Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
5-9-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
Department
Department of Social Work
Advisor(s)
Lisa McGuire
Matthew B. Ezzell
Karen Myers
Abstract
Sex crime victims often experience victim-blaming from third parties. Literature does not discuss whether this pattern comes from gender bias or stigma surrounding certain types of crime. This mixed methods study assesses correlation between gender of non-sexual crime victims and third-party blame assignment. Quantitative research found higher levels of blame towards male victims, with a t-statistic of 5.865. Qualitative research found gendered perceptions of responsibility that invoke female victims’ sex and instruct women to adjust lifestyle choices. Social work practitioners can use this data to improve practice with crime victims and encourage dialogues surrounding victim-blaming in education and practice.
Recommended Citation
Whitlow, Caroline, "Correlation between victim-blaming attitudes and victim gender in non-sexual crime scenarios" (2020). Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current. 67.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors202029/67
