2010/06/28 by Steffen Bieneck, Barbara Krahé · 198 citations
Social Sciences · Psychology · Medicine · #Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies #Jury Decision Making Processes #Law in Society and Culture #Blame #Psychology #Social psychology #Sexual assault #Human factors and ergonomics #Criminology #Perception #Poison control #Medical emergency #Medicine
paper · doi:10.1177/0886260510372945
published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence 26(9), 1785-1797 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2010/06/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Research in legal decision making has demonstrated the tendency to blame the victim and exonerate the perpetrator of sexual assault. This study examined the hypothesis of a special leniency bias in rape cases by comparing them to cases of robbery. N = 288 participants received descriptions of rape and robbery of a female victim by a male perpetrator and made ratings of victim and perpetrator blame. Case scenarios varied with respect to the prior relationship (strangers, acquaintances, ex-partners) and coercive strategy (force vs. exploiting victim intoxication). More blame was attributed to the victim and less blame was attributed to the perpetrator for rape than for robbery. Information about a prior relationship between victim and perpetrator increased ratings of victim blame and decreased perceptions of perpetrator blame in the rape cases, but not in the robbery cases. The findings support the notion of a special leniency bias in sexual assault cases.