Mara Martini (Università degli Studi di Torino - UNITO, Italy)

1. HOW MUCH RAPE MYTHS ARE
SHARED BY UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS IN TURIN AND HOW
MUCH IS IMPORTANT TO REDUCE
THEM IN RELATION TO INTENTION
TO CONTRAST VIOLENCE.
Some research evidences
Mara Mar�ni and Norma De Piccoli
http://usvreact.eu #USVreact

2. PROCEDURE
Questionnaire filled in on line by students of University (Unito) and of
Polytechnic (Polito) of Turin, Italy, between December 2016 and March 2017.
The participation was voluntary and anonymous.
PARTICIPANTS
4027 students; 74.6% Unito, 25.6% Polito
70.4% women, 29.1% men, 0.5% other gender
M 22.68 years old (min 18; max 71)
RESEARCH PROCEDURE AND PARTICIPANTS

3. MEASURES:
- Updated Measure for Assessing Subtle Rape Myth (McMahon, & Farmer, 2011):
22 items to assess how much rape myths are shared by respondents. Rape myths are
stereotypes and false representa�ons jus�fying gender violence, rapes and other forms of
sexual aggressions. The answer scale range from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).
The scale is divided into four factors that express, respec�vely, the myths: “She asked for it”;
“He didn’t mean to”; “It wasn’t really rape”; “She lied”.
- Bystander Efficacy scale (Banyard, Moynihan, Cares, & Warner, 2014)
14 items to expressed how confident respondents are to do the described ac�ons to contrast
gender violence on a scale from 0 (“non confident at all”) to 10 (“completely confident”).
+ Socio-anagraphic section.
RESEARCH PROCEDURE AND PARTICIPANTS

4. RAPE MYTHS ACCEPTANCE
% Agreement
SHEASKED
FORIT
If a girl is raped while she is drunk, she is at least somewhat responsible for letting things get out of control. 7.33
When girls go to parties wearing slutty clothes, they are asking for trouble. 5.4
If a girl goes to a room alone with a guy at a party, it is her own fault if she is raped. 4.8
If a girl acts like a slut, eventually she is going to get into trouble. 20.8
When girls are raped. it’s often because the way they said “no” was unclear. 4.8
If a girl initiates kissing or hooking up. she should not be surprised if a guy assumes she wants to have sex. 30.7
HEDIDN’T
MEANTO
When guys rape. it is usually because of their strong desire for sex. 22.6
Guys don’t usually intend to force sex on a girl. but sometimes they get too sexually carried away. 14.5
Rape happens when a guy’s sex drive gets out of control. 23.7
If a guy is drunk. he might rape someone unintentionally. 18.3
It shouldn’t be considered rape if a guy is drunk and didn’t realize what he was doing. 4
ITWASN’T
REALLYRAPE
If both people are drunk. it can’t be rape. 9.5
If a girl doesn’t physically resist sex—even if protesting verbally—it can’t be considered rape. 5.7
If a girl doesn’t physically fight back. you can’t really say it was rape. 5.5
A rape probably didn’t happen if the girl has no bruises or marks. 3.4
If the accused “rapist” doesn’t have a weapon. you really can’t call it a rape. 2.6
If a girl doesn’t say “no” she can’t claim rape. 10.2
SHELIED
A lot of times. girls who say they were raped agreed to have sex and then regret it. 12.4
Rape accusations are often used as a way of getting back at guys. 12.4
A lot of times. girls who say they were raped often led the guy on and then had regrets. 10.3
A lot of times. girls who claim they were raped just have emotional problems. 12.4
Girls who are caught cheating on their boyfriends sometimes claim that it was a rape. 10.5

5. BYSTANDER EFFICACY
*You may interpret the phrase “do something” to mean acting in some way. such as asking for help. creating a distraction. or talking directly
9,71
9,38
9,22
9,15
8,81
8,77
8,53
8,5
8,28
7,86
7,86
6,96
6,4
4,55
0 5 10
Get help and resources for a friend who tells me they have been raped.
Speak up to someone who is making excuses for having sex with someone who is unable to give full consent.
Express my discomfort if someone says that rape vic�ms are to blame for being raped.
Ask a friend if they need to be walked home from a party.
Talk to a friend who I suspect is in a sexually abusive rela�onship.
Tell an RA or other campus authority about informa�on I have that might help in a sexual assault case even if pressured by my
peers to stay silent.
Do something* if I see a woman surrounded by a group of men at a party who looks very uncomfortable.
Do something* to help a very drunk person who is being brought upstairs to a bedroom by a group of people at a party.
Call for help (i.e. call 911) if I hear someone in my dorm yelling “help.”
Cri�cize a friend who tells me that they had sex with someone who was passed out or who didn’t give consent.
Speak up to someone who is making excuses for forcing someone to have sex with them.
Able to ask a stranger who looks very upset at a party if they are ok or need help.
Express my discomfort if someone makes a joke about a woman’s body.
Ask a stranger if they need to be walked home from a party.

6. 1 2 3 4 5
1. Bystander efficacy -
2. “She asked for it” .337** -
3. “He didn’t mean to” .229** .496** -
4. “It wasn’t really rape” .232** .481** .523** -
5. “She lied” .226** .539** .547** .536** -
Cronbach’s Alpha .84 .80 .78 .86 .90
M 8.11 4.15 3.96 4.56 3.88
SD 1.31 .77 .85 .74 .98
CORRELATIONS
** p<.001

7. How much people you work with do share
these false believes?
What can we do to reduce rape myths
acceptance?
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION