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Abstract
The Just World Theory states that each person gets what they deserve. Previous scientific literature showed that people who hold just world beliefs tend to blame rape victims to a greater extent than those who do not. The current study investigated the relationship between the Just World Theory and victim blaming in a rape case, while also investigating potential gender differences in relation to victim blaming. The sample (N = 79) included the readers of a national online newspaper, who gave their consent to take part in this study. The results showed gender differences regarding victim blaming: women tended to blame the victim more than men, with small towards medium effect size. The chi-square analysis found a medium towards large effect between gender and the Just World Theory. Hence, such results would suggest that the need of control over the environment can partially explain both the beliefs in a just world and the act of victim blaming.
Keywords: blaming, victim, rape, Just World Theory
Rape survivors who speak out about their assault experiences are often punished for doing so because they can be subjected to negative reactions from support providers such as family and friends or even medical and justice workers (Ahrens, 2006). Such negative social reactions stem from the fact that society perpetuates the same rape myths repeatedly, creating beliefs, such as the ones stating that the world is a just place where "people get what they deserve, and deserve what they get" (Lemer, 1980). Negative social reactions often push rape survivors into a silence state where they are no longer willing to report or disclose the story of their attack.
In spite of these often-negative circumstances, many rape victims do find the strength to break their silence and speak out. Nearly two-thirds of all rape survivors disclose the assault to at least one person (Fisher, Daigle, Cullen, & Turner, 2003; Ullman & Felipas, 2001). But the consequences of speaking out are usually not that positive. Previous research showed that negative social reactions from informal support providers are a result of public negative reactions such as blaming or doubting victims (Ullman, 2000). Anywhere from one-quarter to threequarters of survivors reported receiving negative social reactions from at least one member of their informal...