she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her” (ESV Bible Study,
2008, 2 Samuel 13:2). Amnon was the half-brother of Tamar whose father was King David.
Amnon’s friend Jonadab advised him to get Tamar to make him bread in his room. “Amnon lay
down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king,
“Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from
her hand” (ESV Bible Study, 2008, 2 Samuel 13:6). Tamar of course went to her half-brother,
made bread, and fed it to him. It was at this time that Amnon demanded that Tamar lay with
him. She of course was overcome by his strength, and he raped her. Afterwards Amnon became
enraged with hatred for his sister and had her removed from his room. Tamar’s brother Absalom
advised her to stay quiet and not do anything about the rape. When King David found out what
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had occurred, he was upset but refused to punish Amnon and essentially had victim blamed
Tamar.
Ryan (2020) examined a book from 1975 called Against Our Will: Men, Women, and
Rape and found the following four male myths of rape which add to victim blaming:
1.) She was asking for it
2.) All women want to be raped
3.) If you are going to be raped, you might as well enjoy it and relax
4.) No woman can be raped against her will
A victim who is raped by someone they are familiar with are often assumed to be more
responsible for their attack when compared to being attack by someone that they do not know
(Mancini, & Pickett, 2017). According to Mancini and Pickett (2017) studies have shown that
women who drink alcohol prior to a rape, dress provocatively, and engage in casual sexual
relationships often have a greater level of responsibility placed upon them.
Victim blaming—the tendency to attribute responsibility and blame to innocent victims
— is associated with people's belief that the world is a just place where everybody gets what
they deserve and deserves what they get (Twardawski et al., 2025). This represents Just World
Belief, which can apply to both for and against victim blaming arguments. Just World Belief can
blame the perpetrator during their conviction of sexual assault as well as influence an
individual’s perception which can result in victim blaming (Russell & Hand, 2017). How strong an
individual’s Just World Belief can determine if they would tend to blame the victim more or the
perpetrator. According to Russell and Hand (2017) an individual with a stronger Just World Belief
will tend to blame the victim more and the perpetrator less, those with a weaker belief will have
lower levels of victim blaming, women with a strong belief will blame perpetrators who were
raped by strangers, and men who have a strong belief judge a rape as a serious crime but tend
to put blame on the rape victim. According to Culda et al. (2018) women with a weak belief will
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blame the rape victim when compared to women with a strong belief. Studies on stranger rape
have shown interesting facts on self-blame. Jaffe et al. (2017) found those who are victims of
stranger rape are more inclined to engage in less self-blame when compared to a victim who
was raped by an acquaintance and victims who don’t recognize their attack as being a rape will
report lower levels of perpetrator blame and self-blame.
Arguments and Support
Victim blaming will always exist and have done so for thousands of years. Over the years
rape myths have changed and will continue to (Ryan, 2020). Perpetrator blame was found to be
the highest when there is endorsed low levels of rape myth acceptance (Ayala et al., 2018).
Most women do not expect that they will be raped by someone who is an acquaintance and
both women and men experience less blame when they know who the perpetrator is (Ayala et
al., 2018). It is expected that men should be able to defend themselves physically and fight off
an attack. You can reasonably blame a victim for impulsiveness and careless behavior since it
will impact them in the future so they will be more careful (Felson & Palmore, 2018).
Recommendations
There are many stereotypes when it comes to rape myths which were previously
mentioned in this paper. These myths include women want to be raped, men cannot control
themselves, and victims of rape should relax and enjoy. Rape prevention programs are very
important to decrease the number of rapes. According to Ryan (2020) there are many factors
that should be mentioned in a prevention program which includes rape means more than no,
victim blaming and rape myths.
Rape myths are extremely important and the dangers of them should be shared with
counselors and therapists who work with victims of rape. Ryan (2020) stated that it is also
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important that religious leaders are aware of any rape myths they may use as well as challenge
the use of Scriptures which are utilized to victim blame and punish victims of rape.
Culda et al. (2018) found that women are subjected to feelings of negative social
reactions from colleagues, family, friends, and coworkers and this resulted in ¼ to ¾ of rape
victims feeling like they had been subjected to victim blaming which made them feel like they
were being raped all over again.
Conclusion
Victim blaming will also be around, it may lessen a bit in prevalence, but it will always be
around in society. It takes a lot of training and educating of religious leaders, therapists and
counselors focusing on rape myths and how to avoid them and focus solely on the rape victim
and their needs. Multiple people play a role in the life of a rape victim. This includes rape crisis
centers for guidance, education, and therapy as well as the nurse who collects evidence with a
rape kit. After all we are all only human, but we need to do better when it comes to assisting
rape victims and not victim blaming them.
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References
Ayala, E. E., Kotary, B., & Hetz, M. (2015). Blame attributions of victims and perpetrators:
Effects of victim gender, perpetrator gender, and relationship. Journal of Interpersonal
Violence, 33(1), 94-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515599160
Culda, G. L., Opre, A. N., & Dobrin, A. D. (2018). Victim blaming by women and men who believe
the world is a just place. Cognition, Brain, Behavior. An interdisciplinary journal, 22(2),
99-110. https://doi.org/10.24193/cbb.2018.22.07
Daigle, L. E., & Muftic, L. R. (2019). Victimology: A comprehensive approach (2nd ed.). SAGE
Publications.
Felson, R. B., & Palmore, C. (2018). Biases in blaming victims of rape and other crime.
Psychology of Violence, 8(3), 390-399. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000168
Jaffe, A. E., Steel, A. L., DiLillo, D., Messman-Moore, T. L., & Gratz, K. L. (2017). Characterizing
sexual violence in intimate relationships: An examination of blame attributions and rape
acknowledgment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(1-2), 469-
490. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517726972
Mancini, C., & Pickett, J. T. (2015). Reaping what they sow? Victim-offender overlap perceptions
and victim blaming attitudes. Victims & Offenders, 12(3), 434-
466. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2015.1093051
Russell, K. J., & Hand, C. J. (2017). Rape myth acceptance, victim blame attribution and just
world beliefs: A rapid evidence assessment. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 37, 153-
160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.10.008
Ryan, K. M. (2020). Rape mythology and victim blaming as a social construct. In Handbook of
sexual assault and sexual assault prevention (pp. 155-175). Springer.
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Twardawski, M., Fischer, M., Agostini, P., Schwabe, J., & Gollwitzer, M. (2025). The role of
just-world beliefs, victim identifiability, and the salience of an alternative target
for victim blaming. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 119, 104721.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104721
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