Rape myth research is a very well established field of enquiry. The area is saturated with quantitative surveys, mostly with student samples using the scales documented below. The research in this area has progressed from merely establishing the prevalence of rape myth acceptance to understanding the interrelated nature such beliefs have with other systemic ideas in society such as sexism and belief in a just world (Sleath and Bull, 2015). Although the focus of my research project is around police officers’ views, I summarise firstly the rape myth work done with non-police samples. As police officers are also members of the public who read news, watch films, and take part in popular culture, so their views may reflect non-police practice and broader cultural norms and values which may impinge on professional judgments. Furthermore, the methodology developed in such studies has also been utilised with police samples, and police often consider a potential juror’s opinion in decision making about proceeding with cases (See section 2.6.2 Police Officer’s Rape Myth Acceptance).
Burt (1980) tested the relationship between sexual conservatism, adversarial sexual beliefs, and acceptance of interpersonal violence, and how such factors
correlate with acceptance of rape myths. In order to elicit the way people view aspects of themselves and others, a series of statements were given to participants with a seven point scale used for them to express how far they agree with each statement. An example of a statement on the questionnaire was “a woman who initiates a sexual encounter will probably have sex with anybody” and “a woman shouldn't give in sexually to a man too easily or he’ll think she’s loose” (Burt, 1980: 223). A large random sample of members of the public from one state in the US completed this questionnaire. Quantitative analysis was carried out on the responses given. The results showed that acceptance of interpersonal violence were the strongest attitude predictor to rape myth acceptance. Older people proved to be less satisfied with their own sex role performance and reported less interfamilial violence and more illiberal views. The higher the occupational status and educational attainment, the greater the romantic self-image and self-esteem, and the more liberal the attitudes expressed on sex role stereotyping, sexual conservatism, and adversarial sexual beliefs. Experience with intra-familial violence seemed to make women less sexually conservative, but did not have this effect on men. Media exposure produced less rape myth acceptance in men, but not in women. Overall, many respondents appeared to believe in rape myths in this early research.
The scale Burt created to measure rape myth acceptance has been widely adapted and used in research since its publication (Bohner et al., 2009). However, this scale has been criticised for containing items that are too long and complex and contains several concepts within one statement. Consequently, participants may find this difficult to understand and answer unambiguously. Furthermore, the scales contained the use of colloquialisms that not everyone would interpret in the same way or even understand (Bohner et al., 2009). There is an inherent difficulty with identifying language that occurs in every day usage that people can connect with, but also ensuring participants are familiar with any slang terms.
A number of studies have taken the scale first devised by Burt and used it to research samples of university students. One study established that among students, being from a hometown that is rural or urban does not affect opinions
on gender roles and rape myth acceptance (King and Roberts, 2011). Whereas traditional gender role acceptance and being male was the biggest predictor of rape myth acceptance (King and Roberts, 2011). Vonderhaar and Carmody (2015) found that when rape victims scored higher for rape myth acceptance they were also more likely to hold just world beliefs. Hockett et al. (2013) found that individuals who accepted rape myths and held negative attitudes toward rape victims may do so as part of an overall intolerant belief system.
Burt’s scale has been further developed. Payne, Lonsway, and Fitzgerald (1999) first devised the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale as they noticed the disadvantages to existing rape myth acceptance methodology. They set out to devise a scale that improved on the existing problems with rape myth acceptance scales. The Illinois scale included the use of slang terms; they felt this was unavoidable as so much of the talk around sexual behaviour included slang terms (Payne et al., 1999). The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale is clear, more valid, and more reliable than previous methods, but the content of the established myths may have evolved over time (Bohner et al., 2009).
Gerger et al. tried to update the scale in 2007, designing a new rape myth acceptance scale developed from earlier conceptions and improving on their disadvantages. They designed a 30 item Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression Scale and wanted to ensure that subtler, newer forms of sexism were being recognised. Their results demonstrated strong correlations between strong masculine values, hostility to women, and rape myth acceptance. Furthermore, victim blaming attitudes went hand in hand with rape myth acceptance. There is a distinct lack of qualitative research accessing members of the public and the police’s perceptions of rape. Using quantitative measures of police beliefs can serve to limit the scope of research to issues of interest to researchers which may not be consistent with the issues important to the participants themselves (Campbell, 1995).
It is often argued that low levels of rape prosecutions are down to the fact many people believe rape myths and stereotypes to be true, thus making their decision accordingly (Dinos et al., 2015: 37). A piece of research has been conducted to review published research into how rape myths affect jury
deliberations (Dinos, 2015). It was concluded that rape myths do have an effect on jury decision making. In particular, rape myths significantly impact upon whether a jury will attribute guilt to a defendant. Individuals who hold stereotypical attitudes towards rape are more likely to judge defendants as ‘not guilty’.
Research has sought to situate the public’s beliefs about rape to explore how they affect the outcomes of mock jury trials (Ellison and Munro, 2010b). A mock jury trial is necessary as it is illegal to study the deliberations of a real jury as they are confidential in England and Wales (Section 8, Contempt of Court Act 1981). Ellison and Munro (2010) conducted a mock jury trial with members of the public and an acquaintance rape scenario. Before and after the mock trial took place, questionnaires were administered to the participants to gage their opinions on rape in the abstract sense and to see how they compared to those expressed when deliberating over the guilt of a defendant in a trial. The deliberations in the jury room were recorded and analysed. It was found that the participants were aware that the real rape scenario was not representative of the configuration of most rape offences. However, a reluctance to convict may instead be born from the fact that an acquaintance rape situation mirrors elements that routinely animate modern heterosexual seduction scripts based on male dominated, adversarial, sexual interaction such as the location in a person’s home, the consumption of alcohol, and the existence of some level of previous intimacy through flirting, touching, or consensual kissing which may blur the distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex, thus making it difficult for a juror to be sure of guilt beyond all reasonable doubt (Ellison and Munro, 2010b). It was also found that victims of a stranger rape were believed to respond by ‘freezing’ out of fear, whereas a victim of an acquaintance rape was assumed to have the capacity to voice dissent and fight back. Furthermore, it was believed that men get carried away and it is women’s burden to communicate clearly to avoid any misunderstanding. With regards to the veracity of a victim’s claims in a trial, Ellison and Munro (2010b) conclude that the Victorian conception depicting women as ‘mad, bad, or sad’ retains influence. The jurors believed that women desire commitment in a relationship and men want gratification and freedom. Furthermore, a woman’s reputation was tarnished by promiscuity, whereas a man’s is enhanced, and women are
seen as vengeful and men are uncomplicated. Overall, jurors may be harsher on the complainant and more sympathetic toward the defendant than their responses to rape myth acceptance surveys may suggest. The questionnaires administered limit participants responses and may present a more socially desirable image than the opinions actually relied upon when deliberating over a trial (Ellison and Munro, 2010b). The disconnect between answers given in a survey and those expressed in a jury scenario suggest the validity of rape myth acceptance surveys may not access genuine opinions.
Overall, the extant literature suggests that victim blaming and rape myth accepting attitudes are still prevalent in society and influence the deliberations of juries in rape trials. My study explores the extent to which police officers also reflect those prevalent public attitudes.