“She Is his Girlfriend—I Believe this Is a Different Situation”: Gender Differences in Perceptions of the Legality of Intimate Partner Rape

The Impact of Threat Type and Prior Abuse History on Perceptions of Intimate Partner Sexual Coercion

“…This study investigated how scenarios of intimate partner sexual coercion with varying threats and abuse history, participant marital status, and participant gender impacted perceptions of intimate partner sexual coercion. Although prior research has examined perceptions of intimate partner sexual coercion as a function of participant gender (Lynch et al, 2017, 2019) and abuse history (Langhinrichsen-Rohling & Monson, 1998), no published research has varied the husband or partner’s type of threat used to coerce the victim. Thus, it has been uncertain whether the specific threat (e.g., physical assault, financial, or children taken) influences perceptions of intimate partner sexual coercion.…”

“…Furthermore, we predicted a main effect of participant gender. As prior research has found that females are generally more pro-victim than their male counterparts in cases dealing with intimate partner sexual coercion (Lynch et al, 2019), we predicted that females would perceive certain threats (such as taking the children) as a stronger indicator of coercion than would male participants.…”

“…Perceptions of rape seem to vary based on several factors, including the victim’s gender (Smith et al, 1988; Sommer et al, 2016), the context of the assault (e.g., date rape compared with intimate partner rape, victim dress; Kirkwood & Cecil, 2001; Simonson & Subich, 1999), as well as the gender of the perceiver (Adams-Clark & Chrisler, 2018; Monson et al, 2000). For instance, previous research has found that females tend to exhibit more pro-victim judgments than do their male counterparts (Ferro et al, 2008; Lynch et al, 2017, 2019; Monson et al, 2000). Within the context of a mock juror study, Lynch et al (2019) found that female community members were significantly more likely to convict a defendant of rape than male participants.…”

“…For instance, previous research has found that females tend to exhibit more pro-victim judgments than do their male counterparts (Ferro et al, 2008; Lynch et al, 2017, 2019; Monson et al, 2000). Within the context of a mock juror study, Lynch et al (2019) found that female community members were significantly more likely to convict a defendant of rape than male participants. Furthermore, when participants were presented with multiple guilty verdict options (e.g., rape in the first degree, intimate partner rape, sexual misconduct) in addition to not guilty, females were more likely to convict the defendant while males continued to vote not guilty at the same rate (Lynch et al, 2019; Experiment 2).…”

“…However, it is likely that the true number of victims is higher, as rape is one of the least reported crimes in America (Ferro et al, 2008), and victims of sexual violence perpetrated by a partner may be less inclined to report the incident than those victimized by a non-partner (Logan et al, 2015). Sexual assault among married couples or non-married couples in intimate relationships is not taken as seriously as other forms of rape (e.g., Bergen & Barnhill, 2006; Kirkwood & Cecil, 2001; Lynch et al, 2019). Specifically, intimate partner rape is often perceived to be less violent (Simonson & Subich, 1999), less serious (Kirkwood & Cecil, 2001), and less emotionally damaging than other types of rape (Frese et al, 2004).…”