What motivates males who commit sexual assault on campus?

IMAGE:Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other original content,... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 6, 2015-The shocking statistic that about one in five women will be the victim of sexual assault while in college is made even more so by the fact that most of those women will know their assailants. No one-size-fits-all approach to rape prevention will be effective, as some offenders are driven by hostility toward women, while others may objectify women and view forceful intercourse as part of expected male dominant behavior. These different motivations and views on rape, and how they can be used to deliver rape prevention measures and successful intervention strategies are explored in an article in Violence and Gender, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Violence and Gender website until February 6, 2015.

In the article "Denying Rape but Endorsing Forceful Intercourse: Exploring Differences Among Responders," Sara Edwards, PhD, and Kathryn Bradshaw, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, and Verlin Hinsz, PhD, North Dakota State University, Fargo, separated male participants into three groups based on how they scored on measurements of hypermasculinity, hostility toward women, and callous sexual attitudes. The authors reported associations between these groupings and whether the men denied any intention to rape or use force to obtain intercourse, self-reported intentions to rape, or indicated a distinction between sexually coercive behavior and rape and expressed intentions to use of force to obtain intercourse but denied rape.

"These authors describe the numbers as staggering, and we know it is one of the most concerning crimes in the country today," says Violence and Gender Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.). "Sexual assault on college campuses is the pink elephant in the room. It is a crime that is underreported and misunderstood. In this article, researchers look at how callous sexual attitudes of some males who do not have feelings of hostility toward women can still engage in forced intercourse with a victim, and consider their behavior as an achievement rather than rape. The implications for these findings are extremely significant for education programs about sexual aggression and rape prevention and the development of a more accurate identification of subtypes of offenders based on their motivation, cognition, and personality traits."

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About the Journal

Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other original content, the Journal critically examines biological, genetic, behavioral, psychological, racial, ethnic, and cultural factors as they relate to the gender of perpetrators of violence. Led by Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.), Violence and Gender explores the difficult issues that are vital to threat assessment and prevention of the epidemic of violence. Violence and Gender is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, and is the official journal of The Avielle Foundation. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Violence and Gender website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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What motivates males who commit sexual assault on campus?