Comments on: Rape Trial Jurors Bring Rape Myths to Court

By: British Prosecutors to Challenge Rape Myths in Court : The Curvature

British Prosecutors to Challenge Rape Myths in Court : The Curvature — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:06:49 +0000

[...] long time. First of all, it’s no secret that our culture is steeped in rape myths, and that jurors bring those rape myths to court. How could they not? It’s also no secret that defense attorneys play heavily off of these [...]

By: Rape myths, rape myth acceptance, and community perceptions of victims of sexual violence — Hoyden About Town

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:10:20 +0000

[...] study on how Australian jurors make rulings based on rape myths [...]

By: Rape Apologism Starts Early : The Curvature

Rape Apologism Starts Early : The Curvature — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:31:05 +0000

[...] We also know that these views are not benign when it comes to an actual conviction. And I wouldn’t doubt that they hold equal sway with regards to internal investigations of such serious allegations, in addition to criminal ones. [...]

By: rich

rich — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:37:14 +0000

Yeah that’s a good point. It’s unfortunate that “ways not to get raped” (what an ugly phrase) is even a lesson deemed necessary to learn. Definitely relieves offenders of responsibility.

By: Cara

Cara — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:02:23 +0000

I was initially surprised about the high number for women, but then once I thought about it, realized that it did make a lot of sense. I mean, even though men and women are talked to in different ways, they do both here the same messages. And women, in fact, are the ones bombarded with ways to “not get raped” — and a hell of a lot of them dwell on not looking too attractive. It’s sad, but also perfectly logical that women internalize these messages.

By: rich

rich — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:41:14 +0000

It’s pretty dumb to assume that jurors do not have preconceived ideas about people or crimes, especially in rape cases, but also for crimes in general. A critical part of any case is jury selection, and the attorneys involved have a vested interest in choosing jurors who have certain prejudices that will act in their favor during the trial (even though they’ll tell you they’re looking for unbiased minds). The Marsalis cases are good example of attorneys who play to juror prejudice, though I was uncomfortable with the article seemingly positing black women as inclined to think in an “apologist” manner across the board, which obviously isn’t true.
I have to admit I was surprised by the percentage of women who thought rape was a result of the “uncontrollable sexual urges of men,” although I was even more bummed by nearly half of the men thinking the same thing. Of course, all those feelings are put aside come the trial right?

By: Mary Tracy9

Mary Tracy9 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:28:10 +0000

Bravo! Thanks for bringing this up.