Citation

Caricati L, Baldini S, Bonetti C. Violence Vict. 2023; 38(3): 396-413.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/VV-2021-0172

PMID

37348959

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of the victim's gender and the perpetrator's attractiveness on the observer's blame on the male and female victims of coercive sexual contact. Two hundred and ninety-six participants (184 females) were enrolled in an experiment in which the victim's gender and the offender's attractiveness were manipulated using vignettes depicting cross-gender sexual assault. Participants rated emotions that the victims experienced in being assaulted and attributed victim blame. The results indicate that the male victim was blamed more than the female victim, especially when the female perpetrator was described as attractive. The female victim was perceived as having experienced more negative emotions and fewer positive emotions than the male victim. The effect of the victim's gender on victim blaming was mediated by both positive and negative emotions.

Language: en

Keywords

emotions; female perpetrator; male victim; perpetrator’s attractiveness; victim-blaming