The Impact of Contemplated Exposure to a Survivor of Rape on Attitudes toward Rape¹

Abstract

Male and female college students were asked to rate the truth of myths about rape either before or after contemplating how they would react if a close friend or relative told them she had been raped. It was expected that such contemplation would decrease endorsement of rape myths, by increasing sympathy for victims and reducing the tendency to blame victims for sexual assault. Typically, studies have found that women are less accepting of rape myths and more sympathetic to rape victims than men. A reason for this may be that women have thought about rape more and are more likely to have experienced sexual assault or to be acquainted with a survivor. Based on the above findings, it was hypothesized that contemplating exposure to a rape survivor would be particularly beneficial to men's attitudes. Results contradicted the hypothesis and showed that contemplating exposure increased rejection of rape myths for women but slightly increased men's endorsements. In contrast, men and women who were actually acquainted with a rape survivor rejected rape myths more strongly than those who did not claim acquaintance.

Perceptions of a Rape Prevention Program by Fraternity Men and Male Student Athletes: Powerful Effects and Implications for Changing Behavior

“…Six of these studies (Foubert, 2000;Foubert & Marriott, 1997;Foubert & McEwen, 1998;Gilbert, Heesacker, & Gannon, 1991;Lee, 1987;Schewe & O'Donohue, 1993) have assessed the impact of describing a male as a survivor of a male-on-male rape. Three studies (Berg, 1993;Berg, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999;Ellis, O'Sullivan, & Sowards, 1992) have assessed the impact of describing a female as a survivor of a male-on-female rape. All six studies depicting a man as a survivor led to significant declines in men' s likelihood of raping and/or their rape myth acceptance or other similar attitudes.…”

“…In stark contrast, all of the studies evaluating the impact of describing a woman' s experience as a survivor increased men' s rape myth acceptance, and in the case of Berg (1993), also increased men' s likelihood of sexual aggression. Authors suggest that describing male-on-female rape may reinforce men' s beliefs about rape and/or may even be arousing to male research participants (Berg, 1993;Berg, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999;Ellis, O'Sullivan, & Sowards, 1992). Together, these findings point to the need for men to understand rape through hearing about a male-on-male rape situation in order to develop the empathy with rape survivors that is necessary for lower likelihood of raping and lower rape myth acceptance.…”

Sexual assault prevention programs Current issues, future directions, and the potential efficacy of interventions with women

“…The participants were most likely "primed" at this point to respond in a socially desirable manner. Ellis, O'Sullivan, and Sowards (1992) assessed the effect of an actual or imagined exposure to a survivor of sexual assault in changing attitudes about rape. A mixedgender audience was asked "to consider a situation in which a close friend or relative came to them and told them that she had been sexually assaulted" (p. 891).…”

A Qualitative Assessment of "The Men's Program:" The Impact of a Rape Prevention Program on Fraternity Men

“…By using a rape prevention program that combines several effective portions of the research literature (Earle, 1996;Ellis, O'Sullivan, & Sowards, 1992;Hamilton & Yee, 1990;Schewe & O'Donohue, 1993), program participants reported how a rape prevention program administered 7 months previously positively impacted their attitude and behavior. These results lend strong support to the use of this and other similar victim empathy programs as student affairs administrators seek to intentionally construct campus environments where no more rape occurs.…”

“…One such all-male program is "The Men' s Program." Based on research showing that male participants must consider rape from a personal perspective, with themselves as a victim, in order to fully empathize with rape survivors (Ellis, O'Sullivan, & Sowards, 1992), "The Men' s Program" focuses on building victim empathy and on teaching men how to help women recover from a rape experience. Such empathy for the survivor has been shown to be effective in decreasing the likelihood of men raping (Hamilton & Yee, 1990;Schewe & O'Donohue, 1993).…”