scholarly journals Reflections on the society’s reaction towards rape victims in Delhi City

Temida ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-26
Author(s):  
Vibha Hetu
Keyword(s):  
Rape Myths ◽  
Selective Reporting ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
The Media ◽  
Serial Rape

In general, most people display stronger beliefs in ?aggravated rape? or ?real rape?; including victims of such rape cases who often identify themselves as ?rape victims? than the victims of ?simple rape?, where none of the aggravating circumstances are present. Despite myths to the contrary these ?simple rape? cases in fact make up the majority of cases. This article considers the implications of ?real rape? and demonstrates how notions about what a ?typical rape? should be, in the form of rape myths, directly impact on societal attitudes towards rape victims and how the media continue to reinforce and perpetuate the notion of real rape through their selective reporting of ?serial rape?, ?stranger rape? or especially ?violent rapes?.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Rae Flood
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Sex Crimes ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
The Media ◽  
Rape Trials ◽  
American Society

This concluding chapter considers the myriad legal and medical reforms that have been established since the 1970s in enhancing access to justice for rape victims. At the same time the chapter looks at contemporary rape cases and the media storm surrounding them, once again confronting the racial rape myths that prevail in contemporary American society. The chapter argues that, while institutionalized support for those navigating the complexities of rape trials has grown in recent decades, historic myths about race, gender, and sexual violence still uncomfortably intervene in sensationalized media coverage of sex crimes and in the contemporary justice system, forcing us to continue to confront and challenge our own understandings of rape.

Sexually Degrading Music Videos and Lyrics

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric L. Sprankle ◽  
Christian M. End ◽  
Miranda N. Bretz
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Music Videos ◽  
Sexual Content ◽  
Sexual Stereotypes ◽  
Male Undergraduate ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Many ◽  
Sexually Degrading ◽  
Music Lyrics

Utilizing a 2 (lyrics: present or absent) × 2 (images: present or absent) design, this study examined the unique effects of sexually degrading music videos and music lyrics on males’ aggressive behavior toward women, as well as males’ endorsement of rape myths and sexual stereotypes. Under the guise of a media memory study, 187 male undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. Despite the many psychological theories predicting an effect, the presentation of sexually degrading content in a visual or auditory medium (or combination thereof) did not significantly alter the participants’ aggression and self-reported endorsement of rape myths and sexual stereotypes. The null findings challenge the many corporate and governmental restrictions placed on sexual content in the media over concern for harmful effects.

Effects of gender, rape myth acceptance, and perpetrator occupation on perceptions of rape

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Duff ◽  
Amy Tostevin
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Occupation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Myth Acceptance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of gender-stereotypical beliefs and associated factors (gender, level of rape myth acceptance (RMA), and occupation) on public attitudes towards rape victims with the aim of establishing whether participant and perpetrator characteristics have effects on individuals’ attitudes towards rape victims. With regards to participants, gender, age, occupation, and the extent to which an individual endorses rape myths were investigated. The authors also considered whether participants’ attitudes were influenced by the occupation of a rapist as described in a vignette looking at occupations deemed to be stereotypically male or female. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 185 individuals participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of three conditions based on the rapist’s occupation (stereotypically male occupation, gender-neutral occupation or stereotypically female occupation). Participants completed an online survey consisting of a RMA questionnaire, read a short vignette depicting a rape scenario (where they were also informed of the perpetrator’s occupation) and completed a further questionnaire on their attitudes towards rape victims. Results were examined by regression. Findings – The results indicate that both participant occupation and level of RMA significantly contributed to attitudes towards rape victims, however, a statistically significant effect for rapist occupation was not found. Originality/value – Findings are discussed in terms of implications for individuals working within services supporting victims of rape and the potential consequences of holding stereotypical beliefs for rape victims and perpetrators. It is important that research identifies those factors that might bias decision making in the legal system and thus impact upon outcomes for victims and offenders.

Acceptance of Rape Myths among Prosecuting Attorneys

1996 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julius A. Gylys ◽  
John R. McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Direct Measure ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
The Past

Surveys containing a measurement of acceptance of rape myths were mailed to 310 prosecuting attorneys from 87 counties in Ohio. Among the 182 (58.7%) participants who responded, self-reported acceptance of rape myths was low. Males endorsed rape myths more strongly than females, but the sex differences were small in magnitude. No demographic variables were significant in predicting the acceptance of rape myths in a regression analysis. The current findings are informative because they provide the only direct measure of prosecutors' attitudes towards rape victims that have been reported in the past 15 years.

Rape Myths Among Appalachian College Students

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Haywood ◽  
Eric Swank
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Coercion ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Public University ◽  
Rural Populations ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Eastern Kentucky ◽  
Rape Attitudes

Rape myths regularly admonish victims for supposedly provoking the violence done against them. While rape attitudes have been studied in national and urban samples, the support of rape myths in rural populations is seldom investigated. Furthermore, the few empirical studies on sexual coercion in Appalachia are mostly descriptive and rarely compare the sentiments of Appalachians and non-Appalachians. To address this gap, this study surveyed 512 college students at a public university in Eastern Kentucky. In testing an Appalachian distinctiveness question, this study revealed that Appalachian students were less likely to criticize rape victims. Students were also less inclined to condemn rape victims when they were victims themselves, came from egalitarian families, stayed in college longer, rejected modern sexism, and felt little animosity toward women.

scholarly journals It's The Same Old Story: Rape Representation in New Zealand Newspapers (1975 - 2015)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ange Barton
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Women’S Experiences ◽  
Women's Experiences ◽  
Feminist Perspectives ◽  
The Media

<p>Newspaper reporting of rape, and in particular, representations of women as rape victims, have historically been presented by the media in a misinformed manner, influenced by myths and misconceptions about the dynamics of sexual violence. Previous research has shown media depictions can promote victim-blaming attitudes which affect society’s understanding toward sexual violence, promoting false narratives and rape-supportive beliefs. Victim narratives of sexual victimisation struggle within a ‘culture of silencing’ that prevents the majority of sexual offending from coming to the attention of authorities, and identifying the silencing of women’s experiences of rape has, and continues to be, a key objective for feminist scholars. Newspapers are one medium which has been exclusionary of women's experiences, therefore it is important to look at the role of newspapers on a longitudinal level to investigate whether there have been changes in reporting practices and attitudes. To address this issue, this study draws on feminist perspectives and adopts a quantitative and qualitative methodology utilising newspaper articles as a specific source of inquiry. Articles concerning male-female rape were collected from eight prominent New Zealand newspapers across a 40 year period from 1975 – 2015 with individual years for analysis being 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015. Results from this analysis show minimal inclusion of women’s words regarding newspaper commentary in articles concerning rape. This study also found that across the four decades of analysis, newspapers consistently reported the rape of women by strangers, and sympathetic justice system responses were achieved if the victim was ‘respectable’ and adhered to an ‘appropriate’ version of femininity. The findings from this study illustrate discourses that reflect features of a broader social discourse relating to the responsibility of women to protect themselves from rape. The implications from this research can be utilised to better inform journalists in their reporting practices on sexual violence cases in the New Zealand press, with a hope to challenge the way that newspaper reporters and consumers think about constructing rape, and women as rape victims.</p>

Silent Survivors

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 596-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Heath ◽  
Shannon M. Lynch ◽  
April M. Fritch ◽  
Lyn N. McArthur ◽  
Shilo L. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Female Offenders ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
State Prison ◽  
Self Blame ◽  
Women's Narratives ◽  
Situational Characteristics

Prior research suggests that rape victims who do not disclose or report to the police give reasons including self-blame and fear of judgment; however, this research has not been conducted with incarcerated women. Female offenders are a unique population because they experience high rates of sexual assault prior to incarceration. This study recruited 74 women at a U.S. state prison, who experienced sexual assault prior to incarceration to explore the associations among rape myth acceptance (RMA), disclosure, and reporting of sexual assaults to the authorities. Participants were asked open-ended questions regarding why they chose to disclose their sexual assaults to others, to report to the police, or to remain silent. Narratives were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded for thematic content. Women’s narratives, particularly those of women who indicated that they remained silent, frequently included a variety of rape myths that involved blaming themselves for the rape, fearing not being believed, believing that familiar perpetrators cannot be rapists, and questioning whether the event was really a rape. Women often described such rape myth beliefs with greater frequency than discussing situational characteristics of the rape as reasons for nonreporting. Implications for these findings in clinical, research, and social justice contexts are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document