Citation

Morrison KE, Pedersen CL. J. Homosex. 2018; ePub(ePub): 1-17.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology , Kwantlen Polytechnic University , Surrey , British Columbia , Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00918369.2018.1534412

PMID

30372375

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that the sexual orientation of a sexual assault victim influences perceptions of blame. Although researchers have studied perceptions of blame toward straight and lesbian sexual assault victims, none have yet assessed perceptions of blame toward bisexual victims. The purpose of the current study is to examine perceptions of blame toward a female sexual assault victim and to determine whether the victim's sexual orientation impacts the level of attributed blame. Despite no previous research examining the impact of bisexuality on victim blaming, misconceptions that bisexual females are highly sexual, promiscuous, and untrustworthy make it likely that this population would be subject to greater levels of blame than either straight or lesbian victims. After random assignment to a vignette description of a sexual assault and completion of a victim-blaming questionnaire, results failed to support our hypotheses; participants did not blame the bisexual victim of sexual assault more than either the straight or lesbian victims. Further contrary to expected findings, males did not hold more blaming attitudes than females across conditions. Nonetheless, this study is important given the finding that attributions of blame influence whether sexual assault victims choose to disclose their assault, the failure of which can lead to negative mental health outcomes. Ultimately, the current study was a first step in understanding whether bisexual assault victims are evaluated differently than their straight and lesbian counterparts.

Language: en

Keywords

Victim blaming; bisexuality; homosexuality; rape; rape myth; sexual assault; sexual orientation