Impact of gender identity on observer blame in sexual assault

Reinhart, Rowan R (2023) Impact of gender identity on observer blame in sexual assault. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

The present research explores how third-party observers' perceptions of words and behaviors of a transgender versus a cisgender individual differently when attributing blame from a sexual assault. Stereotypes, attributions, and gender identities, as well as how these constructs influence blame in sexual assault, will all be considered within the framework of this study. There are two primary research questions: (a) Does gender identity of the victim influence third-party observer blame in sexual assault? and (b) Do gender stereotypes influence third-party blame in sexual assault? The study incorporated a 2 by 2 between-subjects factorial design to answer these research questions. The independent variables are gender (woman, man) and gender identity (transgender, cisgender) and the primary dependent variables are victim blame and perpetrator blame. Gender stereotypes was also measured utilizing a scale that was adapted and developed from wording in Hutchison and Abrams (2003), while the items from what was identified as stereotypes unique to transgender people were compiled from Howansky et al. (2019).The first hypothesis is women will have more blame attributed to them than men in sexual assault. The second hypothesis is transgender individuals will have more blame attributed to them than cisgender individuals. For the third hypothesis, an interaction between gender and gender identity is expected, such that transgender women will have a higher level of blame than is expected for women and for being transgender, transgender men and cisgender men will be similar. The exploratory secondary hypothesis is that people with stronger stereotype acceptance will attribute more blame to transwomen in comparison to other groups in sexual assault. For the first hypothesis, the main effect of gender (man/woman) on perpetrator blame was significant. More specifically, perpetrator blame was higher when the victim was a woman versus when the victim was a man. During data analysis it was discovered that a proportion of participants did not understand what the word “transgender” means. The proportion of respondents who did not know what the word “transgender” meant was 43.1%, compared with 56.9% who did know. The knowledge of the term “transgender” had a relationship with the amount of victim blame. Knowledge was not related to the amount of perpetrator blame. There was a negative correlation between transgender knowledge and gender stereotypes as measured by the stereotype measure adapted from Hutchison and Abrams (2003) and Howansky et al. (2019). Due to these findings, it is essential for future research and interventions to focus on reducing the negative impacts of ignorance about the transgender community. Moreover, interventions must target disseminating positive and factual knowledge regarding transgender people.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	blame; LGBT+; sexual assault; stereotypes; trans panic; transgender
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
MeSH Subjects:	F Psychiatry and Psychology > F01 Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Psychological Sciences
Date Deposited:	01 Oct 2025 17:26
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2025 17:26
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6201

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