The Relationship between Rape Myths and Sexual Scripts: The Social Construction of Rape

Sexual Violence Among Middle School Students: The Effects of Gender and Dating Experience

Sexual violence has been increasingly recognized as a social, rather than strictly individual or family, problem. Unfortunately, providers and policymakers remain divided on the scope and causes of sexual violence, which limits their capacity to develop theory- and evidence-based responses. Such limitations are particularly pronounced in regards to children and adolescents. These youth are rarely addressed in the literature, and when they are, scholars tend to focus on adult victimization of children rather than children's victimization of their peers. This study investigates the prevalence of unwanted sexual contact among middle students. Data are from a sample of 1,371 students attending New York City public middle schools. Drawing from current antiviolence curricula and scholarly literature on sexual violence, gender and dating experience are used as predictors of victimization and perpetration; race, age, and prior exposure to antiviolence programming are included as controls. Data reveal that, while boys' violence towards girls comprises a substantial proportion of sexual violence in this population, same-sex violence and girls' violence towards boys are also prevalent. Analyses conclude with recommendations for future antiviolence programming based on these patterns.

Sexual Scripts and Criminal Statutes: Gender Restrictions, Spousal Allowances, and Victim Accountability After Rape Law Reform

The author provides a mixed-methods assessment of U.S. rape statutes to assess progress in reform. Contemporary statutes offer restrictive frameworks for distinguishing criminal from noncriminal sexual violence, many of which are grounded in gendered and heterosexist assumptions. Fourteen states retain gender restrictions in rape statutes. Twenty maintain marital distinctions that limit accountability for spousal rape. Furthermore, whereas explicit resistance requirements have been eliminated nationwide, implicit resistance expectations manifest through emphasis on physical force and involuntary intoxication. Analyses conclude with recommendations for further legal reform and a discussion of the potential for legislation to affect broader social perceptions of rape.

A Qualitative Analysis of the Effects of Victimization History and Sexual Attitudes on Women’s Hypothetical Sexual Assault Scripts

This study examined qualitatively the effects of a sexual victimization history and sexual attitudes on 247 undergraduate women’s written accounts of a hypothetical sexual assault. More severe victimization history was associated with script characteristics of greater alcohol use, knowing the man longer, and the context of a party. Greater endorsement of positive attitudes toward casual sex was related to script characteristics of greater alcohol use, acquiescing to the man, and not knowing the man as long. Finally, a more recent sexual assault was associated with script characteristics of having just met the man, the context of a party or date, and acquiescing to the man.

Violent Attacks and Damaged Victims

Scripts are influential in shaping sexual behaviors. Prior studies have examined the influence of individuals’ rape scripts. However, these scripts have not been evaluated among diverse groups. The current study examined the rape scripts of African American ( n = 72) and European American ( n = 99) college women. Results supported three rape scripts: the “real rape,” the “party rape,” and the mismatched intentions rape, that were equally common. However, there were some differences, with African Americans’ narratives more often including active victim resistance and less often containing victim vulnerability themes. Societal and cultural influences on rape scripts are discussed.

A Listening Guide Analysis of Women’s Experiences of Unacknowledged Rape

In the empirical literature, unacknowledged rape has been well documented. But due to ethical and methodological challenges, very few researchers have employed qualitative methods to examine unacknowledged rape. Through pre-screening and careful articulation of interview questions, these barriers were overcome, and 10 undergraduate women from the University of Windsor were interviewed about their experiences of unlabeled sexual assault. I used the Listening Guide to inform both the methodology and the data analysis. I identified three voices pertaining to rape acknowledgment. These voices were labeled the not knowing voice, the knowing voice, and the ambivalent voice, and I illustrate that rape acknowledgment is not dichotomous and that women can both simultaneously recognize and resist the labels of rape and sexual assault. This article addresses the need for a multidimensional understanding of rape acknowledgment. I discuss the implications the findings have for how we understand and respond to women, as they negotiate the labeling of coercive sexual experiences. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available to PWQ subscribers on PWQ's website at http://pwq.sagepub.com/supplemental

Sexual Assault Perpetrators' Justifications for Their Actions: Relationships to Rape Supportive Attitudes, Incident Characteristics, and Future Perpetration

Perpetrators use rape supportive attitudes and sexual assault incident characteristics to justify forcing sex on their victims. Perpetrators who can justify their behaviors are at increased risk for future perpetration. This study examined the relationships between rape supportive attitudes, sexual assault incident characteristics, and the post-assault justifications of 183 men sampled from the community who self-reported committing at least one act of sexual aggression. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that rape supportive attitudes, expectations for having sex, misperceptions of sexual intent, victims' alcohol consumption, attempts to be alone with her, and the number of consensual sexual activities prior to the unwanted sex were significant predictors of perpetrators' post-assault use of justifications. Greater use of justifications was a significant predictor of sexual aggression over a 1-year follow-up interval. These findings demonstrate the need for further research exploring when and why perpetrators use post-assault justifications and whether they are amenable to change.

Rape Crimes Reviewed: The Role of Observer Variables in Female Victim Blaming

This article presents an overview of empirical research on the role of observer variables in rape victim blaming (female attacked by a male perpetrator). The focus is on literature from the last 15 years. The variables observer gender, ambivalent sexism, rape myth acceptance, and rape empathy are discussed in relation to victim blaming. Most research on rape is conducted using diverse methods and approaches that result in a great disparity regarding the role of these variables in predicting blame assignments. Despite the inconsistencies, most studies show that men hold the victim more responsible for her own victimization than women. Findings further indicate that higher scores on sexist ideologies and rape myth acceptance predict higher victim blame, and that higher rape empathy scores predict lower victim blame. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Factors associated with use of verbally coercive, incapacitated, and forcible sexual assault tactics in a longitudinal study of college men

Although verbally coerced and incapacitated sexual assaults are common, less is known about perpetrators of these incidents in comparison to perpetrators of forcible assaults. Furthermore, few studies have investigated factors that differentiate perpetrators who employ different forms of sexual assault tactics. The current study included 526 men who completed self-report inventories at the end of each of their four years in college. Measures assessed sexual assault tactics, demographics, incident characteristics, risky behavior, rape supportive beliefs and peer norms, antisocial traits, and childhood adversity. Perpetrators were grouped based on the most severe tactics reported over the course of 7 assessed time periods, with 13% in the verbal coercion group, 16% in the incapacitation group, and 5% in the forcible group. ANOVAs determined that the forcible group scored significantly higher than incapacitation and verbal coercion groups on risky behavior, rape supportive beliefs/norms, antisocial traits, and childhood adversity. The incapacitation group scored higher than the verbal coercion group on risky behavior. In a multinomial logistic regression analysis comparing tactic groups to non-perpetrators, all tactic groups scored significantly higher on risky behavior and rape supportive beliefs/norms, and the forcible group scored higher on antisocial traits and childhood adversity. Perpetrators in the forcible group had engaged in more repeat offenses, and perpetrators of both the incapacitated and forcible assaults were more likely to use alcohol before the incident. Findings highlight the need for interventions that are tailored to offense trajectories, alter rape supportive attitudes and peer norms, and decrease campus substance use. Aggr. Behav. 41:34-43 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mental health of victims of sexual violence in eastern Congo: associations with daily stressors, stigma, and labeling

BACKGROUND

The conflict-ridden context of eastern Congo has set the scene for grueling human rights violations, with sexual violence as one of the 'weapons of war'. Currently, sexual violence continues, with a considerable increase in civilian perpetrators. However, little is known regarding the particular impact of different experiences of sexual violence on adolescents' mental health. This study therefore investigates the impact of sexual violence on eastern Congolese adolescents' mental health and its differing associations with daily stressors, stigma, and the labeling of sexual violence (as 'rape' or 'non-consensual sexual experience').

METHODS

A cross-sectional, population-based survey design was implemented in 22 secondary schools, randomly selected from a stratified sample, in Bunia, eastern Congo, a region extensively affected by war. A total of 1,305 school-going adolescent girls aged 11 to 23 participated. Self-report measures of mental health symptoms, war-related traumatic events, experiences of sexual violence, daily stressors, and stigmatization were administered. Differences in sociodemographic characteristics, traumatic experiences and daily and social stressors between types of sexual violence (rape, non-consensual sexual violence, no sexual violence) were explored through statistical analysis. ANCOVA analyses investigated associations between those risk factors and adolescents' mental health.

RESULTS

More than one third of eastern Congolese adolescent girls reported experiences of sexual violence. Elevated levels of daily stressors, experiences of stigmatization, and stressful war-related events were found amongst girl victims of sexual violence, with the highest levels for girls who labeled the sexual violence as rape. Daily stressors, stigmatization, and war-related events showed a large impact on the girls' mental health. Last, girls who labeled the sexual violence as non-consensual sexual experiences reported more post-traumatic hyper-arousal and intrusion symptoms compared to those labeling the sexual violence as rape.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings point to the important association between how war-affected adolescent girls label sexual violence (rape or non-consensual sexual experiences) and their mental health. This study also documents the large impact of sexual violence on other stressors (daily stressors, stigmatization, and stressful war events) and the impact of these stressors on girl victims' mental health. It discusses important implications for addressing sexual violence and its consequences in war-affected contexts.

A New Model for Sexual Assault Protection

Sexual assault self-protection programs often address either broad educational goals (e.g., alcohol awareness, gender, and safety) or are restricted to the practice of violent hands-on self-protection techniques. Enrollment is almost entirely restricted to female audiences, in spite of a high risk of assault among gay men. We describe the development of Elemental, a sexual assault protection program, wherein we undertook a sociologically grounded yet multidisciplinary approach to produce a holistic and inclusive program that teaches a variety of response options, including nonviolent physical and verbal techniques. Through the use of survey data from program participants and a control group, we present results of initial longitudinal tests of the efficacy of the program. Directions for further testing and development are discussed.

Processes and patterns in gay, lesbian, and bisexual sexual assault: a multimethodological assessment

Although prior research suggests that sexual minorities are at equivalent or greater risk of sexual assault compared with heterosexual women, few studies have examined simultaneously a broad array of assault types, the forms of force and pressure experienced, and the relative risks of experiencing different kinds of assault or force or pressure during an assault according to sex and sexual orientation. Moreover, very little is known about how subjective interpretations of assault may differ by sex and sexual orientation. We address these gaps using a multimethodological analysis of original survey data (N = 342) with a snowball oversample of sexual minority respondents. Quantitative results indicate that both sexual minority status and sex are predictive of increased assault risk of most assault types, but that most effects of sexual minority status are restricted to men. The probabilities of experiencing verbal pressure or physical force are largely uniform across categories. Qualitative analyses of open-ended questions suggest that men and women interpret the experience of assault differently, such that sexual minority men conceptualize their unwanted sexual experiences as "giving in" due to feelings of guilt or low self-worth, whereas women of all sexual orientations acquiesced because it was perceived to be easier or more practical than resisting. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Examining marital violence in India: review and recommendations for future research and practice

Marital violence has been recognized globally as a grave public health concern with devastating consequences affecting the physical, reproductive, sexual and psychological health of women. This article is a narrative review about marital violence in India, an understudied subtype of domestic violence. We include both theoretical and empirical studies of legal definitions, incidence and prevalence, correlates of marital violence and the consequences of such violence on survivors (N = 18). In addition to examining the sociocultural context and correlates of marital violence in India, we discuss the implications of current knowledge and recommendations for reducing and responding to marital violence.

The Personal is Political

The following case study highlights the application of a conceptual framework that incorporates feminist theory, trauma theory, and the importance of attending to identity development with individuals who have experienced gender-based violence. This case study illustrates the treatment of a 25-year-old female survivor of sexual assault suffering from depression, anxiety, and feelings of self-blame. Findings show a decrease in depression and anxiety, which provides support for the effectiveness of an integrated feminist and trauma-informed therapeutic approach. Because very few graduate training programs incorporate feminist theory and trauma theory in their curricula, recommendations for clinicians and students are provided.

Perpetrator and victim gender patterns for 21 forms of youth victimization in the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence

Most interest in violence and gender has focused on certain types of victimization such as sex offenses and relational aggression. This study examined gender patterns across numerous forms of youth victimization. The data are from the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), a nationally representative U.S. sample of 4,549 children ages 1 month to 17 years obtained through a telephone survey of caregivers and youth. For 18 of 21 victimization types, male perpetration was significantly more common than female perpetration. Perpetrator-victim patterns revealed that most forms of physical assault and bullying showed a predominantly male-on-male pattern. All forms of sexual assault, plus kidnapping, showed a predominantly male-on-female pattern. Nonphysical maltreatment showed a mixed pattern, with fairly similar rates across all four gender configurations. Many violence types were more severe when perpetrated by males versus females as indicated by higher injury rates and greater victim fear. Higher order analyses by victimization type indicated, among other findings, that victimization types with more stranger perpetrators had more male perpetrators, victimizations with higher percentages of male-on-female and female-on-male incidents were more likely to be sexual offenses, and higher percentages of female-on-female incidents were associated with verbal victimizations. Results also suggest that males are more likely to aggress in more impersonal contexts compared to females. Gender socialization, physical power, and social power appear to intersect in ways that create gendered patterns of violence. These factors, versus a focus on skills deficits, need more attention in prevention and intervention.