This study was designed to investigate the relationships between gender role stereotypes, rape myths, and social distance from sex offenders and sex crime victims among students and therapists. A Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, an Attitude Variables Questionnaire, and a Social Distance Scale were administered to 125 female social science students and 51 female therapists. The findings validated our hypothesis: traditional gender role attitudes and belief in rape myths were positively related to social distance. Although therapists were willing to be in social contact with both victims and offenders to a much greater degree than were students, both groups expressed a decline in willingness to have social contact with victims and offenders, especially when the relationships were closer and more intimate. It seems that three decades after the first studies of rape myths, prejudices and stereotypes concerning rape and rape victims still exist.

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Fifteen inmates from Ayalon prison, a maximum-security prison in Israel, who were convicted of murder, attempted murder, or manslaughter of their female intimate partner, have participated in a study designed to examine integrated variables-personal, interpersonal, and environmental-familial-connected with this phenomenon. Analyses of the in-depth interviews demonstrate that despite the different motivations the perpetrators displayed with regard to the murder, they share some common themes. On the basis of these themes, three primary types of female intimate partner murderers have been identified; each of them represents a personal narrative as follows: the betrayed, the abandoned, and the tyrant. The proposed typology might be used for establishing a common language among researchers, scholars, and workers in this field. It can also contribute to the existing clinical tools in terms of prediction, prevention, and treatment initiatives that currently focus on violence.

This paper examines the hypothesis of modular judgment in the context of attribution of blame to rape victims. Modular judgment was operationalized using blame schemata suited to judgment of everyday aggression. Subjects were 72 individuals, 36 therapists and 36 non-therapists; half were men and half women. Each subject was presented with written descriptions of four rapes, which included information regarding victim's gender (male versus female) and victim's prior acquaintance with the rapist (stranger or known). Dependent variables were attribution of blame and judgments regarding severity of the rape and of the punishment deserved by the rapist. Among both therapists and non-therapists there was a slight general tendency to blame the victim. As expected, women were blamed more than men. Also, men attributed less blame to male victims then did women, whereas women attributed less blame to female victims then did men. These results support the theories of modular judgment and of defensive attribution. As for judgment of severity of the rape, therapists judged the rapes as slightly more severe. Similar results were found regarding judgment of deserved punishment. We suggest further investigation of the connection between blame attribution and rape myths, which may facilitate blaming the victim.

This study explores thought patterns of Jewish Ashkenazi Ultra-Orthodox pedophiles in Israel and how they resolve the contradiction between their commitment to Jewish Law and having committed sexual offenses against minors. Ten adult men participated in this study. Using open semistructured interviews, their cognitive distortions before, during, and after the abuse were examined. Content analysis revealed that participants used cognitive distortions based on their own world of Jewish Law and social-cultural values. The insular nature of Ultra-Orthodox society and its many prohibitions, especially regarding sexuality, tempted offenders to test boundaries. When sexual drive was high, internal control mechanisms were ineffective even in presence of external control mechanisms. Some participants recognized the contradiction between their behaviors and being Ultra-Orthodox Jews, and others did not. Based on the findings, a flow chart was devised describing the cognitive processes of Jewish Ultra-Orthodox pedophiles. Theoretical and practical implications of the results were examined.