Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Experimental Investigation Of Victim Blaming In Sexual Assault: The Roles Of Victim Sexual Orientation, Coercion Type, And Stereotypes About Bisexual Women, Christina Dyar, Brian A. Feinstein, Raeann E. Anderson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Bisexual women are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to receive negative reactions to disclosures of sexual assault than heterosexual and lesbian women. However, few studies have examined the extent to which victim sexual orientation and related factors influence perceptions of sexual assault victims and perpetrators. To fill this gap, the current study used an experimental manipulation to examine the influence of victim sexual orientation and coercion type on perceptions of sexual assault victims and perpetrators. Participants (N = 826) were randomly assigned to read one of nine vignettes in which the sexual orientation of the female victim …