The Controversy Surrounding Widely Held Rape Myths
From a victim-defending standpoint, certain victim-blaming arguments about acquaintance rapes are deemed to be “rape myths.” These widely held and frequently voiced points of view tend to dismiss the seriousness of the violation of the woman’s dignity and personal integrity, or even imply that nothing illegal took place (Schwendinger and Schwendinger, 1974).
Two fundamental assumptions made by victim blamers are dismissed as myths by victim defenders (see Roger Williams University, 2011):
(a) Rape arises from uncontrollable sexual urges that well up in a man who desires sexual gratification. In reality, rape is not motivated by lust but actu- ally is a violent assault driven by a desire to dominate.
(b) Young women provoke rapists’ interests by appearing sexually attractive. In reality, assailants attack females who range from the very young to the very old, as long as they are accessible and vulnerable.
Six familiar beliefs, four that blame the victim and two that defend the perpetrator, also have been labeled as myths
that reinforce narrow stereotypes, distort reality, and inter- fere with the process of separating fact from fiction (see Burt, 1980; Lonsway and Fitzgerald, 1994; Franiuk et al., 2008; and Roger Williams University, 2011). Researchers adopting a victim-defending stance measure how many people believe:
1. “She is lying” for some ulterior purpose. 2. “She asked for it” by doing things that seemed to imply
consent, such as drinking alcoholic beverages or accompanying the man to his home.
3. “She wanted it at the time” but changed her mind and then altered the story line and cried “rape!”
4. “She is the kind of female who gets raped.” Only “cer- tain” women get raped: promiscuous ones who place themselves at great risk.
5. “He didn’t mean to cross the line.” The whole incident arose from miscommunication and a terrible misunder- standing. He thought her “no” actually meant “yes” if he persevered, so his behavior is excusable.
6. “He is not the type to commit a rape.” The accusations must be unfounded because only sex-crazed psycho- paths use physical force to have their way.
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stereotypes that may cause men to excuse or even justify their own sexually aggressive behavior. Peo- ple who embrace rape myths tend to be reluctant to label an incident as a sexual assault even when it meets the legal criteria for a violation of an existing law. If rape myths are believed by hospital person- nel, detectives, prosecutors, judges, and jurors, then the negative reactions of these influential people will deter other females who submitted to acquain- tance rapes from reporting the crimes, pressing charges, and testifying at trials, victim defenders point out (see Schwendinger and Schwendinger, 1974; and Franiuk et al., 2008).