Citation

Klettke B, Mellor D. Violence Against Women 2018; 24(6): 650-667.

Affiliation

Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801217717355

PMID

29332526

Abstract

This study investigated perceptions of victim culpability in sexual assaults against girls and women according to victim age, perceiver gender, and perceiver parental status. Overall, 420 jury-eligible participants completed an online survey recording their attributions of guilt, responsibility, and blame toward 10-, 15-, and 20-year-old girls and women in relation to sexual assault. Attributions of culpability were affected by whether the victim physically or verbally resisted the abuse, wore sexually revealing clothes, or was described as having acted promiscuously. Fifteen-year-old victims were perceived as more culpable for the abuse than 10-year-old victims. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

culpability; sexual abuse; victim-blaming