Rape Culture and Perceived Victim Responsibility, Control, and Distress in Verbally Coercive Situations

Verbal sexual coercion is sexual assault without physical force. This study will examine how macrosystemic beliefs affect the perception of sexual situations in which verbal sexual coercion occurs. Within a series of scenarios in which verbal sexual coercion occurs, the perpetrator will hold beliefs regarding his behavior that reflect cultural scripts supporting a rape culture. These beliefs will be reflected by statements within each scenario explaining why Liam believes his behavior is justified due to his status as an athlete or a college guy. The type of verbal sexual coercion will also be manipulated and will include social coercion, interpersonal coercion, and threatened physical coercion. It is hypothesized that the perceptions of rape culpability, victim control, and victim distress will differ based on manipulating the type of verbal sexual coercion that occurred. It is also hypothesized that the perceptions of the three types of verbal sexual coercion will vary based upon whether or not the perpetrator justified their actions using rape myth statements related to being an athlete or a college student