Perceptions of Adult Sexual Coercion as a Function of Victim Gender

Existing research reveals that men experience unwanted sexual contact more often than the public perceives and that these men suffer negative psychological impacts as a result of this unwanted sexual contact. Social perceptions of these men are understudied compared to those of female victims. The current study investigated social perceptions of male victims of female perpetrated sexual coercion compared to female victims of male perpetrated sexual coercion utilizing a cross-sectional design in a college sample (N = 302). Additionally, the sex role socialization analysis of rape, which has found negative relationships between participant gender role beliefs and attitudes toward female victims, was applied. Results found that participant gender, homophobia, and sexism, along with victim gender predicted attitudes toward victims of sexual coercion. Additionally, male victims were offered fewer recommendations for support. Implications for sexual assault education programming and support services are discussed.