Humanity Hallows Issue 5 Out Now
Pick up your copy on campus or read online

By Natasha Gill and Sam Pitchford

Within the past four years, the number of rapes recorded by police has doubled. It was revealed that 23,851 reports of adults being raped were investigated by the police in 2015-16, the majority of cases involving women. This figure masks the true extent of the problem of sexual violence in the UK, as a large number of offences are not reported to or by the police. According to James Patrick, who investigated allegations made to the Met police in 2012/13, even when victims report to the police, 24% of rapes and 22% of sexual offences as a whole are not recorded. Yet the number of victims who don’t report to the police dwarfs those who do. We decided to compile an online questionnaire asking people for their attitude towards sexual offences and the stigma involved with being a victim.

Our research aimed to find people’s opinions towards sexual offences, in order to determine how it appeared the vast majority of society felt about these issues. We began by asking people ‘Do you think that society often blames the victims of rape/ other sexual offences more than the offender?’ We found that the majority of respondents (88%) thought that victims are blamed more than the offender in relation to sexual offences. In contrast to this, 8% of respondents believed that the offender is to blame and 2% said they were unsure on which one got the most blame within society. A report called Wake Up To Rape in 2010 found that ‘54% of women believe that rape victims should be held accountable for their attack’. This shows the stigma that victims face in society, victims are seen as having brought it upon themselves. Our findings were contrary to the results found by this report; this may be due to our questionnaire only being shared on our social media, and this was likely to attract people closer to our age range whereas the report Wake up to Rape is expected to be a range of ages. This demonstrates how the younger generation could have very different viewpoints in comparison to those who are older.

Much of the stigma that women experience after being a victim of rape or sexual assault revolves around what she was wearing at the time. There is a widespread belief that women who are wearing revealing clothing are encouraging their attacker. Our questionnaire showed that 98% of people did not feel it’s the women’s fault for being sexually assaulted, and 2% were unsure. Nonetheless, other reports show that a larger proportion of people do believe the women would be to blame if she was wearing ‘skimpy’ clothing. An article by The Telegraph in 2017 revealed that 1 in 3 women and 2/5 men felt that those who ‘wear short skirts are partly to blame if they are sexually assaulted.’

Another potential stigma rape victims may face is if they were drunk or had taken drugs when it occurred. We asked respondents ‘If a victim has been drinking or taking drugs, would you say they are partially responsible for the actions of the offender?’ Of those who answered, 90% said no, with 7% saying yes and 3% unsure. The Wake Up To Rape report found that 13% of men questioned admitted having sex with a partner who was ‘too drunk to know what was happening.’ This possibly reflects the attitude of many that women who are drunk partly bring sexual assault upon themselves.

Evidence shows that women are more likely to be victims of rape compared to men. In our questionnaire, we asked ‘Are men or women more likely to be victims of sexual assault/ rape?’ Our results showed that 97% of respondents thought women were more likely to be victims, whereas only 3% thought that men were more likely to be victims. According to RAINN 90% of adult rape victims are female. This is close to the figure we found in our questionnaire. However, not all people who are sexually assaulted report it to the police which may skew the figures. We went on to ask ‘Do you think men are more likely to hide or not report being a victim of sexual assault or rape?’ Our findings show that 98% of respondents said they believed that to be the case. In order to try and understand the reasons this might be, we asked those who answered yes why they thought this was the case. The majority of respondents thought it would be to do with the stigma that male victims face such as feeling embarrassed and ‘ridiculed by friends.’ Another reason why this may be the case is due to the masculine ideals that men are encouraged and socialised to aspire to. Responses included ‘society tells them (men) they should want sex all the time’ and ‘men are not seen as victims in a sexual assault and are seen as equal participants.’ As men are often portrayed in this way, they ‘may feel embarrassed as it may insult their masculinity’ to admit to being sexually assaulted.

Sexual violence has long been an underreported and taboo subject. The patriarchal society we live in is largely to blame for the stigma that victims face. Women are largely blamed or simply not believed when they report rape or sexual assault, providing a disincentive for them to report it at all. On the other hand, men who are victims are not always taken seriously if even believed at all. Some will see their experience as invalid as male gender roles create an illusion that men cannot be raped as they are expected to enjoy sex in a way that women aren’t.

Our findings show to us that attitudes of those who answered towards rape and sexual assault are largely in support of the victim; however this is not necessarily reflective of the attitudes of wider society. 98 people responded to our online questionnaire which we shared via our social media. This is likely to attract people of a similar demographic to ourselves, who might be likely to have more progressive attitudes than society at large. We know this by research we have read which shows that people more generally who largely do not share the same views regarding victims of rape or assault. We feel that the subject of sexual violence is becoming a more openly discussed topic; however there are still people who need help and steps that need to be made to stop these crimes.