Citation

Maryn AG, Dover TL. Violence Against Women 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/10778012231163574

PMID

36927375

Abstract

Rape survivors face stigma when disclosing their experiences. We hypothesized that a rape survivor who formally reports their rape would experience more stigma than one who does not, and that this effect will be stronger when the perceiver is a man or low in support for sexual consent. Across two studies using self-report, observational, and psychophysiological measures, we found that a reporting survivor was seen more negatively than an identical survivor who did not report their rape. Men and those low in support for sexual consent also responded more negatively to the survivor. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

psychophysiology; biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat; rape disclosures; rape stigma; victim-blame