How Rape Myths Are Used and Challenged in Rape and Sexual Assault Trials

Abstract

Court responses to rape and sexual assault have been repeatedly criticized in England and Wales (Brown et al., 2010). In particular, research has identified prevalent stereotypes about rape in both the criminal justice system and wider society, with these rape myths often being used as the predominant explanation for inadequate victim/survivor treatment (see Temkin and Krahé, 2008). The existing literature, though, tends to rely on interviews or is outdated by policy, so the present research uses court observations to explore what is actually happening in adult rape and sexual assault trials. The findings show that rape myths are still routinely used at trial, but that they are sometimes resisted using judicial directions or prosecution comments. In addition, the research highlights how rape myths are kept ‘relevant’ to trial through a focus on inconsistencies, a dichotomy of wholly truthful/untruthful witnesses, and conceptualisations of ‘rational’ behaviour as being the ‘normal’ way to act. These findings provide a new understanding of rape myths and have implications for policy; in particular, that while training legal professionals is helpful, it cannot be expected to fully address the use of rape myths.

Juror Decision Making in Acquaintance and Marital Rape: The Influence of Clothing, Alcohol, and Preexisting Stereotypical Attitudes

“…One common myth is that false allegations are common (Payne, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999); and partly to undermine cases in court, defence lawyers often attempt to activate rape myths in jurors, by highlighting evidence linking to these prevailing attitudes (Smith & Skinner, 2017). Measures of rape myth acceptance reveal negative correlations between belief strength and interpretation of sex without consent as rape.…”

Transitional Justice, Education, and Sexual Violence Stigma: The Results of a Schools‐based Study in Bosnia‐Herzegovina

“…Rape myths have been defined as`prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists' 108 and`a combination of stereotypical attitudes about rape with the cultural functioning of a myth'. 109 In this regard, it is important to acknowledge that the questionnaire data tell us little about the social prevalence of the beliefs reflected in the two statements ± or about their functionality and social impact. According to Newcombe et al, however, the most common clusters of attitudes that constitute rape myths are: victim responsibility (e.g.,`She asked for it'), disbelief of rape claims (e.g.,`It wasn't really rape'), and the belief that rape only happens to certain kinds of women (e.g.,`Only women who dress suggestively are raped') .…”

The ‘casting couch’ scenario: Impact of perceived employment benefit, reporting delay, complainant gender, and participant gender on juror decision-making in rape cases

“…Third, they doubt allegation veracity (i.e. by the victim not immediately contacting police) (see also Ellison & Munro, 2009;Smith & Skinner, 2017). Fourth, they suggest that rape only happens to certain victims (i.e.…”

“…Defence lawyers often draw on rape myths to discredit victims (Smith & Skinner, 2017), and it is likely that they would encourage the jury to draw on the ubiquity of the casting couch scenario, as an indication that the complainant would have fully understood the consequences, thus implying consent would have been assumed.…”

“…Therefore, mock-jurors viewed videoed testimony of the male or female complainant who visited a male producer in their office and was subsequently raped. The complainant reported whether they gained the acting role or not, and as delays, which can also trigger rape myths (e.g., Ellison & Munro, 2009;Smith & Skinner, 2017) are a common feature of these cases, the delay in which the complainant reported the offence to the police varied from one day, six months, or ten years.…”