Rape Myth Consistency and Gender Differences in Perceiving Rape Victims

Abstract

An overview discusses feminist analyses of oppression, attitudes toward rape victims, and previously studied predictors of individuals’ attitudes toward rape victims. To better understand such attitudes, this meta-analysis examines the moderating influences of various rape victim, perpetrator, and crime characteristics’ rape myth consistency on gender differences in individuals’ perceptions of rape victims (i.e., victim responsibility and blame attributions and rape minimizing attitudes). Consistent with feminist theoretical predictions, results indicated that, overall, men perceived rape victims more negatively than women did. However, this sex difference was moderated by the rape myth consistency within the rape vignettes. Implications for research are discussed.