NCJ Number
126234
Journal
Social Justice Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1990) Pages: 71-89
Date Published
1990
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article examines violence against women from the perspective of public response to female victimization and its effects on the development of criminal justice policies. A survey of oral and written responses of 99 middle class college students was conducted regarding 2 news stories featuring female victimization: a domestic homicide and an aggravated sexual assault report.
Abstract
Responses to the victim combine with control responses to produce three different discourses: casual skepticism, victim-blaming skepticism, and victim-defending system critique. The domestic homicide story produced support for administrative and due process control strategies as did the sexual assault story. The study shows that discourse on female victimization is more varied and subtle than had been realized. It disproves the myth of victim blaming, although victim responsibility dominates the discussion of sexual assault. Public education is recommended for the victim blaming and casual skeptics. Among middle-class respondents, female victimization is not only a women's issue, but cuts across race and gender lines. 3 tables, 8 notes, and 18 references