Battle of the Sexes: Similarities and Differences in Lay People’s Perceptions about Male and Female Sex Offenders

Author

Felix O. Osagie Jr., Austin Peay State UniversityFollow
Emily Pica, Austin Peay State UniversityFollow

Volume

28

Number

1

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Date

2022

Abstract

The aim of this research was to examine public perceptions about male and female sex offenders to help address gender disparities that exist in the justice system and society. Participants (N = 226) completed the revised Community Attitudes Towards Sex Offenders Scale (ATS; Harper & Hogue, 2015) and a questionnaire concerning opinions about female sex offenders. While there were no observed differences in perceptions between gender overall, differences emerged when examining only parents. Parents perceived male sex offenders worse than female sex offenders. This study also brings awareness to gender bias regarding male and female sex offenders. The implication of this study is that it helps inform the justice system perceptions of sex offenders which could bias potential jurors.

Keyword

male sex offender, female sex offender, lay people, perceptions, gender bias

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

article

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

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

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Recommended Citation

Osagie, Felix O. Jr. and Pica, Emily (2022) "Battle of the Sexes: Similarities and Differences in Lay People’s Perceptions about Male and Female Sex Offenders," Modern Psychological Studies: Vol. 28: No. 1, Article 8.
Available at: https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol28/iss1/8