The ‘non-ideal’ victim

: factors influencing perceptions of sexual abuse victims

Abstract

This paper tries to investigate factors which influence perceptions of victims of sexual assault, namely ‘non-ideal’ victims. A ‘non-ideal’ victim is someone who does not fit into traditional gender or social stereotypes or deviates from other societal norms – these may include attractiveness, race, age, occupation and so on. Substantial evidence suggests that certain factors can cause victims of assault to be perceived negatively, such as their intoxication level at the time of the incident, and their occupation status (for example, if they are a sex worker). This thesis also discusses the concept of cyberflashing, in which individuals send unsolicited sexual images to others online using social media platforms. Two studies in this project examined victim intoxication levels, victim occupation status and cyberflashing to determine whether they impact perceptions of the victim and their access to justice. The first study adopted a mock-juror paradigm and study two saw the development and use of the brand new Interactive Mock Call (IMC) paradigm.

Study one showed that intoxicated victims are viewed less favourably and are perceived as less credible than sober counterparts. Contrary to existing literature, the sex worker victim was not perceived as less credible or more responsible for the crime against her. Analysis found that individuals who scored high on the IRMA scale, and therefore have stronger acceptance of rape myths, were more likely to think that the defendant was not guilty. It was also found that as IRMA scores increased, victim credibility ratings decreased. These results suggest that people with high levels of rape myth acceptance are more likely to harbour negative views of assault victims, which can damage the victims’ reputations and access to support.

Study two found that online crimes such as cyberflashing are perceived as much less severe than face-to-face crimes, and are thought to have a lesser impact on the victim’s mental health and distress levels. Analysis also revealed that individuals are more likely to recommend reporting in-person crimes to the police than cybercrime.

The implications of these results are discussed, and recommendations for practical applications and future research pathways are put forward.

Date of Award	19 Jun 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Abertay University
Supervisor	Julie Gawrylowicz (Supervisor) & Neil Kirk (Supervisor)