Perceptions of Male-Perpetrated Sexual Assault: The Impact of Victim Gender and Perceived Sexual Orientation

The present study examined the impact of victim gender, victim sexual orientation, and participant gender on judgments in a sexual assault case. Community members (N= 267) read a fictional trial summary in which a male perpetrator allegedly sodomized either (a) a straight man, (b) a gay man, (c) an ambiguous man (i.e., sexual orientation not stated), or (d) a straight woman. Overall, participants were more provictim (e.g., higher perceptions of victim credibility) when the victim was a woman versus a man and participants were more sympathetic toward the straight man victim compared to the nonstraight male victims (i.e., gay and ambiguous). Structural equation modeling revealed that beliefs that a male victim was attracted to men were associated with perceptions that the victim wanted sex, which led to lower victim credibility and lower ratings of defendant guilt. Notably, beliefs that the female victim was attracted to men did not have a direct effect on perceptions that the victim wanted sex, nor an indirect effect on verdict. These results indicate that when a male victim is perceived as being attracted to men, he is less likely to be believed that the sex was nonconsensual when sexually assaulted—regardless of his actual sexual orientation. Implications are discussed in terms of barriers to men who are victims of sexual assault and education of the public to reduce sexual assault myths in jurors.