Employing a mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology among undergraduate students at the University of Ottawa, this research has explored attributions about sexual assault and the role of perceived intoxication in the context of female and male victims of sexual assault. The use of qualitative methodology and the application of a feminist critique of attribution theory and its contemporary application to rape perception research have contributed to a better understanding of these judgements and the varied ways in which undergraduate students apply the core constructs of responsibility and blame to sexual assault, while simultaneously highlighting the limitations of typically positivistic research in this area. Analyses suggest that the judgements students make about the victims and perpetrators involved in sexual assault are varied and complex, and future research employing a similar methodology and theoretical lens among other populations, both within and outside post-secondary spheres, is warranted.

Violence against women (VAW) in India reflects encouraged patriarchal notions, societal despotism, and cultural subjugations. The Indian government is continuously striving to bring legal reforms that can deter perpetrators from inflicting violence on women. However, these changes are occurring only on the surface when in fact the issues are deep-seated. Therefore, this thesis addresses two main research questions: 1) What factors contribute to the increase in cases of VAW in India and how the legal system addresses these factors, and 2) What policies and schemes are employed to empower women and provide support services to women victims of violence, and what are the effects of these policies/schemes. To explore each of these questions, the thesis was divided into two parts. In part 1, a legal case analysis strategy was adopted to qualitatively analyze 26 High Court cases from Uttar Pradesh, India. Seven major themes emerged from the thematic analysis of these cases that highlight the reasons for the perpetration of violence, victim-blaming, barriers to report the crime, and legal systemic barriers. In part 2, a policy analysis framework was applied to review and analyze six major schemes and policies focused on VAW. All the schemes and policies were assessed, compared, and prioritized against different criteria which were constructed based on the research findings from part 1. Major results of this study suggest that the schemes and policies focused on VAW are structurally flawed and lack proper monitoring. In conclusion, efforts must be made to deter the act of perpetrating violence on women by implementing suitable community and family interventions, recognizing and eliminating factors that lead to revictimization, providing detailed guidelines to enhance services through local schemes and policies, and acknowledging patterns of patriarchal and cultural norms surrounding VAW.

Ce mémoire porte un regard sociologique pour comprendre globalement le phénomène du Revenge Porn chez les adolescentes/jeunes adultes de 16 à 25 ans se considérant victimes de cette pratique. Plus précisément, il s’intéresse, d’un point de vue phénoménologique, à leurs perceptions du phénomène du revenge porn. Notre analyse se base sur les histoires et les expériences vécues de quatre femmes se considérant comme victimes et une cinquième personne qui est la co-fondatrice de l’association stop fisha, établie en France, qui nous a parlé de son expérience et des divers cas auxquels elle devait faire face. Ce mémoire aborde divers aspects tels que les conséquences dans leurs vies de tous les jours, le victim blaming, la perception de la Justice dans ce genre d’affaires, le désir ou non de porter plainte et pour quelles raisons, la stigmatisation du nom peu flatteur du Revenge Porn qui laisserait sous-entendre de prime abord qu’elles ont fait quelque chose de mal auparavant, ainsi que des projets à mettre en place préventivement pour pouvoir lutter contre le Revenge Porn.

This study explores the intentions of the character Humbert Humbert in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, as well as the outcome of his words. It also examines the intended as well as the unintended effects on the reader. Humbert’s attempt to lure in the reader by twisting the truth and deflecting blame is analyzed by using worldmaking and victim-blaming. Through worldmaking it is shown that the perception of the world differs almost as much between different readers as it does between Humbert and the reader. Despite the difference in reader experience, Humbert’s failure to convince any reader of his innocence is inevitable. He even, in part, fails to convince himself. His inability to accept blame slowly diminishes as he reexperiences his vile relationship with the innocent Dolores Haze.

Uppsatsens syfte var att undersöka hur intervjudeltagare verksamma inom för studien relevanta organisationer och myndigheter resonerade angående barriärer för polisanmälan som kvinnor kan uppleva vid våld i nära relation. Vidare var syftet att diskutera hur intervjudeltagarna såg på sin roll att öka anmälningsbenägenheten genom att underlätta för kvinnorna att överkomma dessa barriärer. Teorin utgick från normalisering, victim blaming och sekundär viktimisering samt det ideala offret. Metoden som användes var kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer. Uppsatsens resultat visade att deltagarna var medvetna om dessa barriärer och att de hade utvecklat förhållningssätt och strategier för att bemöta dessa, exempelvis genom att avnormalisera våldet. Vidare konstaterades att även om ingen av intervjudeltagarna ansåg att bidra till ökad anmälningsbenägenhet var deras huvuduppgift kan deras bemötande av barriärerna indirekt öka denna. / The aim of the study was to examine how the interviewees from different organizations and authorities relevant to our study reasoned on the barriers women might experience when it comes to reporting intimate partner abuse to the police. The aim was also to examine how the interviewees viewed their role in increasing the propensity to report by encouraging the women to overcome these barriers. Our theory was based on the theories of the normalization process, victim blaming and secondary victimization and the ideal victim. The method used was qualitative, semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the interviewees were aware of these barriers and that they had developed different approaches and strategies to meet these barriers, for example by de-normalizing the violence. Another finding was that although none of the interviewees regarded increasing the women’s propensity to report as their first priority, their work in helping the women to overcome the barriers indirectly can contribute to increase the propensity to report to the police.

The current study sought to assess the impact of the race, gender, and ethnicity of rape victims on college students’ propensity to assign culpability to victims. Using a sample of college students (n=279) from a mid-sized Southeastern university, respondents were given a set of six different vignettes, varying only by victim characteristics. These vignettes featured alcohol-facilitated sexual assault between acquaintances, a common occurrence in college environments. Respondents were asked to evaluate the culpability of the victim through a blameworthiness scale. Through the incorporation of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, this study also measured the respondents’ propensity to assign blame to female rape victims and to alleviate male perpetrators of any responsibility. Results indicated that adherence to rape myth acceptance was a more significant predictor of blameworthiness than victim or respondent characteristics. This exploratory study was designed to add to the growing body of literature examining attitudes toward acquaintance rape.

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.

Sexual assault on college campuses continues to be a pervasive public health issue with approximately one in five women experiencing sexual assault. Stranger rape is most commonly what people think of when they think of sexual assault, however, acquaintance rape is the most common form of sexual assault. Yet, victims are blamed more in acquaintance rape as compared to stranger rape situations. Thus, the perceptions of sexual assault occurring in various romantic relationships warrants further attention. Using an online survey at a large southern university, the current study examines the perceptions of college students, in various sexual assault scenarios, including stranger, acquaintance, committed dating, cohabitating, and marital. In addition, the levels of victim blame, rape myths, sexual attitudes and beliefs, and hostility toward women are examined. Findings may help inform future prevention efforts to help reduce rape myths regarding dating and marital rape.

This study investigated the relationships among the sex of respondents, the age of depicted perpetrators, the sex of depicted victims and perpetrators, and various respondent attributions toward hypothetical sexual abuse vignettes, in which a depicted 15-year old victim neither resisted nor encouraged a perpetrator's actions. The study also investigated the relationships of respondent sexual and gender-role attitudes and the aforementioned respondent attributions, Respondents (N = 262, 136 males and 126 females) were each presented with six (3 X 2) written vignettes in which the age of the perpetrator (15-, 25-, and 35-years old) and the sex of the perpetrator (male or female; only heterosexual interactions were used) were manipulated. Results suggested that there were significant respondent sex differences, with female respondents being more pro-victim and perceiving the depicted interactions as more abusive and more representative of child sexual abuse, Further, the age of the perpetrator was a significant factor for male respondent attributions, with more culpability and responsibility being attributed to older perpetrators. For male and female respondents, the age of the perpetrator was a significant factor in the ratings of abusiveness and the vignette's representativeness of , child sexual abuse, with the ratings of vignettes with older perpetrators being perceived as more abusive and more representative of child sexual abuse. The sex of the depicted perpetrator also was a significant factor for male respondent attributions, with more culpability and responsibility being attributed to depicted male perpetrators. For male and female respondents, the sex of the depicted perpetrator was a significant factor in the ratings of abusiveness and the vignette's representativeness of child sexual abuse, with the ratings of vignettes with male perpetrators being perceived as more abusive and more representative of child sexual abuse. Finally, gender-role attitudes and various sexual attitudes did not correlate consistently with respondent attributions of child sexual abuse in these scenarios. These findings emphasize the need to educate the general public about child sexual abuse and unwanted sexual contact involving individuals under the age of consent.

This thesis report explores and talks about my different experiences, thoughts, ideas, designs and field trips that I took in order to make my project happen. For my project, I created a 3D graphic book and I wanted to educate, empower and start conversations with young teen girls in India about consent and victim blaming through it. I have explored how to talk about a serious topic such as rape without triggering people, given a detailed insight as to how I discovered my visual style for my book, explored how people in India react to my project, sex education level taught in India, collaborated with different people in Sweden and India that helped make my project work and used a metaphorical story of Medusa to communicate my message.