Media Credit: Brenna Cheyney [Click to enlarge]

It is widely believed that most incidents of sexual abuse go unreported, but the crime itself might not be the end of a victim's troubles.

When victims come forward, they may also have trouble persuading some men to believe them, according to recent research at the University.

University psychology professor Jennifer Freyd and former graduate student Lisa Cromer co-authored the study, which found that men who had no previous experience of sexual abuse were significantly less likely to believe a victim's claims of abuse, or even consider the circumstance as abuse in the first place.

That doubt, Freyd said, does more than limit awareness of the issue.

"Not believing about abuse can be very damaging to the person that was abused," Freyd said. "That disbelief can really harm them."

In addition, such doubt in the claims of victims can make those who have experienced abuse more reluctant to come forward in the first place, Freyd said.

Freyd said this has always been a problem, and studies by the National Crime Victimization Survey suggest that more than half of all cases of sexual abuse go unreported. This most recent work in Freyd's Dynamics Lab at the University, she said, tries to explain that.

"My whole laboratory focuses on the impact of child abuse," she said. "Lisa and I were curious about why people often don't believe in an abuse account."

The answer, the study found, lies in a person's background.

The study, which used more than 300 University undergraduates as subjects, used a preliminary survey to determine if subjects were considered a "hostile sexist" - someone who views women negatively because of a perceived desire for control - or a "benevolent sexist" - one who puts women on a pedestal, as the survey said.

All subjects were shown a written testimonial of someone claiming have been forced into having sex as a child, then asked to rate the statement on believability and how abusive the behavior was.

Those who identified themselves in either of the two sexist categories were found to be less likely to consider the act abusive at all. Only the "hostile sexist" subjects were more willing to discredit the statement as false.

Continued...

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