Victims of sexual violence are often punished by the legal system when their version of the incident--or fact finders' perception of their version--violates expected sexual violence schemas. We investigated the influence of sexual violence schemas on mock jurors' ability to accurately recognize facts presented in a hypothetical case. Participants…

In this paper, I discuss rape myths and mythologies, their negative effects on rape and sexual assault complainants, and how they prejudicially construct women qua women. The backdrop for the analysis is the Belfast Rugby Rape Trial, which took place in 2018. Four men, two of whom were well-known rugby players, were acquitted of rape and sexual…

This study investigated the perceptions and attitudes students have regarding their decision to participate or not as witnesses in a southwest United States private university gender-based violence adjudication process. The study also investigated whether there was a relationship between students' decisions to participate and their gender, age,…

Title IX prohibits sex discrimination--including sexual assault--in higher education. The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights' 2011 "Dear Colleague Letter" outlines recommendations for campus sexual assault adjudication allowing a variety of procedures that fail to protect accused students' due process rights and victims'…

Civil plaintiffs often seek compensation for their psychological injuries. Yet little is known about jurors' preconceived notions (or schemas) for a prospective plaintiff's pain and suffering. The present studies examined (a) whether jurors have psychological injury schemas (Studies 1 and 2), (b) whether their existence and development vary by the…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, focusing on addressing campus sexual assault and ensuring student safety and rights. Opening statements were presented by: (1) Honorable Lamar Alexander, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and (2)…

Controversy surrounding sex discrimination and sexual misconduct in higher education has existed now for over 50 years. Title IX is the federal law banning sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds. This Report examines the evolving understanding of sex discrimination in higher education over the years, as well as the mechanisms that…

Victims and survivors of sexual violence are sometimes blamed for the assault because of irrelevant factors such as how much they had to drink or what they wore. Research has indicated that conservative religious beliefs increase the prevalence of victim blaming. In order to see if this pattern extended to college administrators, we used a…

This article describes Taiwan's recent progress against sexual violations in schools, using the author's personal experience with case investigation work to observe changes in the sexual violation prevention landscape. Fifteen years ago, schools in Taiwan were either at a loss about how to handle sexual violation cases, or they engaged in passive…

Two studies investigated the effects of information related to rape myths on Spanish college students' perceptions of sexual assault. In Study 1, 92 participants read a vignette about a nonconsensual sexual encounter and rated whether it was a sexual assault and how much the woman was to blame. In the scenario, the man either used physical force…

In response to the negative and inefficient treatment of rape victims by emergency room personnel, the first Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs began in the late 1970s. While SANEs, doctors, rape victim advocates, police officers and prosecutors work together to ensure the most comprehensive and sensitive care of rape victims, they all…

Prior research has suggested that almost half of rape victims are treated by law enforcement in ways that they experience as upsetting (termed "secondary victimization"). However, it remains unknown why some victims have negative experiences with law enforcement and others do not. The purpose of this study is to explore victims' experiences with…

Two experiments (N = 330) examined conditions that facilitate biasing effects of rape myth acceptance (RMA) on judgments of blame in rape cases. In both experiments, participants read a short vignette depicting a rape case. In Experiment 1, the amount of case-irrelevant information about defendant and plaintiff was varied. As predicted, high-RMA…

Although prior research has contributed to understanding of the factors that influence sexual assault case processing, it has primarily been viewed through the prosecutorial lens. The authors assert that a prosecutor's charging decision involves not only a decision to file or reject the charge but, assuming that the case is not rejected, also a…

The purpose of the current study is to examine the influence of multiple offender motivations (including no indication of a motivation), relationship length, and gender role beliefs on perceptions of a male-on-female date rape. A sample of 348 U.S. college students read a brief vignette depicting a date rape and completed a questionnaire regarding…