A Rough Draft 1 : Victim Blaming Essay

For the purpose of this essay I will be considering Nils Christie’s (1986) concept of the ‘ideal victim’. In considering this concept, I will discuss what is meant by an ‘ideal victim’ and will also be focusing on the high profile Australian criminal case of Anita Cobby in Blacktown on 2nd of February 1986. Anita Cobby was only 26 years old when she was abducted, brutally raped and murdered by four ‘ideal offenders’. This essay will also consider, the ways in which the media and criminal justice system have constructed Anita Cobby as an ‘ideal victim’.

The stereotype of who a typical sexual assault victim is, is also detrimental to abide by as male victims of sexual assault will often fear being blamed and feel emasculated as a result of their victimisation. The continuation of stereotypic types of victims when considering a certain crime can often distort the seriousness of sexual

According to Marshall University’s Women Center, the definition of rape culture is “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.” (“Rape Culture.”) This can be found in ideas such as victim-blaming, trivialization of assault, and pressure for individuals to adhere to strict gender roles. This culture is

While most of these schools do not give a lot of information about the victim, except for each type of school has had one big case where there the articles give a lot of information about the victim. Harvard was the only Ivy league school to release the name of a victim, Alyssa Leader and two students from the class of 1960 and 1964, from any of the Ivy League school. In an Huffington Post article Alyssa Leader name is used. The article stated, “[Alyssa] Leader officially filed a school complaint against Doe for abuse, sexual assault and harassment in February 2015, prompting a university investigation. Her main goal was to have him removed from her dorm, she told HuffPost,”

Sexual Assault described in technical terms is defined as any sort of sexual activity between two or more people in which one of the people involved is involved against his or her will. (3) The description of "against his or her will" extends to varying degrees of aggression, ranging from indirect pressure to a direct physical attack. While sexual assaults are associated with the crime of rape, it may cover assaults which would not be considered rape. What constitutes a sexual assault is determined by the laws of the jurisdiction where the assault takes place, which vary considerably, and are influenced by local social and cultural attitudes. Every year, an estimated 300,000 women are raped and 3.7 million are confronted with unwanted

America has a proud history of being a country that has many different ethnicities and cultures living within its borders. But one of the most prevalent cultures is one that transcends race or country of origin, rape culture. The term used by modern day feminist and gender activist defines a culture which normalizes rape and sexual assaults because of the deeply rooted societal attitudes towards gender and sexuality. In a rape culture the instances of rape are accepted as everyday occurrences and even as the prerogative of men, resulting in the stigmatization and blame placing of rape victims. Although the phrase “rape culture” is relatively modern, the

One way rape victims are handled improperly through the criminal justice system is by victims characteristics. This may include the victim's age, job, risky behavior such as drinking or using drugs. When a victim portrays any of these characteristics, most times it is often thought of that they provoked the offender or made the opportunity easier. This attacks the reputation of the victim, most times this determines whether chargers will be filed or not. This is an accuse for people to blame the victim for her action.

Victim blaming can be defined as a devaluing act where the victim of the said crime is blamed and held partially responsible for the outcome committed against them (Ben-David, Schneider, 2005). As displayed throughout this paper, from historical times to present day there still manages to be the idea that the victim plays some kind of role in their sexual assault taking place. In 1980 an important study was done that is still relevant today. Brown’s study showed the predictive validity of feminist theoretical ideas about the nature of rape in America. The results show that many Americans believed in rape myths with attitudes connected to gender role stereotyping (Burt, 1980). Individuals in the research were asked questions

Rape is one of the crimes committed in the US. Rape is also one of the most underreported crimes in America and has low prosecution and conviction rates compared to any other violent crimes in America. "Rape Culture" has become a popular term when it comes to rape prevention education and advocacy; it refers to a society that contains within it practices and beliefs that minimize the negative impacts of victimization while accepting and continuing the perpetration of acts of sexual violence.

A crime in America that is committed all too often is the act of forcible rape. Forcible rape is not a crime only against women. The definition was recently changed to aid in gender neutrality and to account for forcible rapes among same gender (FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 2013). Forcible rape in now defined as, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) (2013), “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” Although the act of forcible rape is a serious crime, many incidents go unreported for one reason or another. Some reasoning of why a rape may go unreported include, being embarrassed to tell somebody that you were forcibly raped, the victim knew the criminal and is afraid that further injury may occur if they report the incident to the police, or the victim was possibly drugged and was not aware of the situation. I will describe some of the statistics and trends involved with the act of forcible rape, explain some of the reasoning behind why one feels the need to commit forcible rape on another person, how the social learning theory shaped those individuals into the criminals that they are.

The main debate amongst the explanation is the key motivation that drives the offender to commit rape. Previously, majority of social scientists’ perspective of rape is seen as a sexually motivated crime; for instance, males are given the opportunity to fulfil their sexual desires that cannot be met legally, thus

According to Ann Burnett, the concept of rape culture explains how society perceives and behaves towards rape victims and rape perpetrators. For example, a number of rape myths that are held are "no means yes", women can resist rape if they really wanted to, women who are raped are promiscuous therefore "asking to be raped" and many women falsely report rape to protect their own reputations or because they are angry at the "perpetrator" and want to create a type of backlash. A theory for why rape myths are so common in society is because they are perpetuated by norms already present in society. Researchers claim that communication and language is created by the dominant patriarchy. In positions of power, men control how women are portrayed

Sexual assault and rape has always been a social and public issue in the United States. A majority of the time, women become the victims, while men become the perpetrators. National surveys in the United States show that one in six women has experienced an attempted or completed rape. Consent appears to be a critical factor in determining whether assault or rape has taken place. Women have a higher chance of being raped by who they are acquainted with rather than strangers.

For most individuals, the thought of blaming the victim of a tragic experience for their own pain and suffering, seems preposterous. However, ascribing at least some of the blame to the victim is not uncommon (Niemi & Young, 2014). Victim blaming refers to individuals finding reasons to hold the victim of an incident responsible for the crime that took place (Hayes, Lorenz & Bell, 2013). For victims of sexual assault, who may already be experiencing self-blame and distrust of others, being blamed adds insult to injury (Harber, Podolski, & Williams, 2015). According to Harber et. al, victim blaming can also have long-term effects on victims, such as, increased anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In an effort to increase support and resources for survivors of sexual assault researchers must determine why individuals are prone to blaming the victims rather than the perpetrator of a crime.

p. 69).” rape is violence against women. It is a violation of her body and her trust. According to Burns, a sociologist at Michigan State University, “rape is forced and unwanted intercourse, where sexual assault is used as a power and sex is a method (Mousseau, 2006. p. 1).” Most rapes are committed not by strangers, but by men known to women, perhaps someone they have gone out with or are supposedly their friends. It can be someone she just met or even her fiancé, but often it is an attempt to assert power or anger. A study by the National Center for the Preventive and Control rape claims ninety percent of rapes are never reported. In those that are reported, sixty percent knew their assailants. Of these, women fifteen to twenty-five are majority of the victims. Alcohol and drugs sometimes play a significant factor, especially in date rape or acquaintance rape cases (Mousseau, 2006).