The effects of misogynistic media content on jurors' perceptions of battered women who kill

This study examined whether exposure to misogynistic media content affected jurors' perceptions of battered women charged with murdering their abusers. Participants were presented with one of two rap videos (misogynistic vs. no misogyny) and asked to provide a verdict decision, and opinion of sentence severity after reading a vignette of a battered woman facing trial for killing her abusive husband. We hypothesized that participants in the misogynistic video condition would be more likely to provide a guilty verdict and a harsher sentence than individuals in the non-misogynistic condition. Further, it was hypothesized that gender, age, media consumption, heavy listening of rap/hip-hop or rock music, and acceptance of domestic violence myths would be predictive of a guilty verdict decision and higher sentence severity. Results showed a significant gender trend, in terms of verdict decision. Heavy listeners of rap/hip-hop and those who accepted myths, were more likely to provide severe sentences