Abstract
This book, written as a collaboration between Jennifer Temkin, a professor of law in the United Kingdom, and Barbara Krahe, a professor of psychology in Germany, provides an interdisciplinary examination of the attitudinal difficulties that make justice for victims of sexual assaults so elusive. Highlighting existing research from both of their disciplines and adding psychological and legal research that they have conducted, the authors discuss attitude problems regarding gender prejudice that appear in the form of stereotypes, biases, and misperceptions about rape. Describing the phenomenon wherein a large number of incidents reported to the police do not result in convictions as a “justice gap,” the authors detail the stereotypical thinking that often leads to revictimization as victims are blamed for crimes committed against them and assailants are not held accountable for their behaviors.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides background information and deals with existing research that delineates evidence of the justice gap, the role that rape stereotypes play, and the processes by which juries make decisions in sexual assault cases. The second section provides new evidence coming from a series of the authors' empirical studies, both quantitative and qualitative, on attitudes about sexual assault. The third section provides potential solutions and discusses ways in which laws can be reformed, rape trials can be improved, and educational programming that addresses misconceptions about rape can be provided.
The authors have done an excellent job of making the case that a justice gap exists, and the book is strengthened by bringing together psychological and legal perspectives. By researching and reporting on pervasive attitudes of the general public, prospective lawyers, and sitting judges and barristers, the authors have captured the ethos within Western culture that leads to a large proportion of sexual assault cases being discontinued. Although the points they make will not be news to advocates who work with sexual assault and rape victims, the authors have provided an excellent framework for psychologists, attorneys, judges, and those who train and educate them to understand the reasons why so few victims agree to go forward within the criminal justice system.
Because mental health professionals and lawyers typically do not receive training about the ways in which most sexual assaults occur, their interventions are tinged with cultural assumptions about how victims should behave and why men assault and rape women. By ferreting out the biases that arise from those assumptions and highlighting them in excerpts from their qualitative research, the authors offer possible remedies to the justice gap.
For feminist clinicians, this book can be helpful in several ways. First, it can inform them about the attitudes that victims have to confront as they share their rape experiences. The authors make the point that stereotyping about “real rape” and belief in rape myths occurs throughout Western culture and that it is as common in women as it is in men. This means that victims themselves often do not believe that what has happened to them meets the criteria for being a legitimate crime, and this often leads to minimization, self-blame, and feelings of guilt. Understanding the roots of these attitudes and the realities of the criminal justice system will allow clinicians to support clients as they sort through options. Additionally, the book can serve as a guide for clinicians as they help clients who have been re-victimized during sexual assault proceedings. Perhaps the most far-reaching benefit of the book is that it prepares feminist practitioners and faculty members to be advocates for victims and change agents for cultures that adhere to misunderstandings of the dynamics of sexual assault and rape.
This book reflects the efforts of the authors to engage in a transdisciplinary dialogue, and they have added to the field of victim advocacy with their endeavor. From the inception of rape crisis centers and consciousness-raising groups, women have been describing the attitudes that have done as much—or more—damage as actual sexual assaults. Using attribution theory and delineating the decision-making process that occurs in sexual assault cases, the authors have offered a scholarly, well-researched rationale for typical outcomes. By exploring dynamics through both psychological and legal lenses, they have offered a path that takes us from theory to practice in ways that can lead to eventual justice for victims.