Research has linked rape victim-blaming attitudes (VBAs) with gender role stereotyping, negative peer attitudes towards women, and acceptance of interpersonal violence. The current study analyzed longitudinal questionnaire data of college men (n=166) from White and Smith's (2001) study of college student victimization. Results indicate that VBAs can be conceptualized as either overt or covert, and that the covert VBA was more strongly correlated with alcohol use, sexualized peer attitudes, traditional gender stereotypes, need for sexual dominance, and perpetration of dating aggression. The covert VBA was also correlated with rape proclivity one year later, and partially mediated relationships between earlier variables and later rape proclivity. Additionally, endorsement of chivalry moderated the relationship between traditional gender stereotypes and the covert VBA, casting new perspective on the role of chivalry. Overall, results demonstrate the importance of targeting subtle expressions of VBAs in educational programs, and the need for longitudinal studies on rape attitude development.

Research relating to campus sexual assault has traditionally focused on its prevalence and factors that serve to influence risk of victimization. Less attention has been directed toward the presence and effectiveness of campus sexual assault resources. In addition, few studies have explored the role that culture and other geographical factors may play in this process. The current study seeks to address this limitation in two unique ways: (1) determining whether an Appalachian upbringing influences knowledge of and willingness to utilize campus sexual assault resources and (2) exploring its impact on adherence to common rape myths. Survey data are gathered from students at a public university located in the heart of the Appalachian Region, with results serving to improve our understanding of how culture affects students’ knowledge and perceptions of campus sexual assault resources.

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The phenomena of sexual violence have been studied on college campuses for over 50 years. Despite changes in society's attitudes towards women and gains made by women in education and the work force since the 1960s, research reveals that the incidence and prevalence rates of date rape have not changed significantly over the years. Extant literature indicates that endorsement of rape myths has been found to be associated with sexual aggression by males. A review of existing instruments revealed that current assessments of rape supportive attitudes and beliefs appear outdated in their language and may not be geared for today's college population. This study used a newly developed instrument, the Rape Supportive Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (RABS), by Gerald H. Burgess (2007) to survey male and female undergraduate students (N=224) with respect to their attitudes and beliefs regarding rape. The male participants were also asked if they had engaged or would consider engaging in forced sexual behavior under a variety of circumstances. The present study was designed to replicate and extend the findings of Burgess. Burgess studied a sample of undergraduate students in a rural university. Participants in this study, in contrast, were from a large metropolitan university with a much more diverse student body. This study found, similar to Burgess' research, that there are significant gender differences in endorsement of rape myths between men and women, as measured by a series of t-tests. As expected, men scored higher than women on the RABS, meaning greater endorsement of rape myths. In contrast to Burgess' findings, this study did not find that endorsement of rape myths was related to proclivity to sexual violence. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) additionally revealed a factor structure that differed from the original 5-factor structure proposed by Burgess. The discussion focuses on the meaning of the similarities and differences between the two studies and directions for future research.

This paper examines the Swedish tabloid press coverage of three rape case allegations where the accused was a high-profile sport star. Critical discourse analysis was applied as the theoretical and methodological framework combined with the theoretical concepts of monstering and rape myths. The three cases we examined were the rape allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo, the rape allegations against three Swedish hockey players and the child rape case involving the Malmö FF player Kingsley Sarfo.    Monstering is a term used to describe the process in which the media portrays a rapist as a “monster” or “pervert”.  By doing so the rapist is separated from “ordinary men”. If the problem is never identified as “men raping” then the solution can never be “stop men from raping”   Rape myths on the other hand, focuses on how media reports on rape creates and sustains stereotypic ideas about rape. Research have found that if the media writes about rape in a stereotypical way then this perception of rape will spread to the readers.    We found that monstering appeared regularly in each of the three cases mostly through naming and reference of the alleged perpetrators and the accusers. Rape myths also appeared in each of the three cases but to a lesser degree. Rape myths was prominent through a linguistic separation between the alleged rapist and the rape.    Our results also showed that a patriarchal discourse was prevalent in the reporting on rape in the Swedish tabloid press.

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Purpose: Rape is a wide-spread problem which incuse society. Rape leads to negative physical, mental, and social consequences for victims. The purpose of this study was to outline what previous research have concluded regarding men’s attitudes towards rape, and to examine intervention programs' effectiveness in changing participants attitudes regarding rape. Method: The design of this study is Scoping review. The analysis method used was manifest content analysis. Results: The results showed that men are more prone to agree with rape myths than women, that men are more likely to believe women deserve rape, that there is nothing wrong with sexual coercion and women are either fully or partly responsible for having been raped. The results also showed that intervention programs and educational courses are effective in changing participant’s attitudes regarding rape and strengthen participants confidence regarding interference in high-risk situations such as date rape. / Syfte: Våldtäkt är ett omfattande världsproblem som präglar samhället. Våldtäkt leder till negativa fysiska, psykiska och sociala konsekvenser för offer. Syftet med den här studie var att kartlägga vad tidigare forskning har kommit fram till gällande mäns attityder till våldtäkt och hur väl interventioner för attityder om våldtäkt fungerar. Metod: Studiens design var en Scoping review. Analysmetoden som användes var manifest innehållsanalys. Resultat: Resultaten visade att män är mer benägna att hålla med om våldtäktsmyter än kvinnor, att män är mer benägna att tro att kvinnor förtjänar våldtäkt, att det inte är något fel med sexuellt tvång och att kvinnor antingen är helt eller delvis ansvariga för att ha blivit våldtagen. Resultatet visade även att interventionsprogram och utbildningskurser är effektiva interventioner för att förändra deltagares attityder om våldtäkt samt att de stärkte delt agares självförtroende till att ingripa i högrisksituationer som dejtingvåldtäkt.

Rape myths are pervasive and play a major role in the perpetuation and substantiation of sexual violence against women. This study sought to examine if rape myths could affect criminal case outcomes. An overview of rape myths and their foundations in feminist theories was presented. Four major rape myths (husbands cannot rape their wives, women enjoy rape, women ask to be raped, and women lie about rape) were operationalized into victim and case characteristics and subsequently assessed to determine if there is a relationship between the variables and criminal case outcomes (suspect arrest and suspect conviction). A sample (n = 463) of cases that were gathered from two jurisdictions in a north-eastern U.S. state were analysed. Results indicate that victim participation, consent defence, and other crimes being present in the initial police report were the strongest predictors of suspect arrest and suspect conviction. Weapon use was a strong predictor of suspect arrest and substance use was a strong predictor of suspect conviction.

Sexual assault on college campuses is a pervasive issue that continues to affect women from a variety of backgrounds. Unfortunately, the narratives of women of color, especially black women are often marginalized even though data shows that they tend to be more susceptible to sexual assault. Using survey questions concerning traditional gender roles, and situations of sexual assault (while considering race and gender), this study will measure the attitudes of 300 college-aged individuals. Data will be analyzed using an ANOVA test to study the combined effects that race and gender may have on the respondents’ perception of victims. Historically, African American/black women have faced unique stereotypes about their sexuality that dehumanizes and normalizes sexual aggression towards them. This study aims to explore perceptions about sexual assault as it relates to college-age black women and expand the scope of research currently being done on victimization.