Revenge Porn: The influence of gender biases and Just World Beliefs on victim blaming among adults

Drawing on defensive attribution theory and gender-role stereotypes, this study examines the influence of Belief in a Just World (BJW) and gender biases in revenge porn victim blaming. Two research questions were addressed (1) Does gender and Just World beliefs have an influence on revenge porn victim blaming? (2) How do victim blaming levels in revenge porn differ across the observer’s gender and perpetrator-victim sex. Participants were recruited through social media (N = 340). A 2x1 quasi-experimental design was used where participants were randomly assigned to one of two vignettes that portrayed a revenge porn case: one with female-victim and one with a male-victim. Then participants answered a Victim Blaming Scale and the Global Just World Belief scale. Results indicated that BJW and gender have a significant influence in victim blaming levels. Additionally, there was a negative association between BJW and victim blaming levels. Results also showed that males blame the victim to a greater extent than females and that perpetrator-victim sex does not influence victim blaming levels. Overall, results from the current study highlight the need for educational programs to avoid victims being assess on extra-legal factors