textbook chapter 16

sexual assault laws in the past

• Rape law used to be for forced heterosexual intercourse by a man with a woman who was not his wife

  • Limited to heterosexual intercourse

  • Women could not be charged with rape

  • Husbands could not be charged with raping their wife 

  • Prior sexual actiity could be counted as consent 

  • Rape complaints that were not made immediately after attack were invalidated

who can not give consent

• No consent if person is drunk of unconscious

• No consent if person consents but then changes their mind 

• Children under 16 do not have consent

statistics of sexual assault

• Most perpetrators are male

• Half incidents are person the victim knows

• Ages 15-24 have highest rate of assault compared to any other age group

• Individuals with disabilities are at greater risk

date rape

Sexual assault of women by acquaintances

• 87% are acquaintances 

• Alot of times women dont realize it was sexual assault because it occured in a dating situation

• Sexual coercion by a dating partner is associated with depression, lower self esteem and negative sexual self perceptions 

• Miscomminciation can lead to sexual assault in relationships because men can believe that no means yes or consent to kissing means consent to sex

why do sexually aggressive men misperceive womens communication

1. Mispercieve warmth and friendliness as sexual interest

2. Sexually aggressive men are more likely to be suspicious and believe that women arent honest

date rape drugs

• Rohypnol: causes drowsiness or sleep, memory loss

• GHB: similar effects to alcohol and hallucinations

• Ketamine: amnesia and hallucinations

rape culture

 deeply entrenched cultural attitudes about gender and sexuality that shape peoples attitudes about tape

• Supported by rape myths 

  • Victim caused the rape

  • Victim is making things up

  • She wanted to be raped

  • Men cant control themselves in sexual situations

partner sexual assault of women

• Few report to police 

• Trauma is the same

• Man who batters female partner is also likely to force her to have sex

impacts of sexual assault on women

• Anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, PTSD

• Happens immediately after and can last a long time

• Females are more likely to seek help 

• Self blame (worse psychological outcomes)

• Damage to physical health like cuts, bruises, bleeding, throat damage, STI, pregnancy

• PTG

theoretical views for causes of sexual assault against women

1. Psychopathology of sex offenders: sexual assault is an act committed by a psychologically disturbed man and his deviance is responsible for the crime occuring

2. Feminist: sexual assauly is the product of gender role socialization in our culture which reinforces male aggression and power so gender inequality is the cause

3. Social disorganization: rates increase after disruption to the social organization of a community and under such conditions, the community cannot enfcorce its norms against crime

role of alcohol in sexual assault of women

• Intoxicated men are more likely to commit assault but this finding is correlational so cant determine direction

• Effects of alcohol on preprator

  • Pharmacological effects:  impairs cognitive functions like decision making, planning and response inhibition

  • Psychological effects: people believe drinking will make them more sociable and sexually uninhibited 

• Effects of alcohol on victim

  • Pharmalogical: same as prepreator, reduction in anxiety so could miss signs of danger , less effective in resisting assault, individuals who are drinking are perieved as more sexually interested than those who arent drinking

Men who are sexually aggressive against women

1. Endorse beliefs like women are sexual obejcts, women are dangerous and deceptive, world is dangerous, urges cant be controlled, sense of entitlement 

2. More likely to have had brain injuries as a child 

3. Characterized by poor inhibition and self regulation, especially inhibition of aggressive impulses 

4. Lack empathy

5. Part of peer groups that approve forced sex

reddit analyzing rape posts

• Victim blamed

• Hostile sexism

• Uncontrollable biological urges 

• Hormone controlled behaviour

• Objectificaton

sexual assault against men

• A lot of the same stuff as women but lower rates of it 

• Male victims blamed more harshly 

• Majority of male victims are assulted by other men

sexual assault in prison

• Prison staff and inmates are perpetrators

• Severe emotional consequences

• Prison systems are not keeping track of allegations of assault because they are rarely believed 

• Used as an expression of power and aggression because most of the prisoners identify as heterosexual but use it as a means of establishing a dominance hierarchy

preventing sexual assault

• Need to change how we socialize men

• Emphasize obtaining verbal consent 

• Need to change how we socialize girls so they are more comfortable being assertive and using self defence 

• Combat cultural stereotypes that men are always interested in sex 

• Peer led programs that focus on a single gender in a small group for multiple sessions are most effective. Based on one of these strategies

1. Awareness based programs: prevalence of sexual assault 

2. Empathy based programs: increases understanding consequences for victims

3. Social norms based programs: question gender role norms that support violence against women

4. Skills based programs: teach people skills that will decrease their risk of being objects of sexual violence

5. Bystander intervention programs: encourage people to intervene if they see such a situation

child sexual abuse

• Sexual activity with child under 16 cannot consent 

• Age of consent for a person in the position of trust to have sex with child is 18

sextortion

threats to expose sexual images with the goal of coercing victims to provide additional images or engage in sex

patterns of child sexual abuse

• More for girls

• Mostly genital touching without penetration

• Preparators are men 

• Alot of within families 

• Frequent in residential schools

sexual abuse impact on the child

• Anxiety, depression, behaviour problems, health problems, suicide 

• More likely to engage in risky sexual behaviours in adolescence 

• Tesitfying could cause trauma 

• Trouble as adult in romatnic relationships and cheating

child sexual abuse offenders

• Many abuse more than one child 

• Pedophilia: sexual preference for prepubescent children 

• Pedophilic disorder: individual experiences recurrent intense fantasies or urges involving children and the person has acted on these or the ruges cause distress

• Not all pedophiles are child molesters because they might not act on it 

• Awkward and unskilled in mixed sex encounters

• Poor cognitive functioning

• More likely to have had head injury as kids

what causes pedophilia

• Being sexually abused as a child (abuser-abuser hypothesis)

  • Not true cuz then most offenders would be women

• Adversity in childhood

• Differences in brain

• Lower IQ and memory

• Left handed or ambidextrous 

• Differences in white matter in the brain

differences in pedophiles

• Differences in which gender of kids theyre attracted to

• Difference in whether they like biological children, stepchildren, kids they know or kids they do not know

recidivism

• Higher for those who have not got treatment

• Higher for people who began offending at early age

• Higher for those who target male victims 

• Higher for extrafamilial offenders

• Higher for offenders with general feelings of hostility

treatment of child sex offenders

• Anti androgen drugs, hormones, antidepressant drugs, cognitive behavioural therapy

• Behavioural treatment: teaches to control sexual arousal

mandatory notification of the release of sex offenders

• Public can not see public sex offender list in canada, used for police to locate suspects

• Risks of going public like the US are misidentifcation of innocent people, privacy, people taking law into own hands

preventing child sexual abuse

• Sexual abuse prevention programs in schools 

• Programs for parents to assist them in talking to their children about sexual abuse 

• Role play scenarios

sexual harassment at work

• Results from a combination of gender stereotypes and mens ambivalent motives 

1. Earnest harassment: man is motivated by desire for sexual intimacy

2. Hostile harassment: motivation is domination of the woman

3. Paternalistic ambivalent harassment: man is motivated by a desire for sexual intimacy but also by a paternalistic desire to be like a father to the woman 

4. Competitive ambivalent harassment: mixes real sexual attraction and a stereotype of women as sexy with the mans hostile desire to dominate the woman

things that contribute to sexual harassment in education

1. Percieved institutional tolerance for sexual harassment 

2. Environments where men outnumber women

3. Hierarchical power structure within the organization

4. Compliance with Title IX regulations that is only symbolic: avoiding liability rather than actually changing the institutional climate

5. Uninformed leadership in the organization

sex between healthcare professionals and patients

• Deniers: refuse to acknowledge

• Rationalizers: avoid responsibility for their behaviour

• Repentant: take full responsibility and dont let it happen again