Angelone, D. J., Mitchell, D. & Pilafova, A. (2007) Club drug use and intentionality in perceptions of rape victims. Sex Roles, 57, 283-292.
This exploratory study investigated the influence of GHB use versus alcohol and intentionality on observer's feelings toward the victim and the perpetrator in a male-female rape scenario. The sample in this study consisted of 198 undergraduate students from a Northeastern college; the sample contained 130 females and was almost 80% Caucasian. The participants ranged in age from 18-48 but the mean was 19. Participants read one of four vignettes where a college female had attended a party and had ingested GHB or Everclear, a type of grain alcohol. In the different vignettes the female either ingested the substance voluntarily or was "slipped" the drug by a male, the vignette continued when the female became sleepy and the male brought her into his room and had sex with her, the victim attempted to verbally resist but felt too groggy to physically resist (Angelone, 2007, 286). The victim then reported the rape to police in the morning; the perpetrator claimed the sex was consensual. After the vignette participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire asking about victim and perpetrator culpability, victim pleasure, victim trauma, perpetrator guilt, and the likelihood the perpetrator will be found guilty (Angelone, 2007, 286). Overall the respondents found that the perpetrator was responsible for the crime, whether or not the victim chose to ingest the substance or not, also the participants felt the victim would be highly traumatized. Females were more likely to be sympathetic to the victim, being more likely to classify the situation as rape. Both males and females assigned more blame on the victim when she had voluntarily ingested either Everclear or GHB, also they put less blame on the perpetrator in the same situation, incidents like this were less likely to be considered rape by outside observers in this study.
Clum, G. A., Nishith, P. & Calhoun, K. S. (2002). A preliminary investigation of alcohol use during trauma and peritraumatic reactions in female sexual assault victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15(4), 321-328.
This study looked to see the relationship between reports of alcohol use during a sexual assault and how the victim perceived the severity of the assault. This study looked at 57 college women from a Southeastern university who had been previously sexually assaulted, 84% were Caucasian and most were around the age of 19.
Alcoholism has been a fixture in our society since the first introduction of alcohol. Despite it being an equal opportunity disease, a large majority of not only the treatment, but also the research, has been about men. This lack of consideration of the different needs for men and women has led to many women going through recovery systems that do not address their experiences, and therefore do not allow them to take full advantage of that recovery system. This paper will attempt to look at the different experiences that men and women have in their journey through a substance addiction (particularly alcohol), from addiction through recovery. The main recovery method that will be discussed here is Alcoholics Anonymous. As an observation addition to this assignment, I sat in on an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Kerrville, TX. The meeting was on Thanksgiving Day at noon. I took detailed notes of the meeting, while keeping a watchful eye for any gendered interactions during the flow of the meeting.
This is often done through the use of language to direct focus away from the perpetrator of assault; in addition to accrediting rape to the victim, attributions of rape blame may be related to variables such as alcohol consumption, verbal and non-verbal miscommunication of sexual signals, and resistance (or lack thereof) used at the time of a sexual assault. This has the effect of complicating sexual assault analyses and blurring issues surrounding assault. For example, alcohol complicates discussions of consent and censure in rape trials; alcohol consumption by the perpetrator has a pardoning effect. Intoxicated perpetrators are held less responsible for their actions than sober perpetrators (Abbey et al., 2004). In this sense, perpetrators of sexual assault are able to “blame [their assault] on the a-a-alcohol”. Conversely, women who are sexually assaulted after having consumed alcohol are assessed from a victim-blaming perspective – a perspective that suggests that the woman caused her rape by suggesting her consent through her alcohol consumption (leading the man on). In
Performing rape accidentally, or knowingly I do agree with Yoffe’s statement “Let’s be totally clear: Perpetrators are the ones responsible for committing their crimes.” In Yoffe’s article she covers both the perpetrator as well as the victim, though spending more time on the latter. I feel that perhaps an understanding of whether it really is a majority rule, where rapists are surveying the streets preying on unsuspecting women. According to Amanda Hess’s Article “To prevent Rape on College Campuses, Focus on the Rapist, Not the Victim”, rapist drink, so they can find their next victim! After all wherever one person can get drunk another can join in as well.
Within the criminal justice system, the victim faces re-victimization with the techniques that are done within the court room. For example, the defense attorney may try to use rape myths such as the victim asked for it based on the way she may have dressed, the victim led the offender on by flirting with them, and that she could have avoided being raped if she wasn’t drinking (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). The purpose of using rape myths is to demonize the victim’s character by subjecting the victim to humiliating and inquisitive questions (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). Third, the victim may not report rape to law enforcement because they may fear retaliation by the offender, especially if that offender is a lifelong partner or a boyfriend. Fourth, due to the culture of rape and the influences of the media, a victim may feel guilty and blame themselves for the assault (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). As stated earlier, rape myths are used to demonize the victim’s character and ultimately take the blame away from the offender and put it onto the victim. In fact, rape myths serve to lessen the prevalence and seriousness of
The stranger rape scenario was about a women walking home after having coffee with her friends and a man just comes up to her and sexually assaults her. Study 1 concentrated on blameworthiness based on the scenario presented to the participants randomly; that being a scenario of acquaintance or stranger rape. Study 2 focused on sentence length for perpetrators recommended by participants based on type of rape. For both, study one and two they had used Likert scales to determine blameworthiness and sentence and to measure benevolent sexism in relation to study one and two. Based on the results, in Study 1 there was a significant negative correlation between acquaintance rape and benevolent sexism with regard to blameworthiness. In Study 2 those
The highest cause of sexual assault on college campus is alcohol use. Alcohol decreases a person’s ability to fight off an attack. It also can make the attacker more aggressive and unable to clearly interpret the victims’ interest in them sexually (“Alcohol Use”). In the research article Alcohol Use Increases the Risk of Sexual Assault, “A study of sexual assault victims – half of whom were college students – found that women who were drinking when an assault took place reported that their intoxication made them take risks they would normally avo...
The consequences of prison inmate rape are unbelievably ignored or treated with less importance. Several episodes of a traumatic sexual attack may be inflicted on the same person causing undesirabl...
Sexual assaults on college campuses has become a major phenomenon and increases on a daily throughout the United States. 1 out of 4 women on college campuses have been reported as victims in sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults in a study by Koss, Gidyez, and Wisniewski. (Lee, Spring 2003) In majority reports of sexual assaults the victims knew their perpetrator personally and the sexual assault took place while on a date with the perpetrator. (Lee, Spring 2003) Their study also exposed that 1 in 12 college men were involved in sexual assaults but felt that their actions were not illegal. Alcohol and drug use are major components in which sexual assaults are created by. Alcohol and drug us amplified rapidly at the beginning of college
Messman-Moore, L. T, Ward, M. R., & DeNArd, A. K. (2013). The impact of sexual alcohol expectancies and risky behavior on alcohol-involved rape among college women. Violence against women, 19(4), 449.
Rubenzahl, Samuel A. “The Prevalence and Characteristics of Male Perpetrators of Acquaintance Rape New Research Methodology Reveals New Findings.” Violence Against Women 4 (1998): 713-726.
Sexual assault is a traumatic event that can cause extreme psychological effects on the victim. These effects can be short-term, and they can manifest themselves into long-term effects, depending on the individual and how the sexual assault occurred. Victims of sexual assault can be either male or female, with both sexes having fairly similar psychological effects. In addition to these psychological effects, some individuals develop Rape Trauma Syndrome or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which can be more easily classified as short-term versus long-term responses. Every individual is different and may differ in their reactions to this event; there is no normal or common way to react (Kaminker, 1998, pg. 23).
Resik, P. A. (1993). Sexuality, substance use, and susceptibility to victimization. Journal on interpersonal Violence, 23, 1730-1746.
Sahl, Daniel, and Jennifer Reid Keene. "The Effects Of Age, Authority, And Gender On Perceptions Of 00000 Statutory Rape Offenders." Journal Of Interpersonal Violence 27.18 (2012): 3701-3722. 00000 Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Women are more likely to be victims of rape or sexual violence than men. Seventy-eight percent of victims of women and twenty-two percent are men. Women who are raped before the age of eighteen are twice as likely to be raped again as adults. Victims are at greater risk of rape or sexual assault while intoxicated. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sh...
Victims who were under the influence may feel as though their report won’t be validated since they chose to go out and chose to get drunk. Judge Lindsay Kushner made the claim that, “yes, you can drink yourself daft and you can use your body how you want, but if you do you are more likely to get raped.” But what must be noted is that the victim did not choose to get raped and the intent of rape ultimately lies with the perpetrator. This point of view emphasizes the traditional ideology of gender roles in sexual assault cases when women are the