Project Director

Guo, Zibin

Department Examiner

Van Ness, Shela; Robinson, Leland; Canaff, Audrey; Secrest, Janet

Department

Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Rape has a tremendous impact upon victims. The victim has to come to terms with the reality that she was raped,as well as face the new perceptions that other people will have about her. These perceptions will be a result of conceptions about rape that are not realistic. These unrealistic beliefs are called 'rape myths.' There has been much research on rape myths for the following reasons: they may upset the victim, they provide justification for rapists to rape someone, and they may affect a woman's behavior because she may avoid activities she believes will lead her to be raped. Research was completed on ten individuals using interviews and a focus group. Questions were open-ended to allow the participants to have flexible responses. The purpose was to explore the participants'perceptions about rape, and by comparing the responses given in an individual interview with those given in a group situation-a focus group-and comparing the gender differences in responses. This study found that males blamed victims for not vocalizing oppositions to sex, and that males and females identified with rapists whose victims had not voiced opposition to sex. There was no significant difference in responses for having been in a group situation.

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

3-2002

Subject

Rape in universities and colleges; Rape--Public opinion; Rape culture--Tennessee--Chattanooga

Discipline

Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence

Document Type

Theses

Extent

47 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Call Number

LB2369.5 .M462 2002

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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