The Many Facets of Sexual Assault

1264 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Outline unrealistic media images of sexuality

A model of sexual violence risk proposed by Abbey, McAuslan, and Ross (1998) posits a central role for sexual misperception (i.e., perception of sexual interest or sexual attraction in a potential partner when that partner has not intended to communicate interest). Normatively it has been well documented that male college students perceive more female sexual interest than was intended to be conveyed. Whether viewing still images, video, or live interactions, men tend to perceive women as displaying more sexual interest than women view the female actor displaying and more sexual interest than the female actor intended to display (Abbey, 1982; Abbey & Harnish, 1995; Edmonson & Conger, 1995; Saal, Johnson, & Weber, 1989; Shotland & Craig, 1988). Importantly, sexually coercive men may be particularly prone to this “over perception” of sexual intent (Abbey, McAusland, & Ross). Other researchers have noted that sexually coercive men may be relatively insensitive to women’s negative cues as well and may not respond differentially depending on the nature of her response (Lipton, McDonel, & McFall, 1987; McDonel & McFall, 1991). If a man mistakenly perceives his partner as interested in pursing a sexual relationship, her later refusal may seem arbitrary and hostile. His early misperception leads the man to interpret the situation as indicating that his partner has deliberately led him on. If this experience leads to anger and frustration, some men may choose to aggress against the source of their frustration, that is, their partner. Thus, relatively distal information processing deficits early in sexual bargaining could ultimately increase the risk for sexual aggression in a subset of men. With health behavior change, it is almost alway... ... middle of paper ... ...behavior, and (2) to design new intervention strategies that are sensitive to such an account. The current application seeks to better specify the precise perceptual and cognitive processes that prompt sexual violence perpetration. By explicitly delineating the network of individual and situational variables that predict sexual violence, we will be in a position to better direct intervention and prevention efforts, and ultimately, reduce the suffering and costs currently borne by sexual assault victims. The work is unique in public health research in that it: (1) directs research inquiry and intervention efforts toward the risky behavior of a person who is different from the person who is harmed, and (2) represents a partial “medicalization” of a criminal behavior in order to determine the extent to which is has a modifiable and preventable psychological basis.

Show More
Related

  • The Root Causes of Sexual Offending: Social Learning Theory

    1310 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many etiological theories exist attempting to explain the root causes of sexual offending. Although few provide substantial evidence and no definitive conclusions have been made, the social learning theory has been proposed to account for sex offending behaviors. Specifically, the social learning theory, or victim-to-victimizer theory, suggests sexually abused children learn these behaviors and are much more likely to perpetrate abuse when they’re older (Seto & Lalumiere, 2010). The following studies have provided substantial support for the social learning etiology. Through the use of a meta-analysis, Seto and Lalumiere (2010) concluded that sexual offending is tied to prior sexual abuse. Burton, Miller, and Shill (2002) discovered significant differences between sexual offending and nonsexual offending adolescents in the areas of sexual abuse. Lastly, Burton (2003) determined that sex offender’s methods of abuse mimicked that which was done to them. The introduction, method, results, and discussion of each study is addressed and the link between prior sexual abuse and future sex offending behaviors become apparent.

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence Counseling Program Specializing in Spousal Rape

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    Schewe, P., Riger, S., Howard, A., Staggs, S., & Mason, G. (2006). Factors Associated with Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victimization. Journal Of Family Violence, 21(7), 469-475. doi:10.1007/s10896-006-9042-2

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Military Sexual Assault

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first and most striking similarity shared in recent sexual assault cases is alcohol was present. Not only was it present, but it was a very significant factor in these cases. This is no minor detail. Alcohol has a way of making people more willing to disregard normal decision-making processes and engage in behavior they wouldn’t remotely consider in normal instances. Unfortunately, some of these

    Read More

  • Pedophilia and the Nature-Nurture Controversy

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ward, Tony, Devon L. L. Polaschek, and Anthony R. Busch. Theories of Sexual Offending. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2006. Print.

    Read More

  • Addressing Sexual Assault Prevalence on College Campuses

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexual assault is defined as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and In the United States 80% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Of that 80%, 44% are under the age of 18 (RAINN, 2016). That leaves 36% of victims between the ages of 18 and 30. These percentages become even more alarming when that 80% is of about 293,000 victims of secual assualt each year (RAINN, 2016). It is estimated that 1 in every 6 women in the US has been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The risks of sexual assault increase on college campuses. Women ages 18-24 who are enrolled in college are 3 times more likely than women in general to suffer from sexual violence (RAINN, 2016). One would think that with all these women being sexually assaulted, one would hear more about it, or perhaps the police stations would constantly be busy. This is not the case. Sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes, with 68% still being left unreported (RAINN, 2016). This could be because of every 100 rapists, only 2 will spend a day in jail. Of the 32 out of 100 that would be reported, only 7 are referred to an arrest (RAINN, 2016). Why would men or women want to report sexual assault when the system that is supposed to protect them fails so often, and why does this system continue to fail?

    Read More

  • Sexual Assault Policies

    2155 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to Kathleen Hirsch, the author of “Fraternities of Fear: Gang Rape, Male Bonding, and the Silencing of Women” 1 in every 4 women attending college will be the victim of sexual assault at some point during her academic career. Or in another study reported in the “The sexual Victimization of College Women” there are 35.3 incidents of sexual assault in a group of 1,000 women in a time span of 6.91 months (Statistics). Obviously sexual assault is a huge problem that should be taken very seriously. Some colleges have wonderful programs put in place that provides great services to help those students who have been have been sexually assaulted and programs that help education and prevent sexual assault.

    Read More

  • Sexual Assault And Sexual Assaults

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    The US Military has been one of the most powerful and respected fighting forces in the world; it is also a hotbed for sexual assault. Each year, thousands of men and women take an oath to serve and protect their country and each thousands of military service members are sexually assaulted. “Earlier this week, Pentagon officials released a new report which estimated more than 70 sexual assaults occur in the military each day.”(Shane III) Fear of retaliation, both personal and professional, and humiliation stop many service members from reporting their sexual assaults. Those few that make the bold choice to report incidents of sexual assault often finds themselves disappointed by the outcome; assaults that do get reported have an incredibly low rate of conviction of the offender. The US Military has proven over time that they are incapable of effectively dealing with the sexual assault problem that it faces.

    Read More

  • The Social Learning Theory Of Juvenile Delinquency

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    Adolescents who are physically abused are likely to question the intentions or others as well as develop bias perceptions of social processes. A study showed that "Inmates who were child victims were more than twice as likely as inmates who were adult victims to report having suffered prior instances of physical or sexual abuse. The differences were particularly striking with respect to sexual abuse. While an estimated 22% of child victimizers reported having been sexually abused, less than 6% of adult victimizers reported such backgrounds” (Ards et al, 2001). Not only are victims of sexual abuse more likely to enact sexual violence against others they are also likely to engage in prostitution.

    Read More

  • The Just World Theory Of Criminology

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    This has lead to societies belief system in rape myths, statements such as “she was asking for it” or asking what the victim was wearing or how much they had to drink at the time of the assault creates an attitude towards sexual assault and reinforces the myth that offenders cannot control their sexual urges when multiple studies prove that sexual assault has nothing to do with sexual urges and everything to do with power and

    Read More

  • Sexual Assault Case Study

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    She mentions how the victims choose to keep quiet about the incident, since they fear their attacker will harm them for reporting the incident. Adefolalu mentions, "Victims who feared reprisal attacks from perpetrators were five times more likely to delay presentation than those who were not. " My hypothesis is fear of their assault prevents an individual from reporting a sexual assault committed towards them. My null hypothesis is fear does not affect if an individual reports a sexual assault. My independent variable is fear of assault and my dependent variable is unreported sexual assault.

    Read More

  • Sexual Coercion Essay

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexual coercion is “The use of non-physical, controlling, degrading, and manipulative tactics to obtain, or attempt to obtain, unwanted oral, vaginal, or anal intercourse, including forced penetration and sex with objects.” (Bagwell-Gray, Messing, & Baldwin-White, 2015, p.323). It is distinct from intimate partner sexual assault in that unwanted sex is obtained through manipulative tactics and emotional and mental control rather than physical force (Black et al., 2011; Broach & Petetric, 2006; DeGue & DeLillo, 2005; Logan, Cole, & Shannon, 2007). When thinking of coercive control in intimate partner violence, it is clear that demands and threats can be implicit. For example, Dutton & Goodman (2005) describe how women report just knowing that if they did (or did not do) an action, “x”, then their partner would respond with a subsequent punishment, “y”. In studying intimate partner sexual violence, many women report such a type of implicit threat, knowing that they have to have sex with their partners when they did not want to in order to prevent dealing with their partners’ negative reactions. Non-consent outside the context of physical force may be difficult to identify because a woman may submit to coercive sexual tactics and consent to unwanted sex to avoid the negative outcomes of refusing it (Livingston, Buddie, Testa, & Vanzile-Tamsen, 2004) or out of perceived obligation to a spouse or partner (Basile,

    Read More

  • Intimate Partner Violence Essay

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Psychological violence is a mental and emotional aspect of violence that affects the way individuals think. These psychological violent acts within an intimate relationship can incorporate expressive hostility such as verbal abuse, or embarrassment, and coercive control such as restricting access to transportation, cash, companions, and family. Further psychological violence could include intemperate checking of whereabouts with threatened dangers of physical or sexual violence, and control of reproductive or sexual wellbeing by refusal to utilize anti-conception medication, and pressured pregnancy termination. Sexual violence in intimate relationships, however, consists of rape, and unwanted sexual contact. According to authors Wandera, Kwagala, Ndugga, and Kabagenyi, sexual violent acts lead to reproductive health outcomes such as “heightened risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, gynecological and sexual disorders, pregnancy complications, miscarriages and low birth weight” (2015).

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence Paper

    1842 Words  | 4 Pages

    Domestic violence is a growing problem that occurs not only in the United States but also around the world as well. It can happen between partners in a same-sex relationship or at times the man will be the victim of a female partners abuse. However, a majority of the domestic abuse cases that we know about are women who have been battered by their male partner’s abuse. The reality of the matter is that each day the statistics on domestic violence is getting scarier. According to Loseke and Kurz (2005), “Families are, statistically speaking, very dangerous places for women but not for men: more than 40 percent of women’s hospital emergency room visits, arising from intentional violence were caused by their male intimates; violence by intimates caused fewer than 5 percent of visits by men; for every 1 man hospitalized for spousal assault, 46 women are hospitalized”. This just shows how big of an issue domestic violence really is especially in intimate partner violent (IPV) relationships. Intimate partner violence often times includes sexual violence and can also include psychological abuse; both can also accompany physical violence (Jewkes, 2002). Many people probably don’t think about it unless it is happening to them or a friend. Domestic abuse towards women can take many forms; women can be raped, physically, verbally or emotionally abused. They can also be the victims of slaps, pushes, shoves, kicks, having things thrown at them, or even being choked. Violence against women especially domestic violence is a very difficult thing to detect because it is personal and intimate. In order to deal with this issue we first need to figure out what leads men to be violent toward women, then we need to figure out why the victims decide not...

    Read More

  • Rape And Rape

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sexual violence is a national issue that permeates every aspect society. Sexual assault and rape is an ongoing problem, evident by the troubling statistic that roughly 20 million out of 112 million women (18.0%) in the United States have been raped during their lifetime (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggiero, Conoscenti, McCauley, 2007). Despite the continuous push for gender equality, the current culture of society perpetuates victim-blaming tendencies towards innate cognitive processes and media influences.

    Read More

  • Rape Culture Essay

    2552 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...room for improvement. The second perspective that also influences the development of rape culture are myths and societal conceptions of sexual assault, rape, and victims. Kahlor and Morrison, authors of TV Rape Myth, suggest that two of the main myths are the notion that victims “asked for it”, whether by dressing a certain way or behaving flirtatiously, and that some women lie and “claim rape” after regretting consensual sex.

    Read More

More about The Many Facets of Sexual Assault

Open Document