NCJ Number
134022
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 17 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1991) Pages: 1-12
Date Published
1991
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A sample of 57 female and 57 male undergraduate students completed a 2-part survey instrument consisting of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (ATWS) and an adaptation of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES).
Abstract
The findings showed a clear relationship between sexual abuse and negative attitudes toward women. Sexual abuse victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse believed that women and men should not deviate from traditional sex roles and that women's social, economic, and political rights should be more limited than men's. Male perpetrators would limit women's freedom of movement, but did not condemn sexual activity before marriage; female victims also would limit women's freedom of movement, but condemned premarital sex. The religious right has been politically successful in forging an active opposition among women to the Equal Rights Amendment; female ERA opponents tend to be financially dependent on a man, less well-educated, and frequent churchgoers. The authors maintain that the worldview perpetrated by the religious right may also lead to greater tolerance for sexual abuse. 2 tables and 24 references