NCJ Number
178424
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 5 Issue: 8 Dated: August 1999 Pages: 926-949
Date Published
August 1999
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey for 1992-94 were used to test the backlash hypothesis, which asserts that females' participation in the labor force will increase their rape victimization by frustrating resentful males into using violence as an ultimate resource in humiliation and control.
Abstract
The research used the survey's incident-level data subset on rape. The participants were all ages 12 years and older. The sample of 286 participants produced a population estimate of the rape victimization experiences of 884,572 females. Data were analyzed in terms of bivariate correlation coefficients and a logistic regression model. Results were contrary to the backlash hypothesis in that they revealed that unemployed women were more likely to be raped than were employed women. Results also revealed that poor, older, unmarried, white, suburban females had disproportionate risks of rape victimization. Findings suggested that traditional criminological explanations of violent crime (e.g., economic deprivation, social disorganization, culture of violence, racial residential segregation, social class isolation) may not be applicable to the explanation of rape. Findings also suggested that rape differs from other crimes of violence in that it does not predominate in urban centers, that females' unemployment is an important contributor to their rape victimization, and that rape cannot be attributed to drugs and alcohol. Nevertheless, three factors limit the findings of this study&and suggest the need for further research. Tables, notes, and 76 references (Author abstract modified)