Reporting Rape: Stigmatizing Reactions to Survivors Who Seek Accountability

Authors

Tessa L. Dover, Portland State UniversityFollow
Alyssa Marie Glace Maryn, Portland State UniversityFollow

Published In

Violence against Women

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-17-2023

Subjects

Rape stigma, Rape Disclosures, Victim-blame, Psychophysiology, Biopsychosocial Model of challenge and threat

Abstract

Rape survivors face stigma when disclosing their experiences. We hypothesized that a rape survivor who formally reports their rape would experience more stigma than one who does not, and that this effect will be stronger when the perceiver is a man or low in support for sexual consent. Across two studies using self-report, observational, and psychophysiological measures, we found that a reporting survivor was seen more negatively than an identical survivor who did not report their rape. Men and those low in support for sexual consent also responded more negatively to the survivor. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Rights

Copyright (c) 2023 The Authors

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Locate the Document

https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012231163574

DOI

10.1177/10778012231163574

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/39747

Citation Details

Maryn, A. G., & Dover, T. L. (2023). Reporting rape: stigmatizing reactions to survivors who seek accountability. Violence against women, 10778012231163574.