The effect of language used in newspaper report of rape: Measuring readers' judgments of victim blame

The negative physical and psychological effects of rape are exacerbated when victims receive negative responses from others (Campbell, Ahrens, Sefl, Wasco & Barnes, 2001; Filipas & Ullman, 2001; Ullman, 1996). Yet some propose victim-blaming carries social consequences beyond the harm to individual victims, with the potential social impact of victim-blaming biases in news reports of rape of particular concern (Benedict, 1992, Myers, 1997). Preliminary data suggest language in newspaper reports of domestic violence can affect readers' judgments (Lamb & Keon, 1995). No such study addresses this issue in reporting rape. This study presented 281 participants with a modified newspaper report of acquaintance rape, depicting the incident using either relationally intimate (RI) or physically descriptive (PD) language. Readers used seven-point rating scales to indicate their: (1) certainty that rape occurred; (2) certainty the man would be convicted; (3) suggested severity of punishment; and (4) degree of blame assigned to the woman. Hypothesized effects predicted RI readers, compared to PD readers, would: (I) be less certain rape occurred; (II) be less certain the man would be convicted; (III) suggest a less severe punishment; and (IV) assign more blame to the woman. Multiple regression controlled for effects of participants' gender and gender role attitudes. Results supported Hypotheses I, II and III. Readers of the RI article were less certain than PD readers that rape had occurred, that the man would be convicted, and suggested less severe punishment. The current study offers preliminary evidence that language used to report rape can influence how readers perceive the act. Further study should address whether an effect exists when reporting stranger rape and for other forms of news media, and what practical impact the effect has on news consumers.