Rape Awareness Scales For Men

Rape Awareness Scales For Persons Who May Have Perpetrated Sexual Assault

2003 Jane F. Gilgun, Ph.D, LICSW University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA [email protected]

Note: An intimate partner is a person you are relationship with and that includes caring and a sexual relationship.

Rape Awareness Scales These scales are useful in social service programs with men who have physically assaulted their intimate partners. An intimate partner is a person you are relationship with and that includes caring and a sexual relationship. Some of these men may also have committed sexual assault. The scales may help the men talk about their sexual assaults. Details on the scale are at the end of the document. Many are based on scales that were previously developed, while some are constructed for the purposes of this package of tools. About the Author Jane F. Gilgun, Ph.D., LICSW, is professor, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA. She does research on the meanings of violence to perpetrators, the development of violent behaviors, and how persons overcome risks for violence. She has many articles, books, and children’s stories available on Amazon Kindle, pdfcoke.com/professorjane, and stores.lulu.com/jgilgun. She also has many videos on youtube.com/jgilgun. Emotional Connection Scale How much do you agree with the following statements? Circle the number in the box that best fits your answer.

1. I love my partner. 2. I show affection to my partner. 3. I express my emotions freely to my partner. 4. I discuss things that bother me with my partner. 5. Discussing problems with my partner helps. 6. I can count on my partner to listen when I’ve got something on my mind

Never 1 1

Some of the time 2 2

Usually 3 3

Most of the time 4 4

Always 5 5

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Sexual Behaviors Scale How often are the following statements true for you?

1. Whenever my partner and I have sex, we both want it. 2. My partner touches my private parts after I tell him/her I don’t want him/her to. 3. My partner has threatened to harm our children when I say I don’t want to have sex with him. 4. My partner withholds affection from me if I don’t want to have sex when s/he does 5. My partner respects my wishes when I say I am not in the mood to have sex with him/her. 6. I take pleasure in satisfying my partner sexually. 7. My partner has sex with me whenever s/he wants, regardless of what I want. 8. My partner has raped me.

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Not sure 3

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Consensual Sex Scale During the time we’ve been together… 1. whenever my partner and I have sex, we both want it. 2. my partner and I have a loving sexual relationship. 3. I enjoy my sexual relationship with my partner.

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Never true

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Always True

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Rape of Women Scale

I believe…

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

Don’t Know

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1. Rape means forcing sex on someone without their consent. 2. Women who get raped did something to deserve it. 3. In some rape cases, the woman actually wanted it to happen. 4. If a woman doesn’t physically fight back, you can’t really say it was a rape. 5. A lot of times, women say “no” when they really mean “yes.” 6. Any healthy woman can successfully resist a rapist if she really wants to. 7. If a woman engages in petting and necking, she has to take some responsibility if a man forces sex on her. 8. It’s just human nature for men to take sex from women who put their guard down. 9. Any woman who teases a man sexually gets what she deserves. 13. If a woman has been drinking alcohol or using drugs, it is really her own fault if a man has sex with her without her consent. 14. In most rapes, the victim has a bad reputation. 15. When a woman is raped, she probably did something to put herself in that situation. 16. A rape probably didn’t happen if a woman has no bruises or marks. 17. If a woman is raped, it’s probably because she didn’t say “no” clearly enough. 18. Women often falsely accuse men of rape.

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Partner Rape Myth Scale I believe…

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

Don’t Know

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1. Once a man has had sex with a woman on a regular basis, he should be able to have sex with her whenever he wants. 2. Rape can happen in intimate partner relationships. 3. It’s a woman’s duty to satisfy her intimate partner’s sexual needs, whether or not she is in the mood. 4. If a woman does not strongly resist her intimate partner’s sexual advances, she is willing to have sex. 5. A lot of times when a woman says “no” to her intimate partners, she really means “yes.” 6. Forcing an intimate partner to have sex is no big thing. 7. A man is justified in raping his intimate partner if he finds out she’s been cheating on him. 8. A woman can’t really refuse to have sex with a man she’s slept with on a regular basis. 9. If a woman lets her intimate partner touch her sexually, she should be willing to go all the way. 10. A woman should forgive and forget if her partner forces sex on her. 11. When the man pays most of the bills, his intimate partner should be available to him whenever he wants sex.. 12. If a woman gets drunk, it is really her own fault if her intimate partner has sex with her without her consent. 13. Rape of an intimate partner is less serious than rape of a stranger. 14. When a man rapes his intimate partner, she probably did something to deserve it. 15. A woman can prevent her intimate partner from raping her if she really wants to. 16. Rape in intimate relationships doesn’t hurt anyone. 17. Sometimes the only way a man can get his intimate partner to agree to sex is to be persistent in seeking it. 18. Women who are forced to have sex with their intimate partners eventually forget about it and go on with their lives.

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Male Sexual Access Scale

I believe…

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

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1. It is my partner’s duty to have sex with me whenever I want it. 2. I will go elsewhere if I don’t have sex with my partner when he wants it. 3. Having sex with my partner when s/he is not really in the mood helps us to stay together as a couple. 4. I have the right to hurt my partner’s sexual body parts when s/he does something I don’t like. 5. When I force my partner to have sex with me, my partner has done something to deserve it.

Sympathy for Survivors of Partner Sexual Assault Scale A woman has reason to believe that …

Strongly agree

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Strongly disagree

Don’t Know

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1. she won’t get sympathy if she tells someone her intimate partner raped her. 2. she won’t be believed if she tells someone her intimate partner raped her. 3. she will be blamed if she tells other people her partner raped her. 4. police will be helpful if she reports that her intimate partner raped her. 5. she will get respectful treatment if her accusation of rape by her partner goes to court.

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Brief Descriptions of the Scales Emotional Connection Scale. This scale is intended to provide a picture of the emotional quality of couples’ relationship. This is a six-item Likert-like scale with five responses that range from “Never” to “Always.” It is based on the work of Gottman (2001) and Jane Gilgun’s published and unpublished research. Sexual Behaviors Scale. This is an eight-item scale with possible responses of “True,” “Not true,” and “Not sure,” developed for the present research. Based on readings of the sexual assault research such as those cited earlier and the principal investigators’ published and unpublished research, it is intended to identify instances of sexual coercion, sexual assaults, and rape. Consensual Sex Scale. This is a three-item scale with five Likert-like responses ranging from “Never true” to “Always true.” It is intended to identify some sexually compatible aspects of couple relationships and is based on readings of research and theory and Jane Gilgun’s published and unpublished research.. Rape Myth Scale. This is an 18-item scale with four Likert-like responses that range from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree” and a “Don’t know” response. It contains items that are meant to provide a measure of respondents’ acceptance of commonly-held beliefs about the nature of rape, rape victims, and perpetrators of rape. The first item asks if respondents agree with a definition of rape is consistent with definitions found in the research literature including Tjaden & Thoennes (2000). Other items are based upon the work of Burt (1980) Lonsway and Fitzsgerald (1995), general reading of the rape/sexual assault research, and Jane Gilgun’s published and unpublished research. Partner Rape Myth Scale. This is an 18-item scale with four Likert-like responses that range from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree” and a “Don’t know” response. As the title suggests, this scale contains items that are meant to provide a measure of respondents’ acceptance of commonly-held beliefs about the nature of rape among marital, co-habiting, and other long-term 7

partners. The ideas and some of the items of the scale are adapted to intimate partner sexual assault from the work of Burt (1980), Lonsway and Fitzsgerald (1995), general reading of the rape/sexual assault literature such as Bergen (1996, 1999), Finelhor & Yllo (1985), Mahoney and Williams (1998), Whatley (1993), and Jane Gilgun’s published and unpublished research. Male Sexual Access Scale. This is a five-item scale with four Likert-like responses that range from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree” and a “Don’t know” response. It draws upon ideas in Mahoney & Williams (1998), Bergen (1996, 1999), Basile (1999), Finkelhor and Yllo (1985), Russell (1990), other readings of the rape/sexual assault research literature, and the principal investigators’ published and unpublished research. It is intended to measure respondents’ personal beliefs regarding wifely duties, victim blaming, and male entitlements to sex which sometimes fit both legal definitions of rape and definitions found in research. Sympathy for Survivors of Partner Sexual Assault Scale. This is a five-item scale with four Likert-like responses that range from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree” and a “Don’t know” response. It draws upon ideas in rape/sexual assault research including Mahoney (1999), Williams & Holmes (1981), Russell (1990) and Jane Gilgun’s published and unpublished research. Items four and five are reversed scoring items. Sexual Experiences Survey, adapted. This is an eight-item instrument with possible responses of “Yes,” “No,” and ‘Not sure” adapted for the present research from the Koss and Oros (1982) Sexual Experiences Survey (SES), which was designed for detecting rape behaviors in acquaintance relationships. Koss and Oros (1985) reported correlations between survey data and interview data were .73 (p<.001) for a sample of women college students and .61(p<.001) for a sample of men college students. Cook (2002) found that the SES rape subscale elicited more reports of rape than two measures, including the sexual aggression subscale of the Conflict Tactic Scale 2 (Straus et al, 1995). Rape Myth Scale. This is an 18-item scale with four Likert-like responses that range from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree” and a “Don’t know” response. It contains items that are 8

meant to provide a measure of respondents’ acceptance of commonly-held beliefs about the nature of rape, rape victims, and perpetrators of rape. The first item asks if respondents agree with a definition of rape is consistent with definitions found in the research literature including Tjaden & Thoennes (2000). Other items are based upon the work of Burt (1980) Lonsway and Fitzsgerald (1995), general reading of the rape/sexual assault research, and Jane Gilgun’s published and unpublished research.

A Brief Review of Research Survivors of rape are blamed, shamed, and stigmatized. Rape myths justify men’s behaviors and blame women (Burt, 1980; Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1995). Women who have been raped expect to be asked what they did to cause it. More than 20 years ago, Williams & Holmes (1981) called public responses to rape “the second assault.” Survivors experience legal and social discrimination based on wide-spread acceptance of rape myths that not only stigmatize and blame them but minimize and even deny men’s responsibilities (Resnick et al, 1991). Finally, rape is a crime that men predominantly commit against women. As Rozee and Koss (2001) have written, “Gender is still the most powerful predictor of rape” (p. 295). Survivors of rape and sexual assault in marriage and other committed relationships may suffer even more discrimination and neglect than survivors of other forms of rape (Resnick, Kilpatrick, Walsh, & Vernonen, 1991). Rape in marriage has only recently been recognized as a crime. Some states still have what is called an “exemption,” meaning forms of sexual assault in marriage are not prosecutable (Mahoney & Williams, 1998). Social attitudes and beliefs are embedded in legal codes, and, therefore, many persons believe that rape in marriage is impossible. Rather, it is a wife’s duty to provide sex to her husband whenever he wants it. Many persons also believe that once a woman has had sex with a man on a regular basis, she is obliged to perform sexually for him thereafter. If he forces sex on her, she is viewed as having less responsibility than men who rape women they do not know or with whom they have not previously had sex. Finkelhor 9

and Yllo (1985) captured a dimension of sexual assault in committed relationships when they named their book License to rape: Sexual abuse of wives. Personal Beliefs For centuries, women have internalized cultural beliefs and practices that do so much harm to them (Resnick et al, 1991; Rozee & Koss, 2001). They may believe many widely-accepted perceptions of sexual assault in committed relationships, such as rape in intimate relationships is not possible because they may believe that the marriage contract or the implied contract within cohabiting or other long-term relationships requires men’s open access to sex. They may think that sexual assault in committed relationships is less serious than other forms of rape. Women may do a great deal of soul-searching and even blame themselves if their partner force sex on her or seek to punish and control her through sexual aggression (Finkelhor & Yllo, 1985; Russell, 1990). Women are embedded in cultures that blames and stigmatizes them for being victims of rape; these attitudes extend sexual assault in marriage and other intimate relationships, with the added burden that the impact and significance of intimate partner rape is minimized within social, religious, and legal institutions and even among family members and friends (Bergen, 1996, 1998, 1998; Basile, 1999; Resnick et al, 1991).. Women have sound reasons to doubt the wisdom of disclosing and reporting sexual assault that their intimate partners have perpetrated on them (Mahoney & Williams, 1998; Russell, 1990). References Barnett, O.W. (2000). Why battered women do not leave. Part 1: External inhibiting factors within society. Trauma, Violence & Abuse. 1,(4), 343-372. Basile, K. C. (1999). Rape by acquiescence: The ways in which women give in to unwanted sex with their husbands. Violence Against Women, 5(9), 1036-1058. Bergen, R. K. (1999). Marital rape. Violence against women online resources. Office of Violence Against Women and Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (available at www.vaw.umn.edu). 10

Bergen, R.K. (1998). The reality of wife rape: Women’s experiences of sexual violence in marriage. In R. K.Bergen (Ed.) Issues in intimate violence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Bergen, R. K. (1996). Wife rape: Understanding the responses of survivors and service providers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Bryden D.P.& Lengnick, S. (1997). Rape in the criminal justice system. Criminal Law and Criminology, 87, 1194-1384. Burt M. (1980) Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38 (2), 217-230. Cook, S. L. (2002). Self-reports of sexual, physical, and nonphysical abuse perpetration: A comparison of three measures. Violence Against Women, 8(5), 541-565. Erez, E. & Belknap, J. (1998). In their own words: Battered women’s assessment of the criminal processing system’s responses. Violence and Victims, 13, 251-268. Finkelhor, D. & Yllo, K. (1985). License to rape: Sexual abuse of wives. New York: The Free Press. Fleury R. E. ( 2002). Missing voices: Patterns of battered women’s satisfaction with the criminal justice legal system. Violence Against Women, 8, (2), 181-205. Frieze, I. H. (1983). Investigating cause and consequences of marital rape. The Family Coordinator, 26, 532-553. Gondolf, E.W. (1999). A comparison of four batterer intervention systems. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, (1), 41-61. Goodman, L., Bennett, L. & Dutton, M.A. (1999). Obstacles to victim’s cooperation with the criminal prosecution of their abusers: The role of social support. Violence and Victims,14, 427443. Gordon, J.S. (1996). Community services for abused women. Perceived usefulness and efficiency. Journal of Family Violence, 11, 315-329. Gottman, J. M. (2001). The relationship cure. New York: Crown. 11

Hamilton, M, & Yee J (1990). Rape knowledge and propensity to rape Journal of Research in Personality, 24 (1), 111-122. Hasday, J.E. (2000). Contest and consent: A legal history of marital rape. California Law Review, 88, (5), 1373-1498. Kilpatrick, D.G., Edmunds, C.N. & Seymour, A.E. (1992). Rape in America: A report to the nation. Arlington, VA: National Crime Victims Center. Kilpatrick, D. G, Best, C. L, Saunders, B. E, & Veronen, L. J. (1988). Rape in marriage and in dating relationships: How bad is it for mental health? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 528( Aug), 335-344. Koss, M.P. (2000). Blame, shame, and community justice responses to violence against women. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 1332-1343. Koss, M. P. & Oros, C. J. (1985). Sexual Experiences Survey: Reliability and validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53(3), 422-423. Koss, M. P. & Oros, C. J. (1982). Sexual Experiences Survey: A research instrument investigating sexual aggression and victimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50(3), 455-457. Lonsway, K. A. & Fitzgerald, L.F. (1995). Attitudinal antecedents of rape myth acceptance: A theoretical and empirical reexamination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(4), 704-711. Mahoney, P. (1999). High rape chronicity and low rates of help-seeking among wife rape survivors in a non-clinical sample. Violence Against Women, 5(9), 993-1016. Mahoney, P.,& Williams, L. (1998). Sexual assault in marriage: Prevalence, consequences, and treatment of wife rape. In J. Jasinksi & L.Williams (Eds.), Partner violence: A comprehensive review of 20 years of research (pp. 113-162). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Malamuth, N. M. (1981). Rape proclivity among males. Journal of Social Issues, 37(4), 138-157. 12

Malamuth, N. M. et al (1995). Using the confluence model of sexual aggression to predict men’s conflict with women: A 10-year follow-up study. Journal of Personality and Consulting Psychology, 69(2), 353-369. Monson, C.M. & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, L. (1998). Legal considerations, Epidemiology and an integrated typology of perpetrators. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 3, (4), 369-389. Pence, E.& Paymar, M. (1983). Education groups for men who batter: The Duluth model. New York: Springer. Pence, E. & Shepard, M. (1999). Developing a coordinated community response: An introduction. In M. Shepard and E. Pence (Eds.) Coordinating community responses to domestic violence: Lessons from Duluth and beyond. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Resnick, H. S., Kilpatrick, D. G., Walsh, C., & Veronen, L. J. (1991). Marital rape. In R. T. Ammerman & M. Hersen (Eds.), Case studies in family violence (pp. 329-355). New York: Plenum Rozee, P. D. & Koss, M.P. (2001). Rape: A century of resistance. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25, 295-311. Russell, D. E. H. (1990). Rape in marriage. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Straus, M. A.,Hamby, S.L. Boney-McCoy, S & Sugarman, D.B. (1996). The revised Conflict Tactic Scales (CTS2): Development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17(3), 283-316. Tjaden, P.& Thoennes, N. (2000). Full repot of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences or violence against women. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice and Centers for Disease Control. NCJ 183781. Whatley, M. A. (1993). For better or for worse: The case of marital rape. Violence and Victims, 8(1), 29-39.

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Williams, J. E., & Holmes, K.W. (1981). The second assault: Rape and public attitudes. Wesport, CT: Greenwood Press. Yllo, K. (1999). The silence surrounding sexual violence: The issues of marital rape and the challenges it poses for the Duluth Model. In M. Shepard & E. Pence (Eds.) Coordinating community responses to domestic violence: Lessons from the Duluth Model. (pp. 223-238). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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