The role of stranger harassment experiences in college women's perceived possibility of gender crimes happening to them

Abstract

The present study examined the relation between stranger harassment experiences and college women's perceived possibility of gender and nongender crimes happening to them. Undergraduate women attending a British university completed self‐report measures of stranger harassment and self‐objectification (i.e., self‐surveillance and body shame), and then evaluated four vignettes of various crimes on the severity of the crime and the likelihood of the crime happening to them. Results indicated that stranger harassment is a common experience for these British university women. Serial mediation analyses revealed a direct effect of stranger harassment on perceived likelihood of rape and perceived likelihood of intimate partner violence, and an indirect effect of stranger harassment on rape through self‐surveillance, whereas stranger harassment and indices of self‐objectification were unrelated to perceived likelihood of human trafficking and burglary. Discussion is centered on the role of objectifying experiences in perceptions of gender crimes where sexual and physical harm to women's bodies is emphasized, and the potential impact for those women on the receiving end of unwanted sexual objectification.

Smile pretty and watch your back: Personal safety anxiety and vigilance in objectification theory.

“…While sexual violence constitutes the most traumatic end of sexual objectification, these more routine sexually objectifying encounters include a wide range of situations and locations that signal the potential for sexually motivated bodily harm, and such experiences engender fear in women. In a study of university women in the United Kingdom (Donnelly & Calogero, 2018), experiences of stranger harassment were uniquely and positively linked to women’s perceived likelihood of rape and intimate partner violence (two gender crimes whereby women are disproportionately the targets of sexual and physical violence and men the perpetrator) happening to them, and unrelated to perceived likelihood of burglary or human trafficking happening to them. Fairchild and Rudman (2008) found support for a model linking stranger harassment to self-objectification, self-objectification to fear of rape, and fear of rape to restricted freedom of movement (i.e., in terms of how, when, and where the predominantly White female U.S. college student participants would travel to avoid the threat of sexual violence).…”

The Psychology of Sexual Harassment

“…When SH diminishes, dehumanizes, and disempowers its targets, emotional and physical stress and stress-related mental and physical illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, may result (Buchanan, Settles, Wu, & Hayashino, 2018; Chan, Lam, Chow, & Cheung, 2008; Friborg et al, 2017; Larsen & Fitzgerald, 2011; Nielson & Einarsen, 2012; Willness, Steel, & Lee, 2007). SH is also a risk factor for weight/shape concerns, negative body image, and disordered eating (Buchanan, Bluestein, Nappa, Woods, & Depatie, 2013) and can reduce targets’ sense of safety (Donnelly & Calogero, 2018).…”

“…Most victims of SH respond passively (e.g., avoid the perpetrator, laugh it off) because they expect negative consequences such as retaliation or loss of status in a group (Berdahl & Raver, 2011; Bowes-Sperry & O’Leary-Kelly, 2005). SH may also convey an implicit or explicit threat of further harassment or assault (Donnelly & Calogero, 2018) that serves as coercive power.…”

“…When SH diminishes, dehumanizes, and disempowers its targets, emotional and physical stress and stress-related mental and physical illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, may result (Buchanan, Settles, Wu, & Hayashino, 2018;Chan, Lam, Chow, & Cheung, 2008;Friborg et al, 2017;Larsen & Fitzgerald, 2011;Nielson & Einarsen, 2012;Willness, Steel, & Lee, 2007). SH is also a risk factor for weight/shape concerns, negative body image, and disordered eating (Buchanan, Bluestein, Nappa, Woods, & Depatie, 2013) and can reduce targets' sense of safety (Donnelly & Calogero, 2018). SH can also deliberately or unintentionally interfere with performance and career aspirations by creating an intimidating, hostile, abusive, or offensive environment that erodes targets' confidence and makes it harder to achieve (Jacobson & Eaton, 2018;Jagsi et al, 2016;McLaughlin, Ugger, & Blackston, 2017).…”

Application of the transformed-interview method in investigation of sexual crimes in Ukraine

“…Both accidentally encountered on the street, in a bar, etc., and during an intimate partnership. We suppose that the following scientific publications should be included in the list of the most significant recent research on this problem (Batchelor, 2017;Chafai, 2017;Classen et al, 2005;Começanha & Maia, 2018;Conley et al, 2017;Crandall et al, 2005;Daigle et al, 2009;De Àvila, 2018;Decker & Littleton, 2017;Djikanović et al, 2012;Donnelly & Calogero, 2018;Elmes et al, 2017;Fairchild & Rudman, 2008;Franklin & Menaker, 2018;Jayasuriya et al, 2011;Krahé et al, 2014;Kulig & Sullivan, 2017;Lindquist et al, 2013;Lisak & Miller, 2002;Littleton et al, 2008;Littleton & Dodd, 2016;Lown & Vega, 2001;Madan & Nalla, 2016;Mellgren et al, 2017;Natarajan et al, 2017;Rühs et al, 2017;Sambisa et al, 2010;Schuster et al, 2016;Vives-Cases & Parra 2016). This group includes victims of rape in a hidden -latent -form, but the study of statistics and behavior of latent victims in the scientific literature received very little attention (Grubb & Turner, 2012;Littleton et al, 2018;Loughnan et al, 2013;Maiuro, 2015;Strain et al, 2015;Wilson & Miller, 2015;Wood & Stichman, 2018).…”