Comparing Rape Victim and Perpetrator Blaming in a Police Officer Sample Differences Between Police Officers With and Without Special Training

• Published in: Criminal justice and behavior Vol. 39; no. 5; pp. 646 - 665
• Main Authors: Sleath, Emma, Bull, Ray
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.05.2012; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Acceptance; Criminal justice; Differences; Just world beliefs; Perpetrators; Police officers; Rape; Sex roles; Victims; Victims of crime; victim blaming; rape myths; belief in a just world; police; gender role; perpetrator blaming
• ISSN: 0093-8548; 1552-3594
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854811434696

This study compared victim blaming and perpetrator blaming in a sample of police officers (N = 123), comparing the responses of police officers specially trained to deal with rape victims with those who had not received this training. Victim blaming was significantly predicted by rape myth acceptance and belief in a just world but not by gender role. For perpetrator blaming, significant differences were found for gender role, but no significant relationship was found with rape myth acceptance or belief in a just world. There were no significant differences between officers who were specially trained and those who were not in terms of victim blaming, but there were significant differences in relation to perpetrator blaming. No relationships were found between police experience (measured as years of service) and victim blaming or perpetrator blaming. These findings are discussed in the context of previous victim and perpetrator blaming research and the real-world implications for criminal justice systems.