Rape Myth Adherence Among Campus Law Enforcement Officers

• Date: 01 April 2016
• Author: Molly Smith,Nicole Wilkes,Leana A. Bouffard
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854815604178
• Published date: 01 April 2016
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2016, Vol. 43, No. 4, April 2016, 539 –556.

DOI: 10.1177/0093854815604178

© 2015 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

539

RAPE MYTH ADHERENCE AMONG CAMPUS

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

MOLLY SMITH

Sam Houston State University

NICOLE WILKES

University of Cincinnati

LEANA A. BOUFFARD

Sam Houston State University

Campus police agencies are often the first, if not only, responders to sexual assault incidents occurring on college campuses.

Little is known, however, regarding the attitudinal dispositions of these officers, specifically their acceptance of rape myths

and the effect this has on case processing. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining attitudes toward

and perceptions of sexual assault among a sample of campus law enforcement officers in Texas. This was done through the

administration of a short survey to a sample of campus law enforcement officers prior to their attendance at a sexual assault-

focused training, as well as all campus police chiefs via the Internet. Survey items inquired about officers’ careers in law

enforcement, contact with victims, and perceptions of sexual assault. Results suggest that officers’ adherence to rape myths

is strongly related to their perceptions of campus sexual assault incidents and their attitudes toward victims. Suggestions for

future research and policy are offered.

Keywords: sexual assault; rape myths; campus police; police attitudes; case processing

College students’ increased risk of sexual assault has been well documented in the schol-

arly literature (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000; Karjane, Fisher, & Cullen, 2002; Koss,

Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987; Schwartz & DeKeseredy, 1997). Results of nationally repre-

sentative surveys show that while 1.1% of American women experience attempted or com-

pleted rape each year (Black et al., 2011), this figure increases to almost 5% for college

women (Fisher et al., 2000). Assuming an academic tenure of 4 years, it is estimated that

one in five college women experience attempted or completed rape during college, typically

at the hands of someone the victim knows, such as a friend or romantic partner (Fisher et al.,

2000).

In their study of reporting among college students, Fisher, Daigle, Cullen, and Turner

(2003) found that college students are overall extremely unlikely to report their sexual vic-

timization to official authorities, but victims who do report are more likely to call campus

police officials than municipal law enforcement. In addition, only 1% of their sample reported

AUTHORS’ NOTE: An earlier version of this study was presented at the 2014 Academy of Criminal Justice

Sciences Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to

Molly Smith, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX

77341-2296; e-mail: msmith@shsu.edu.

604178CJBXXX10.1177/0093854815604178Criminal Justice and BehaviorSmith et al. / RAPE MYTH ADHERENCE

research-article2015

540 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR

their victimization to counseling services such as a crisis shelter or victims’ services hotline.

These findings highlight the potential role of campus police as the first responders, and

Bromley (1995) likewise noted that campus police agencies are often the first, if not the only,

responders to campus crimes, including sexual assault. These officers will typically have

significant interaction with sexual assault victims and perform tasks such as taking the initial

report, referring them to victim services, and conducting ongoing case investigation and

processing. Little empirical focus, however, has been placed on campus police agencies.

This is unfortunate, especially given these agencies’ unique position within the university

community and likelihood of responding to sexual assaults. Furthermore, there has recently

there been a renewed interest in the prevention of and response to sexual assault incidents on

college campuses with the establishment of the White House Task Force to Protect Students

From Sexual Assault in January of 2014 (The White House, 2014). This interagency collabo-

ration, co-chaired by the Office of the Vice-President and the White House Council on

Women and Girls, is tasked with placing a renewed focus on federal anti-sexual assault ini-

tiatives at the college level. This includes the development of evidence-based practices and

policies, increasing public awareness of federal reporting requirements under the Clery Act

(20 U.S.C. § 1092[f]), assisting institutions with adherence to these requirements, and the

facilitation of a coordinated community response to sexual assault among law enforcement,

hospitals, victim service providers, and prosecutors (The White House, 2014).

Improved understanding regarding the intervention and processing strategies of campus

police agencies, as well as the attitudes of the officers who come into contact with victims,

is also necessary given that these factors have been shown to affect secondary victimization

(Feldman-Summers & Palmer, 1980). This is especially important given Fisher et al.’s

(2003) finding that victims of sexual assault do not report their victimization because they

fear such responses, specifically that law enforcement officials will treat them in a hostile

manner or not take their crime seriously enough. One of the key influences on officers’

attitudes toward rape victims is their degree of rape myth acceptance. Rape myths are

defined as common misconceptions regarding the nature and prevalence of rape (Lonsway

& Fitzgerald, 1994; Schwartz & DeKeseredy, 1997), including the perception that victims

tend to lie about being raped, that they are at fault for their own victimization due to their

appearance or behavior, or that rape is a less serious crime than other forms of interpersonal

violence (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). The acceptance of rape myths among police offi-

cers may have negative impacts on victims because these attitudes may influence an offi-

cer’s likelihood of making an arrest, their demeanor toward victims, and perceptions of

victim credibility.

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the acceptance of rape myths among

campus law enforcement officers, including the effects of specialized training on rape myth

acceptance and how this influences officers’ perceptions of sexual assault cases and related

factors. This was accomplished through the analysis of survey data collected from a state-

wide sample of campus law enforcement officers from the state of Texas.

CAMPUS POLICE DEPARTMENTS

The existence of specialized police departments on university campuses is a relatively

recent phenomenon. During the 1960s and 1970s, a series of significant socio-legal events,

such as desegregation, as well as an increase in university enrollment and diversity, illustrated