Rape Stereotype Acceptance in the General Population of England and Wales

Abstract

The #MeToo movement has facilitated a growing awareness in the UK of rape stereotypes but there has been little research on how accurately rape is perceived in this region, especially regarding demographics such as ethnicity and age. This study recruited 1000 participants, representative of the UK population, to complete an online survey prompting beliefs about rape perpetrators, rape victims, rape allegations, male rape, and motives for and consequences of rape. After carrying out frequency analyses on agree-incorrect and disagree-incorrect statements, we found that, generally, accuracy was high, although there were higher levels of stereotype acceptance for perpetrator related stereotypes. Further analysis found that in terms of demographic differences, Black and Asian participants and men were significantly more likely to accept stereotypes than other demographic groups. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, including potential for jury education, and educational media campaigns aimed at the demographics most likely to accept stereotypes.

The exposition of rape in Cyprus: From the crime scene to the court room

“…Also, it is worth noting that in contrast to the stereotype/proposition which posits that rapists suffer from mental illnesses (Hermolle et al, 2022) or personality disorders (Bushman et al, 2003), only 12.3% of the perpetrators in Cyprus were found to have been diagnosed with a mental illness by a mental health professional. Such diagnoses concerned the sexual perversion disorder, acute organic psychosis, impulse control disorder and major depressive disorder.…”

“…Relatedly, a study examining the behaviour of UK rapists showed that 'Involvement' offenders are significantly less likely to have a prior conviction, while 'Control' or 'Hostility' offenders are significantly likely to have (Almond et al, 2022: 4830). Also, it is worth noting that in contrast to the stereotype/proposition which posits that rapists suffer from mental illnesses (Hermolle et al, 2022) or personality disorders (Bushman et al, 2003), only 12.3% of the perpetrators in Cyprus were found to have been diagnosed with a mental illness by a mental health professional. Such diagnoses concerned the sexual perversion disorder, acute organic psychosis, impulse control disorder and major depressive disorder.…”