UNDERSTANDING RAPE MYTH ACCEPTANCE: THE ROLE OF GENDER, RELIGIOSITY, AND PRIOR HARASSMENT

Abstract

Background: Rape is a form of sexual violence which is on the rise and victims are likely to face negative social attention along with physical and emotional trauma. There are many different myths surrounding rape and society many at times show negative attitude towards rape victims.

Objectives: The present study was designed to explore rape myth acceptance among university undergraduates and to assess association of these variables with gender, religiosity and previous history of sexual harassment.

Method: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Lahore. In total 350 university undergraduates with mean age of 21.51 years participated in the study. The participants were contacted at two private universities of Lahore. Responses were recorded using Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMA) and data was analyzed through SPSS.

Results: There was no significant difference on rape myth acceptance for people with different religious inclination and for those who had experienced harassment and those who had not. However, men and women differed significantly on three of the four subscales of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. Overall, women were more rejecting of rape myths compared with men. This finding supports the previous research which suggests that men have a higher acceptance for rape myths and have a higher tendency to blame the victim.