Acceptance of Rape Myth Among Police Trainees (original) (raw)
Related papers
2021
This study involves an analysis about rape myth acceptance by police as an underlying cause for unreported sexual assault cases throughout the world. Although the extent of women empowerment, gendered expectations, gender equality gap, rate of VAW and responding attitudes of survivors varies due to diverse traditional and cultural values. The aim of this research paper is to examine rape myth acceptance to the better understanding of police responses to sexual assault reports. The study also discusses various methods and techniques used by police officials of different countries while dealing and investigating sexual assault victims. The research is conducted through qualitative research methodology. Relevant data is collected by the analysis of available research work, reading materials and statistics of various countries relating to the problem. Inference as to this underlying cause has been drawn on the basis of information collected from observations and thorough study of the available literature and reports on the matter under discussion. The research would be highly significant in finding out the suitable solutions to deal with the problem with possible recommendations for policy-makers and the concerned departments for capacity building and skills development of relevant police officials and their training to investigate such issues in an appropriate way overcoming their traditional victim-blaming and patriarchal attitudes.
Violence and victims, 2015
A common perception is that police officers hold very negative attitudes about rape victims. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to establish whether police officers do accept stereotypical rape myths at a higher level compared to members of other populations. There were 3 comparison samples, composed of police officers, law students, and psychology students, that completed the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale. Male and female police officers accepted "she lied" myths at a higher level than the student samples. Student samples were found to accept 2 types of rape myths ("she asked for it" and "he didn't meant to") at a higher level compared to police officers. No significant differences were found in the other 4 subfactors. Therefore, the pattern of results suggests that police officers do not adhere to stereotypical myths about rape victims more than do other populations.
Rape myth acceptance among law enforcement
2013
Research demonstrates a positive relationship between rape myth acceptance and sexist beliefs, as well as a negative relationship between rape myth acceptance and victim credibility. The current study assesses the interrelationships between rape myth acceptance, sexism, victim credibility, and victim empathy among law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers' individual characteristics are also assessed. An online survey was administered to 24 specialized sex crime law enforcement officers from a city in South Louisiana. There was no significant difference on measures of rape myth acceptance and sexism; however, individual items measuring victim credibility showed a distinct difference between law enforcement officers' belief in credibility among traditional victims (i.e., professional women and virgins) and nontraditional victims (i.e., prostitutes and men). Due to the low sample size of this study, results must be interpreted with caution. Replication of this study is warranted with a larger and more diverse sample. iii
A study on attitude towards rape myths and survivors of rape amongst college students in Bangalore
International journal of scientific research, 2015
Rape seems to have taken a common form of violence and attitudes have been of central concern in relation to such violence. The aim of this study was to examine the current state of rape myth acceptance, attitude towards rape survivors among college students and the predictors for formation of attitude towards rape survivors. Findings based on the sample size of 275 college students showed that higher the rejection of rape myths, lower will be the unfavorable attitude towards survivors of rape. Regression analysis indicates that the variables ‘She asked for it’, ‘He didn’t mean to’ and ‘She lied’ inversely predicts unfavourable attitude towards the rape survivor. Chi-square analysis showed that males are less likely to reject rape myths and have high unfavourable attitude towards rape survivors than females.
Prevalence Of Rape Myths In Contemporary India
2017
Rape has been perceived as the most brutal crime against women that affects not only the physical being but also the psychological being of the victim. We know that several rape cases take place in our society but very few are reported. The most important reason for this is the prevalence of rape myths in our society which are false beliefs about rape and about those who are affected by it. India is a developing country and is changing quickly. It is witnessing remarkable developments in several fields such as science, technology etc. But unfortunately the crime rate is also increasing in this country, especially the crime of rape. The present research study is an attempt to understand that to which degree the rape myths are prevalent in India. The paper will also bring into light the amount, respondents in the study are aware of rape facts. For the present study 100 individuals were selected between the age of 18-35 years, out of which 50 were males and 50 were females. The paper r...
Rape Myth Acceptance of Police Officers in Portugal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2020
This study intended to examine rape myth acceptance (RMA) among police officers and its relationship with sociodemographic data, length of service, specific training in the field, and professional experience with victims of rape. To this end, we applied the Sexual Violence Beliefs Scale (ECVS) and controlled for sociodemographic data, as well as professional experience and specific training in the field, through a self-report questionnaire. The sample was composed of 400 police officers from a city in the north of Portugal, aged between 29 and 54 years, and most were men (94.3%). We found that tolerance to overall sexual violence exhibits positive correlations with age and length of service, as well as negative correlations with education levels. Differences were also found regarding gender, with men exhibiting greater tolerance/acceptance of overall sexual violence. It was also found that officers who exhibit higher tolerance/acceptance for sexual violence, overall, are those who d...
Rape Victims' Attitudes to Rape Myth Acceptance
Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 2012
The present study examined victims' attitudes to rape and rape-reporting behaviour. There were 36 Rape Victims, and approximately half reported their rape to the police (Rape Victim – Report) and half did not report their rape to the police (Rape Victim – Not Report). There were 42 Crime Victims, and approximately half reported the crime to the police (Crime Victim
Law Enforcement Officers' Perception of Rape and Rape Victims: A Multimethod Study
Violence and Victims, 2014
In a study to assess law enforcement officers' perceptions of rape and rape victims, researchers asked 149 law enforcement officers to respond to surveys which included a definition of rape measure, an unfounded rape claims measure, and the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale-Revised (RMA-R) measure. Although most officers scored low on the RMA-R-indicating that they did not adhere to myths about rape-most officers also responded with incomplete definitions of rape and inaccurate estimates of the number of false rape claims. Multivariate analyses indicated that officers' open-ended responses did not predict their scores on the RMA-R scale. It is argued that the RMA-R alone does not accurately measure officers' understanding of rape. Officers need ongoing training on the legal elements of the crime, the necessity of sensitivity with victims, and research-based statistics on the prevalence of rape.
The internalisation and normalisation process of rape myth acceptance: a qualitative study
Istanbul University - DergiPark, 2022
The purpose of this study is to explore the general perception of the female rape victims and identify aspects constructing victim-blaming attitude in college students. This study generated qualitative design method with an in-depth interview in data collection. The number of participants in this study is fourteen consisted of seven males and seven female college students in Indonesia. This study examined the perspective toward female rape victim by evaluating aspects appeared within rape scope and rape myth acceptance topic. The result showed that there are an internalisation and normalisation process behind the act of victim blaming in Indonesia.
Social Perception of RapeHow Rape Myth Acceptance Modulates the Influence of Situational Factors
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2004
This study assessed the role of rape myth acceptance (RMA) and situational factors in the perception of three different rape scenarios (date rape, marital rape, and stranger rape). One hundred and eighty-two psychology undergraduates were asked to emit four judgements about each rape situation: victim responsibility, perpetrator responsibility, intensity of trauma, and likelihood to report the crime to the police. It was hypothesized that neither RMA nor situational factors alone can explain how rape is perceived; it is the interaction between these two factors that best account for social reactions to sexual aggression. The results generally supported the authors' hypothesis: Victim blame, estimation of trauma, and the likelihood of reporting the crime to the police were best explained by the interaction between observer characteristics, such as RMA, and situational clues. That is, the less stereotypic the rape situation was, the greater was the influence of attitudes toward rape on attributions.