Clergy's attitudes and attributions of blame toward female rape victims

Th authors investigated clergy's attitudes toward rape victims by using the Attitudes toward Rape Victims Scale and three rape scenarios (marital, date, and acquaintance). Clergy's sexism and religious fundamentalism were also measured. Results indicated that the more fundamentalist and sexist the clergy were, the more negative their attitudes toward rape victims. Qualitative analyses demonstrated that clergy take into account the woman's resistance, provocative behavior, decision making, marital role, and unusual behavior when assigning responsibility for rape. The results indicated that most clergy blame the victim and adhere to rape myths; therefore, they need to be more educated about sexual assault.