Victim vs. survivor: the effect of labels and consensual sexual behaviour on observers’ perceptions of sexual assault

ABSTRACT Labels guide our perceptions of ambiguous events (Eberhardt, J. L., Dasgupta, N., & Banaszynski, T. L. (2003). Believing is seeing: The effects of racial labels and implicit beliefs on face perception. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(3), 360–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202250215). They influence the way people interpret others’ behaviours, attribute blame, and offer support in situations of sexual violence (Campbell, R. (2008). The psychological impact of rape victims. American Psychologist, 63(8), 702. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.63.8.702. In the present study we investigated the effect of labels and consensual sexual behaviour on observers’ perceptions of hypothetical situations of sexual assault. Further, we examined their effect on the perceived amount of social support offered to affected women. The relationship between labels and consensual sexual behaviour with sexual attitudes was also examined. Participants were 137 undergraduates (52 men and 85 women) from an Indian private university. Results showed that labels and consensual sexual behaviour have some effect on the perceived severity of the sexual assault, perceived responsibility of the women, and the amount of social support offered to them. The findings underscored the importance of labels and cautioned against their arbitrary use. Further implications are discussed.