Identification and Attribution of Blame in Rape Situations by University Students

Pagel, Wesley Henrique; Laurenti, Carolina; Macerau, Walkiria Maria de Oliveira; Machado, Isadora Vier

doi:10.1590/1982-4327e3402

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Social Psychology • Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto) 34 • 2024 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-4327e3402 copy

Identification and Attribution of Blame in Rape Situations by University Students

Identificação e Responsabilização de Situações de Estupro por Estudantes Universitários

Identificación y Responsabilización de Situaciones de Violación por Estudiantes Universitarios

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Although society criminalizes rape, many institutions reproduce stereotypes of this sexual assault. Rape can also occur in the university and in various ways that do not correspond to its stereotypes. The article aimed to evaluate how undergraduates identify situations of rape and how they attribute fault to the victim and the aggressor. 228 participants commented on fictional stories of rape that manipulated the variables: sexual assault with or without penetration; previous behavior of the victim; previous relationship between the characters; and presence or absence of physical strength in the rape. The results showed that these variables influence the identification of rape and that male students tend to blame victims more than female students. Understanding the multiple variables that affect identification and attribution of blame can lead to more effective sexual violence prevention and intervention strategies.

Keywords:
gender-based violence; rape; university; university students

Parameter		With penetration		No penetration
Parameter		No.	(%)	No.	(%)
Previous behavior of the victim	“Acceptable”	101	90.18	78	67.24
Previous behavior of the victim	“Unacceptable”	88	78.57	57	49.14
Previous relationship of the characters	Stranger	107	92.24	64	57.14
Previous relationship of the characters	Acquaintance	95	81.90	49	43.75
Presence of physical strength	With physical strength	98	87.50	80	68.97
Presence of physical strength	No physical strength	73	65.18	50	43.10

Fixed parameter		Group	Statistic	p- value
Previous behavior of the victim	Unacceptable	With or without penetration	4.62	< 0.0001*
	Acceptable	With or without penetration	4.22	< 0.0001*
	With penetration	Unacceptable or Acceptable	−2.39	0.0168*
	No penetration	Unacceptable or Acceptable	−2.80	0.0051*
Previous relationship between victim and perpetrator	Acquaintance	With or without penetration	5.97	< 0.0001*
	Stranger	With or without penetration	6.12	< 0.0001*
	With penetration	Acquaintance or stranger	−2.35	0.0188*
	No penetration	Acquaintance or stranger	−2.00	0.0455*
Presence of physical strength	With physical strength	With or without penetration	3.38	< 0.0001*
	No physical strength	With or without penetration	3.34	< 0.0001*
	With penetration	With or without physical strength	3.93	< 0.0001*
	No penetration	With or without physical strength	3.97	< 0.0001*

Parameter		With penetration				No penetration
		Men		Women		Men		Women
		No.	(%)	No.	(%)	No.	(%)	No.	(%)
Previous behavior of the victim	“Acceptable”	35	100	73	100	30	85.71	79	98.75
Previous behavior of the victim	“Unacceptable”	27	81.82	67	91.78	26	74.29	74	92.50
Previous relationship of the victim	Stranger	35	100	78	97.50	31	93.94	70	95.89
Previous relationship of the victim	Acquaintance	30	85.71	79	98.75	23	69.70	67	91.78
Presence of physical strength	With physical strength	32	96.97	71	97.26	29	82.86	79	98.75
Presence of physical strength	No physical strength	22	66.67	65	89.04	23	65.71	68	85.00

Fixed variables			Groups	Statistic	p- value
Previous behavior of the victim	Unacceptable	With penetration	Man or woman	-1.5	0.1336
	Unacceptable	No penetration	Man or woman	-2.67	0.0076*
	Acceptable	With penetration	Man or woman	-*-	-*-
	Acceptable	No penetration	Man or woman	-2.89	0.0039*
Previous relationship between victim and perpetrator	Acquaintance	With penetration	Man or woman	-2.89	0.0039*
	Acquaintance	No penetration	Man or woman	-2.17	0.0300*
	Stranger	With penetration	Man or woman	0.94	0.3472
	Stranger	No penetration	Man or woman	-0.44	0.6599
Presence of physical strength	With physical strength	With penetration	Man or woman	-0.08	0.9362
	With physical strength	No penetration	Man or woman	-3.28	0.0010*
	No physical strength	With penetration	Man or woman	-2.78	0.0054*
	No physical strength	No penetration	Man or woman	-2.34	0.0193*

Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia Av.Bandeirantes 3900 - Monte Alegre, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo - Brasil, Tel.: (55 16) 3315-3829 - Ribeirão Preto - SP - Brazil
E-mail: paideia@usp.br

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[1] Correspondence: Carolina Laurenti. Universidade Estadual de Maringá. Departamento de Psicologia. Bloco 118. Av. Colombo, 5790 - Jd. Universitário, Maringá-PR, Brazil. CEP 87.020-900. Email: claurenti@uem.br