“Their Great Shame is Poverty”: Women Portrayed as Among the “Undeserving Poor” are Seen as Deserving Sexual Assault

Abstract

In three survey experiments, we considered the role of stereotypes in blame assessments related to “undeserving” poor and Black women. U.S. participants (Study 1: N = 229 [mean age = 19]; Study 2: N = 200 [mean age = 42]; Study 3: N = 285 [mean age = 51]) read one vignette about a woman’s sexual assault experience. We manipulated the identity of the woman as being either a member of the “deserving” or “undeserving” poor and as racially Black or white. Participants were asked to assess the woman’s blame, characteristics of respectability (sexualization and responsibility), and value as a person. Across all 3 studies, participants were more likely to stereotype the undeserving poor women as more sexualized, less responsible, and of less value. They were also more likely to blame the undeserving poor women for sexual assault compared to the deserving poor women, and this relationship was mediated to varying degrees by these stereotypes. Because of the demonstrated importance of victim-blaming in sustaining problematic treatment of women, and in attitudes toward the poor, we also assessed people’s blame-attributions for sexual assault toward lower-income women. Findings illustrated that blame attribution and stereotype application were indeed particularly likely for those presented as “undeserving” poor women. The current research continues to make the argument for the importance of considering the role of social class in people’s perceptions of women’s experiences of sexual assault. Future research needs to consider the role that these perceptions play in policy, institutions, and lived experiences among poor women.