THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE, AMBIVALENT SEXISM, AND SEXUAL CONSENT NORMS ON RAPE-VICTIM BLAMING ATTITUDES: A PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS
Keywords:
Social Influence, Ambivalent Sexism, Sexual Consent, Victim Blaming, Young AdultsAbstract
This study intended to explore and understand the social and psychological factors that predict rape-victim blaming attitudes of young adults. A descriptive-predictive research design was applied. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to examine the data collected from 250 participants. The results revealed that ambivalent sexism and sexual consent norms are the predictors of rape-victim blaming attitudes. Moreover, social influence does not predict and has an inverse relationship to rape-victim blaming attitudes. The Independent variables accounted for about 19.8% change. Integrating the results provides much-needed worldviews that create and develop countermeasures for harmful stereotyping and reinforce and add victims' rights, fostering an environment where survivors feel safe to report and seek justice, aligned with SDG 3 and SDG-16. Moreover, a more collective effort to recognize ambivalent sexism and sexual consent allows acceptance and awareness of gender-based violence and harmful stereotypes among genders by challenging traditional norms that align with SDG-5. Thus, this research aims to prevent and reduce wrongful ostracization of victims of rape and focus on perpetrators. The study recommended future research to study the inverse relationship of social influence to rape-victim blaming attitudes and to replicate it on more diverse populations to understand socio-economic and cultural groups.
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