Abstract
Several research studies have reported an elevated level of aggression in rapes committed by multiple perpetrators compared to rapes committed by lone suspects. Several factors that have been linked to elevated aggression in generic samples of rape were examined for the first time with a sample of multiple perpetrator rapes. Factors that might be associated with victim resistance were also investigated. Victim and offender characteristics, as well as the behaviors displayed by victims and offenders, were extracted from the police files of 89 multiple perpetrator stranger rapes perpetrated against female victims in the United Kingdom. These behaviors were rated for their level of suspect (non-sexual) aggression and victim resistance, respectively. Degree of victim resistance was significantly and positively associated with suspect aggression. Older victims were the recipients of significantly higher levels of suspect aggression. Victims who were incapacitated from drugs and/or alcohol were less likely to be the recipients of suspect aggression. Group leaders displayed more aggression towards the victim than the followers in the groups. The number of perpetrators was significantly related to the degree of resistance displayed by the victim with offences perpetrated by fewer suspects being characterized by more victim resistance. Research regarding cognitive appraisal during criminal interactions and the respective roles of offenders is referred to in considering these relationships.
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Notes
This comparison, and the comparison of duos versus groups of 3+ members, was conducted following feedback received from reviewers during the review process.
An alternative method would have been to sum all the scores for victim resistance (or suspect aggression) to create a total resistance (or aggression) score. However, a total score could be affected by the quality of victim interviewing and statement-taking, as well as victim memory. A further method would be to calculate the mean resistance or aggression score, however, by using such an approach, one rape containing one brutal act of violence (or one highly resistant behavior) could have the same mean score as an offence which involved several moderate acts of aggression (or resistance). For these reasons, it was preferable to use the highest aggression and resistance value for each offence.
It should be noted that the difference in victim age between offences where the victim was incapacitated and where they were not was non-significant (U = 463.50, z = −.21).
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Acknowledgments
This study was conducted with the assistance of a Research Grant from the Nuffield Foundation’s Social Science Small Grants Scheme (SGS/35341), which was awarded to the first author. The first author would like to acknowledge the supervision of Professors Hollin and Bull for a pilot study, which was conducted prior to this study as part of her doctoral thesis.
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Woodhams, J., Cooke, C. Suspect Aggression and Victim Resistance in Multiple Perpetrator Rapes. Arch Sex Behav 42, 1509–1516 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0136-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0136-7