Abstract

Rape myths (RMs) are a complex set of cultural beliefs and attitudes that support and condone sexual violence, mainly by shifting blame from the perpetrator to the victim. Much empirical attention has been paid to how RMs perpetuate cultural norms that justify sexually assaultive behaviours, with research demonstrating that individuals who have higher rape myth acceptance (RMA) are less likely to believe victims of sexual assault, report their own assault if victimized, and are themselves at an increased risk for sexual violence perpetration. Though several methods exist for assessing RMA, shifting cultural norms make it increasingly difficult to accurately assess RMA using traditional quantitative methods; existing research shows discrepancies in response patterns between qualitative and quantitative examinations of RMAs. In a mock-jury paradigm, university (n = 86) and community-based participants (n = 82) responded to a fictitious police report of sexual coercion between two romantic partners. Results indicated that although respondents endorsed low levels of RMA on a self-report measure (updated IRMA), their qualitative responses endorsed four distinct RMs, such as “she asked for it,” which attributes responsibility for the assault to the victim. Implications and future directions for research will be discussed.

摘要

强奸神话 (RM) 是一套复杂的文化信仰和态度，支持和纵容性暴力，主要是通过将责任从犯罪者转移到受害者身上。已经对 RMs 如何延续为性侵犯行为辩护的文化规范进行了很多实证研究，研究表明，具有较高强奸神话接受度 (RMA) 的个人不太可能相信性侵犯的受害者，如果受害则报告自己的攻击，并且自身遭受性暴力的风险增加。尽管存在多种评估 RMA 的方法，但不断变化的文化规范使得使用传统定量方法准确评估 RMA 变得越来越困难；现有研究表明，RMA 的定性和定量检查之间的响应模式存在差异。在模拟陪审团范式中，n = 86) 和社区参与者 ( n = 82) 对关于两个浪漫伴侣之间性胁迫的虚构警方报告作出回应。结果表明，尽管受访者在自我报告措施（更新的 IRMA）中支持低水平的 RMA，但他们的定性回答支持四个不同的 RM，例如“她要求它”，将攻击责任归咎于受害者。将讨论研究的意义和未来方向。