The Influence of Sexual Orientation on Attributions of Blame Toward Victims of Sexual Assault

ABSTRACT

Previous research has indicated that the sexual orientation of a sexual assault victim influences perceptions of blame. Although researchers have studied perceptions of blame toward straight and lesbian sexual assault victims, none have yet assessed perceptions of blame toward bisexual victims. The purpose of the current study is to examine perceptions of blame toward a female sexual assault victim and to determine whether the victim’s sexual orientation impacts the level of attributed blame. Despite no previous research examining the impact of bisexuality on victim blaming, misconceptions that bisexual females are highly sexual, promiscuous, and untrustworthy make it likely that this population would be subject to greater levels of blame than either straight or lesbian victims. After random assignment to a vignette description of a sexual assault and completion of a victim-blaming questionnaire, results failed to support our hypotheses; participants did not blame the bisexual victim of sexual assault more than either the straight or lesbian victims. Further contrary to expected findings, males did not hold more blaming attitudes than females across conditions. Nonetheless, this study is important given the finding that attributions of blame influence whether sexual assault victims choose to disclose their assault, the failure of which can lead to negative mental health outcomes. Ultimately, the current study was a first step in understanding whether bisexual assault victims are evaluated differently than their straight and lesbian counterparts.

KEYWORDS:

• Victim blaming
• sexual assault
• rape
• rape myth
• sexual orientation
• bisexuality
• homosexuality

Acknowledgment

Portions of this article were presented at the Western Psychological Association annual meeting, Las Vegas, NV, 2015.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.