Attitudes Toward Sexual Assault Campus Sexual Assault in Virginia: The Report of Students and The Response of Institutions 1995 Virginia State Council of Higher Education Report

Statistically significant difference between attitudes of women and men. Probability of difference between men and women being due to sampling error is less than 5 in 100 (p <0.05)

Average score is based on a range from 1 = Strongly Agree to 4 = Strongly Disagree.

Based on 1994 Survey of Virginia colleges and universities

					    Average  All      Women  Men 
                                            Score    Students            


For most women, rape is a very upsetting    1.21      96%     97%   96%
experience 
A man's being drunk is no excuse for        1.34      96%     96%   95%
raping a woman 
Men who rape women are probably             2.00      75%     75%   75%
emotionally sick 
These days there is too much peer           2.37      55%     58%   51%
pressure on college students to have sex* 
The responsibility for preventing rape      2.60      44%     38%   52%
lies with men* 
Many men secretly want to rape a woman*     3.01      23%     20%   26% 


Women often use the charge of rape          3.00      24%     16%   34%
vindictively*
Many women cause their own rape by the 
way they act and the clothes they wear      3.21      21%     16%   29% 
around men*                                                        '


If a woman drinks to the point of           3.27      19%     15%   24%
helplessness and has sex, it isn't rape*
A woman will pretend she does not want 
sex because she doesn't want to seem        3.26      16%     11%   23%
loose, but she hopes men will insist*
If a man doesn't have sex with a woman 
who wants to, his masculinity may be        3.23      23%     13%   36%
questioned* 
A woman who initiates a sexual encounter    3.34     10%       7%   15%
will probably have sex with anybody*
A woman going to a man's dorm room or 
apartment on the first date implies         3.41      10%     12%    9%
she's willing to have sex* 
Most men accused of rape are really         3.33       6%      3%    9%
innocent*
In order to protect men, judicial 
procedures should make it very difficult    3.41       10%     5%   18%
for a woman to prove she was raped*
If a woman engages in necking and she 
lets it get out of hand, it's her fault     3.58       5%      4%    9%
if her partner forces sex on her
When a woman says she has been raped by a 
man she knows, it is probably because she   3.53       5%      2%    9%
changed her mind afterwards*
When a woman says 'no' to sex, if a man 
goes ahead she usually changes her mind     3.63       3%      2%    5%
later and enjoys it* 
Women who get raped while hitchhiking get   3.56      5%       5%    6%
what they deserve 
A man can't be guilty of rape if he has     3.56      7%       7%    7%
previously had uncoerced sex with her 
Many women secretly want to be raped*       3.61       4%      3%    7% 
A raped woman is at least partially         3.68       5%      2%    8%
responsible if she is raped* 
A woman can't be raped if she doesn't       3.70      4%       3%    6%
want to be*
Women should expect to pay a man back 
with sex if he spends a lot of money on     3.79      1%       1%    2%
a date*
If a woman knows she is going to be 
raped, she might as well relax and enjoy    3.81       2%      1%    3%
it*

Occurrence of Sexual Assault and Rape

Among Women Students in Virginia Colleges and Universities

1995 Virginia State Council of Higher Education Report

Based on 1994 Survey

                    %         %         %           
                  Women in  Sampled   Sampled     
                  Sample    Freshmen  Uperclass-  
                  Who       Who       women Who   
                  Have...   Have...   Have...     

...given in to      16%     14%     17%
unwanted sex play or intercourse because of man's emotional pressure 
...given in to       6%       5%      6%
sex play because of physical threat or inability to resist 
...had a man         2%        1%       3%
attempt to have sexual inter- course by inti- midation or when she was unable to resist 
...had a man         3%        1%        4%
complete inter- course by using intimidation or when she was unable to resist