{"id":90751,"date":"2024-02-01T16:00:20","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T21:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&#038;p=90751"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:04","slug":"rape-myths-social-status-jurors-perceptions","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/rape-myths-social-status-jurors-perceptions\/","title":{"rendered":"In high-profile sexual assault trials, rape myths and the social status of the defendants can affect jurors&#8217; perceptions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-max  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n                    \n                    \n            \n    <div class=\"cu-wideimage relative flex items-center justify-center mx-auto px-8 overflow-hidden md:px-16 rounded-xl not-prose  my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 bg-opacity-50 bg-cover bg-cu-black-50 pt-24 pb-32 md:pt-28 md:pb-44 lg:pt-36 lg:pb-60 xl:pt-48 xl:pb-72\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/gavel-justice-canadian-flag-1200x900-1.jpg); background-position: 50% 50%;\">\n\n                    <div class=\"absolute top-0 w-full h-screen\" style=\"background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.600);\"><\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"relative z-[2] max-w-4xl w-full flex flex-col items-center gap-2 cu-wideimage-image cu-zero-first-last\">\n            <header class=\"mx-auto mb-6 text-center text-white cu-pageheader cu-component-updated cu-pageheader--center md:mb-12\">\n\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold mb-2 text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] cu-pageheader--center text-center mx-auto after:left-px\">\n                        In high-profile sexual assault trials, rape myths and the social status of the defendants can affect jurors&#039; perceptions\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                            <\/header>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"absolute bottom-0 w-full z-[1]\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 1280 312\">\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M26.412 315.608c-.602-.268-6.655-2.412-13.524-4.769a1943.84 1943.84 0 0 1-14.682-5.144l-2.276-.858v-5.358c0-4.876.086-5.358.773-5.09 1.674.643 21.38 5.84 34.646 9.109 14.682 3.59 28.935 6.858 45.936 10.449l9.874 2.089H57.322c-16.4 0-30.31-.16-30.91-.428ZM460.019 315.233c42.974-10.074 75.602-19.88 132.443-39.867 76.16-26.791 152.063-57.709 222.385-90.663 16.7-7.823 21.336-10.074 44.262-21.273 85.004-41.688 134.719-64.193 195.291-88.413 66.55-26.577 145.2-53.584 194.27-66.765C1258.5 5.626 1281.34 0 1282.24 0c.17 0 .34 27.596.34 61.3v61.299l-2.23.375c-84.7 13.718-165.93 35.955-310.736 84.931-46.494 15.753-65.427 22.076-96.166 32.15-9.102 3-24.814 8.198-34.989 11.574-107.543 35.954-153.008 50.422-196.626 62.639l-6.74 1.876-89.126-.054c-78.135-.054-88.782-.161-85.948-.857ZM729.628 312.875c33.229-10.985 69.248-23.523 127.506-44.207 118.705-42.223 164.596-57.709 217.446-73.302 2.62-.75 8.29-2.465 12.67-3.751 56.19-16.772 126.94-33.597 184.17-43.671 5.07-.91 9.66-1.768 10.22-1.875l.94-.161v170.236l-281.28-.054H719.968l9.66-3.215ZM246.864 313.411c-65.041-2.251-143.047-12.11-208.432-26.256-18.375-3.965-41.73-9.538-42.202-10.074-.171-.214-.257-21.38-.214-47.046l.129-46.618 6.654 3.697c57.313 32.043 118.491 56.531 197.699 79.143 40.313 11.521 83.459 18.058 138.669 21.059 15.584.857 65.685.857 81.14 0 33.744-1.876 61.306-4.93 88.396-9.806 6.396-1.126 11.634-1.983 11.722-1.929.255.375-20.48 7.769-30.999 11.038-28.592 8.948-59.288 15.646-91.873 20.147-26.36 3.59-50.015 5.627-78.35 6.698-15.584.59-55.209.59-72.339-.053Z\"><\/path>\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M-3.066 295.067 32.06 304.1v9.033H-3.066v-18.066Z\"><\/path>\n            <\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n\n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<p>This article is <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/in-high-profile-sexual-assault-trials-rape-myths-and-the-social-status-of-the-defendants-can-affect-jurors-perceptions-222250\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">republished<\/a> from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. All photos provided by <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Conversation<\/a> from various sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/people\/joanna-pozzulo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joanna Pozzulo<\/a> is a Chancellor&#8217;s professor of psychology at Carleton University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/narrations.ad-auris.com\/widget\/the-conversation-canada\/in-high-profile-sexual-assault-trials-rape-myths-and-the-social-status-of-the-defendants-can-affect-jurors-perceptions\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Five Canadian world junior hockey players <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/london\/london-world-juniors-sexual-assault-charges-1.7099554\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">face sexual assault charges<\/a> in connection with the events that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/canada\/article-2018-hockey-canada-world-juniors-surrender\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">allegedly occurred in a hotel room after a Hockey Canada gala in 2018 held in London, Ont<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A female victim alleges to have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/politics\/world-junior-hockey-sexual-assault-london-1.7096096\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sexually assaulted by these players<\/a>. She claims to have been intoxicated, that she did not provide consent and that she felt unable to leave the hotel room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The players are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cp24.com\/news\/five-canadian-pro-hockey-players-facing-sex-assault-charges-expected-to-plead-not-guilty-1.6750178\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">expected to plead not guilty<\/a>, according to statements from their lawyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4GpCvql1nc8?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hockey culture has been described as sexist, misogynist, homophobic and hypermasculine. At the end of 2022, Hockey Canada&#8217;s CEO and entire board of governors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/politics\/hockey-canada-board-1.6612582\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stepped down after intense public and government outrage<\/a> over the handling of this sexual assault case that is currently set to go before the courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"sexual-assault-is-a-gendered-crime\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sexual assault is a gendered crime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from a drop in reported sexual assault in 2019, there&#8217;s been an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/canada\/sexual-assault-rate-in-2021-highest-since-1996-violent-crimes-up-statistics-canada-1.6010840\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">increasing trend of sexual violence across the past several years in Canada<\/a>. Although any gender can be a victim of sexual assault, it is estimated that women are <a href=\"https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/daily-quotidien\/210825\/dq210825a-eng.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">five times more likely than men to be victims of sexual assault in Canada<\/a>. Approximately 47 per cent of sexual assault occurs against females <a href=\"https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/pub\/85-002-x\/2017001\/article\/14842-eng.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">between the ages of 15 to 24 years of age<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although estimates vary, as few as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/en\/sexual-assault\/statistics\/adults\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">five to six per cent of sexual assaults<\/a> may be reported to police. Victims may decide not to report the assault <a href=\"https:\/\/canadianwomen.org\/the-facts\/sexual-assault-harassment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for several reasons<\/a>, which include fearing not being believed, feeling shame and embarrassment about the assault and thinking that the perpetrator will not be punished. As well, conviction rates for defendants charged with sexual assault <a href=\"https:\/\/gbvlearningnetwork.ca\/our-work\/infographics\/sexualviolence\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">can be as low as 0.3 to 1.6 per cent<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rape myths are &#8220;prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs <a href=\"https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/EJ1056477.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">about rape, rape victims, and rapists<\/a>.&#8221; The acceptance of these myths shifts the responsibility of sexual assault from the perpetrator to the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In one U.S. study, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1077801220908335\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">25 per cent of participants<\/a> (32 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women) accepted the myth, &#8220;She asked for it.&#8221; In a sample of male college students in the U.S., rape myth acceptance was <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/men0000324\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">related to the risk of perpetrating sexual violence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"consent-while-intoxicated\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Consent while intoxicated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Criminal Code of Canada defines consent as the &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/c-46\/section-273.1-20181213.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in sexual activity in question<\/a>.&#8221; Determining consent while intoxicated is complicated, because intoxication may or may not render someone incapable of providing consent. Canadian <a href=\"https:\/\/ca.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com\/9-621-3883\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">triers of fact<\/a> are required to determine if an individual&#8217;s level of intoxication reaches <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/nova-scotia\/criminal-code-consent-gregory-lenehan-sexual-assault-law-court-1.4014105\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a threshold that renders them incapable of providing consent<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"social-status\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Social status<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The status of a perpetrator may make victims less likely to come forward. However, several high-profile defendants have been charged and convicted. For example, in 2023, actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/danny-masterson-sentencing-rape-trial-fd7a10eda44d0e3ddde582d4c7053eb6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">30 years to life for the sexual assault of two women<\/a>. Masterson is currently in prison <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/sacramento\/news\/danny-masterson-sent-to-state-prison-to-serve-sentence-for-rape-convictions-mug-shot-released\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">serving his sentence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Empirical research has found that mock jurors can perceive high status defendants to be guilty in sexual violence cases. In one study, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/08862605231169760\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a victim was viewed more positively<\/a> when the defendant was of high status in a child trafficking mock juror trial. In addition, mock jurors who were well informed about child trafficking did not engage in victim blaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"jurors-perceptions-of-guilt\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jurors&#8217; Perceptions of guilt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To better understand the interaction between intoxication, social status and perceptions of sexual violence, we conducted a <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0886260517713715\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">juror decision-making study<\/a> using the case context of an athlete being accused of sexual assault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We manipulated the social status of the defendant (high or low), the social status of the victim (high or low), victim gender (male or female), and the reason the victim was unconscious during the sexual assault (consuming alcohol or consuming cold medicine). Participants read a mock-trial transcript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter align-center zoomable\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/572553\/original\/file-20240131-23-tkw4kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/572553\/original\/file-20240131-23-tkw4kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"a woman passed out on a table, holding a glass of white wine\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">In a mock study, jurors&#8217; perceptions of guilt were influenced by the reason for the victim&#8217;s intoxication. <\/span><span class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"source\">(Shutterstock)<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Perceptions of guilt were influenced by the defendant&#8217;s social status and the reason the victim was unconscious. When the defendant was of low status and the victim was unconscious due to alcohol consumption, the defendant was perceived to be more guilty than when the victim was unconscious due to taking cold medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The female victim was viewed as having more control over the situation when the defendant was of high status (a star athlete) and unconscious due to alcohol consumption rather than cold medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, these results suggest that victims may be viewed as more blameworthy for the sexual assault when alcohol is consumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"debunking-rape-myths\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Debunking rape myths<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Victims of sexual assault who have consumed alcohol may be viewed as more responsible for the sexual violence when the perpetrator is of higher status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shifting the responsibility of sexual assault from the perpetrator to the victim is consistent with rape myth acceptance. Victims who choose to consume alcohol may be perceived as more in control of the situation when the defendant is high status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sexual assault awareness programs need to continue to debunk rape myths and destigmatize being sexually assaulted. Education and the media may be able to correct misinformation about victims and sexual violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>__<br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/\">Carleton Newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/222250\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five Canadian world junior hockey players face sexual assault charges in connection with the events that allegedly occurred in a hotel room after a Hockey Canada gala in 2018 held in London, Ont. A female victim alleges to have been sexually assaulted by these players. She claims to have been intoxicated, that she did not provide consent and that she felt unable to leave the hotel room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":89842,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[1623],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-90751","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-expert-perspectives"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/90751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/90751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90765,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/90751\/revisions\/90765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=90751"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=90751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}