When Sexual Assault Victims Are More Likely to Be Blamed.
Research examines why some sexual assault victims are blamed for their own victimization.
Reviewed by Tyler Woods
KEY POINTS-
Victim-blaming means ignoring the offender’s role and instead holding the victim responsible for the harm they have suffered.
In a recent study, participants blamed females dressed in red for being sexually assaulted more than those wearing green.
Women with strong just-world beliefs are more likely to blame a victim of assault dressed in red and to believe she deserved the mistreatment.
Whenever something goes wrong, we look for someone to hold responsible, someone to blame, whether others or ourselves.
Sometimes this results in victim-blaming, which means holding a victim at least partially responsible for their mistreatment—based on the assumption that he or she somehow caused the event or deserved the harm.
One example is claiming that a woman’s rape allegations are false. Or to say a rape victim was asking for it because of her revealing dress or flirtatious behavior.
Indeed, research shows that women who have a long history of sexual activity, wear sexy and provocative clothes, or drink heavily are often viewed as more culpable for the assault.
But might blame attribution also be affected by the color of a woman’s clothing?
An answer is provided by Brown and collaborators, whose research was published in the April 2023 issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.
Their investigation explored the link between victim-blaming and the color of the victim’s clothing (green versus red).
Investigating Victim-Blaming and the Color of Clothing
Sample: Two hundred twenty-one undergraduate students (155 women) from the Northeastern U.S.; the average age of 20; 45 percent Caucasian.
Methods and Measures
Target attire: Participants were instructed to read a vignette describing a woman who “experienced an attempted sexual assault from a man she met at a party after ‘flirting passionately’ with him and leaving the party together.”
They were also presented with the individual’s picture, which showed a young Caucasian female with her face blurred (purportedly to protect her identity).
About half the sample saw her wearing a red shirt; the other half saw her wearing green.
Target evaluation: The pictured woman was evaluated regarding her interest in sex (i.e., sexual receptivity) and blameworthiness for being sexually assaulted.
To assess just world beliefs, the Belief in a Just World Scale was used (e.g., “I feel that people get what they deserve”).
Blaming the Rape Victim Dressed in Red
Blame attribution, the results showed, “was higher when the target wore red.” Interestingly, this was true “only among female perceivers.” Why?
One explanation involves competition and intrasexual rivalry.
Namely, other women may perceive the choice of red clothing as a show of sexual intent. Therefore, they see the woman in red as a potential competitor or threat to their own intimate relationships and behave with hostility toward her.
This hostility can take many forms, such as trying to damage the woman in red's reputation or, if she experiences assault, engaging in victim-blaming.
The data also suggested victim-blaming attributions were “most apparent among women with heightened just-world beliefs.”
Just-world beliefs may “serve to maintain women’s sense of control in group living based on the implicit assumption that sociosexually unrestricted women are more likely to be victimized.”
Note: Unrestricted sociosexual orientation refers to having a greater interest in casual sex.
Another finding was that men’s just-world beliefs did not influence their tendency to find the woman in red at fault. Why?
Perhaps men are already more likely than women to blame a rape victim and believe she “was asking for it” or “should have expected it, dressed like that.”
Or maybe the extent of just-world beliefs plays a smaller role in victim-blaming than intrasexual competition.
From an evolutionary perspective, relationships with sexually assertive and promiscuous women may also threaten men's power and control. For instance, such a relationship increases paternity uncertainty (i.e., not knowing if a child born to their female partner is their own).
Takeaway
The color red tends to make women more attractive to men, but it appears to affect blame attribution in sexual victimization as well.
Specifically, the study by Brown et al. found:
Female victims dressed in red (rather than green) are more likely to be blamed for experiencing sexual assault.
Both men and women perceive female individuals who wear red clothing as signaling sexual receptivity.
Victim-blaming is most apparent among women who believe in a just and fair world.
One explanation of victim blaming is female intrasexual competition (e.g., mate attraction, mate guarding).
It is important to be aware of the effects of a woman’s attire on culpability judgments in cases of sexual assault and rape so that we can treat all victims with fairness, sensitivity, compassion, respect, and dignity. And not to excuse or justify criminal conduct.
Research examines why some sexual assault victims are blamed for their own victimization.
Reviewed by Tyler Woods
KEY POINTS-
Victim-blaming means ignoring the offender’s role and instead holding the victim responsible for the harm they have suffered.
In a recent study, participants blamed females dressed in red for being sexually assaulted more than those wearing green.
Women with strong just-world beliefs are more likely to blame a victim of assault dressed in red and to believe she deserved the mistreatment.
Whenever something goes wrong, we look for someone to hold responsible, someone to blame, whether others or ourselves.
Sometimes this results in victim-blaming, which means holding a victim at least partially responsible for their mistreatment—based on the assumption that he or she somehow caused the event or deserved the harm.
One example is claiming that a woman’s rape allegations are false. Or to say a rape victim was asking for it because of her revealing dress or flirtatious behavior.
Indeed, research shows that women who have a long history of sexual activity, wear sexy and provocative clothes, or drink heavily are often viewed as more culpable for the assault.
But might blame attribution also be affected by the color of a woman’s clothing?
An answer is provided by Brown and collaborators, whose research was published in the April 2023 issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.
Their investigation explored the link between victim-blaming and the color of the victim’s clothing (green versus red).
Investigating Victim-Blaming and the Color of Clothing
Sample: Two hundred twenty-one undergraduate students (155 women) from the Northeastern U.S.; the average age of 20; 45 percent Caucasian.
Methods and Measures
Target attire: Participants were instructed to read a vignette describing a woman who “experienced an attempted sexual assault from a man she met at a party after ‘flirting passionately’ with him and leaving the party together.”
They were also presented with the individual’s picture, which showed a young Caucasian female with her face blurred (purportedly to protect her identity).
About half the sample saw her wearing a red shirt; the other half saw her wearing green.
Target evaluation: The pictured woman was evaluated regarding her interest in sex (i.e., sexual receptivity) and blameworthiness for being sexually assaulted.
To assess just world beliefs, the Belief in a Just World Scale was used (e.g., “I feel that people get what they deserve”).
Blaming the Rape Victim Dressed in Red
Blame attribution, the results showed, “was higher when the target wore red.” Interestingly, this was true “only among female perceivers.” Why?
One explanation involves competition and intrasexual rivalry.
Namely, other women may perceive the choice of red clothing as a show of sexual intent. Therefore, they see the woman in red as a potential competitor or threat to their own intimate relationships and behave with hostility toward her.
This hostility can take many forms, such as trying to damage the woman in red's reputation or, if she experiences assault, engaging in victim-blaming.
The data also suggested victim-blaming attributions were “most apparent among women with heightened just-world beliefs.”
Just-world beliefs may “serve to maintain women’s sense of control in group living based on the implicit assumption that sociosexually unrestricted women are more likely to be victimized.”
Note: Unrestricted sociosexual orientation refers to having a greater interest in casual sex.
Another finding was that men’s just-world beliefs did not influence their tendency to find the woman in red at fault. Why?
Perhaps men are already more likely than women to blame a rape victim and believe she “was asking for it” or “should have expected it, dressed like that.”
Or maybe the extent of just-world beliefs plays a smaller role in victim-blaming than intrasexual competition.
From an evolutionary perspective, relationships with sexually assertive and promiscuous women may also threaten men's power and control. For instance, such a relationship increases paternity uncertainty (i.e., not knowing if a child born to their female partner is their own).
Takeaway
The color red tends to make women more attractive to men, but it appears to affect blame attribution in sexual victimization as well.
Specifically, the study by Brown et al. found:
Female victims dressed in red (rather than green) are more likely to be blamed for experiencing sexual assault.
Both men and women perceive female individuals who wear red clothing as signaling sexual receptivity.
Victim-blaming is most apparent among women who believe in a just and fair world.
One explanation of victim blaming is female intrasexual competition (e.g., mate attraction, mate guarding).
It is important to be aware of the effects of a woman’s attire on culpability judgments in cases of sexual assault and rape so that we can treat all victims with fairness, sensitivity, compassion, respect, and dignity. And not to excuse or justify criminal conduct.
When Sexual Assault Victims Are More Likely to Be Blamed.
Research examines why some sexual assault victims are blamed for their own victimization.
Reviewed by Tyler Woods
KEY POINTS-
Victim-blaming means ignoring the offender’s role and instead holding the victim responsible for the harm they have suffered.
In a recent study, participants blamed females dressed in red for being sexually assaulted more than those wearing green.
Women with strong just-world beliefs are more likely to blame a victim of assault dressed in red and to believe she deserved the mistreatment.
Whenever something goes wrong, we look for someone to hold responsible, someone to blame, whether others or ourselves.
Sometimes this results in victim-blaming, which means holding a victim at least partially responsible for their mistreatment—based on the assumption that he or she somehow caused the event or deserved the harm.
One example is claiming that a woman’s rape allegations are false. Or to say a rape victim was asking for it because of her revealing dress or flirtatious behavior.
Indeed, research shows that women who have a long history of sexual activity, wear sexy and provocative clothes, or drink heavily are often viewed as more culpable for the assault.
But might blame attribution also be affected by the color of a woman’s clothing?
An answer is provided by Brown and collaborators, whose research was published in the April 2023 issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.
Their investigation explored the link between victim-blaming and the color of the victim’s clothing (green versus red).
Investigating Victim-Blaming and the Color of Clothing
Sample: Two hundred twenty-one undergraduate students (155 women) from the Northeastern U.S.; the average age of 20; 45 percent Caucasian.
Methods and Measures
Target attire: Participants were instructed to read a vignette describing a woman who “experienced an attempted sexual assault from a man she met at a party after ‘flirting passionately’ with him and leaving the party together.”
They were also presented with the individual’s picture, which showed a young Caucasian female with her face blurred (purportedly to protect her identity).
About half the sample saw her wearing a red shirt; the other half saw her wearing green.
Target evaluation: The pictured woman was evaluated regarding her interest in sex (i.e., sexual receptivity) and blameworthiness for being sexually assaulted.
To assess just world beliefs, the Belief in a Just World Scale was used (e.g., “I feel that people get what they deserve”).
Blaming the Rape Victim Dressed in Red
Blame attribution, the results showed, “was higher when the target wore red.” Interestingly, this was true “only among female perceivers.” Why?
One explanation involves competition and intrasexual rivalry.
Namely, other women may perceive the choice of red clothing as a show of sexual intent. Therefore, they see the woman in red as a potential competitor or threat to their own intimate relationships and behave with hostility toward her.
This hostility can take many forms, such as trying to damage the woman in red's reputation or, if she experiences assault, engaging in victim-blaming.
The data also suggested victim-blaming attributions were “most apparent among women with heightened just-world beliefs.”
Just-world beliefs may “serve to maintain women’s sense of control in group living based on the implicit assumption that sociosexually unrestricted women are more likely to be victimized.”
Note: Unrestricted sociosexual orientation refers to having a greater interest in casual sex.
Another finding was that men’s just-world beliefs did not influence their tendency to find the woman in red at fault. Why?
Perhaps men are already more likely than women to blame a rape victim and believe she “was asking for it” or “should have expected it, dressed like that.”
Or maybe the extent of just-world beliefs plays a smaller role in victim-blaming than intrasexual competition.
From an evolutionary perspective, relationships with sexually assertive and promiscuous women may also threaten men's power and control. For instance, such a relationship increases paternity uncertainty (i.e., not knowing if a child born to their female partner is their own).
Takeaway
The color red tends to make women more attractive to men, but it appears to affect blame attribution in sexual victimization as well.
Specifically, the study by Brown et al. found:
Female victims dressed in red (rather than green) are more likely to be blamed for experiencing sexual assault.
Both men and women perceive female individuals who wear red clothing as signaling sexual receptivity.
Victim-blaming is most apparent among women who believe in a just and fair world.
One explanation of victim blaming is female intrasexual competition (e.g., mate attraction, mate guarding).
It is important to be aware of the effects of a woman’s attire on culpability judgments in cases of sexual assault and rape so that we can treat all victims with fairness, sensitivity, compassion, respect, and dignity. And not to excuse or justify criminal conduct.
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