This study explores the usefulness of the feminist theory in explaining attitudes toward rape and victims of rape in Ghana. The feminist theory of rape posits, inter alia, that patriarchy and gender inequality are major factors in the aetiology of rape and attitudes toward rape and that underlying patriarchy and gender inequality are gender stereotypes and false beliefs (myths) about rape, rapists, and victims of rape. Thus, the theory suggests a relationship between rape myths and less favorable attitudes toward rape and victims of rape. Results from a survey conducted in Ghana show some support for the feminist theory of rape: There is evidence of rape myth acceptance in Ghana; gender is significant in predicting levels of rape myth acceptance; and finally, education or profession and age, but not religion, are associated with levels of rape myth acceptance in a predictable way.
Ahrens, C.E., & Campbell, R. ( 2000). Assisting rape victims as they recover from rape: The impact on friends. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 959-986.
Alexander, C.S. ( 1980). The responsible victim: Nurses’ perceptions of victims of rape. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 21(1), 22-33.
4.
Amir, M. ( 1971). Patterns in forcible rape. Chicago : University of Chicago Press.
5.
Amnesty International. (2006). Nigeria: Rape-the silent weapon. AI Index: AFR 44/020/2006. November 28, 2006 .
6.
Amnesty International United Kingdom. (2005 ). Sexual assault research: Summary report. ICM Survey in England and Wales. Retrieved December 3, 2005, from http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=16618
7.
Ansa-Asare, K. ( 2003). Marital rape in Ghana? A solution in search of a problem . AFLA Quarterly, 3, 15-23.
8.
Assimeng, M. ( 1981). The social structure of Ghana: A study in persistence and change. Accra: Ghana Publishing .
9.
Assimeng, M. ( 1995). Salvation, Social Crisis and The Human Condition. Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
10.
Boakye, K.E. ( 2006). Attitudes to sex crime with special reference to Ghana: A test of the feminist and attribution theories in Ghana. MPhil thesis, Cambridge University, UK.
11.
Brownmiller, S. ( 1975). Against our will: Men, women, and rape. New York: Simon & Schuster.
12.
Burgess, A.W., & Holmstrom, L.L. (1974). Rape trauma syndrome. American Journal of Psychology, 131, 981-986.
13.
Burt, M.R. ( 1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 217-230.
14.
Coker-Appiah, D., & Cusack, K. ( 1999). Violence against women and children in Ghana. Accra, Ghana: Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre.
15.
Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit. ( 2005). Official statistics 2002-2005. Accra , Ghana: Author.
16.
Dubourg, R., & Hamed, J. ( 2005). Estimates of the economic and social costs of crime in England and Wales: Costs of crime against individuals and households (Report No. 30/05). London: Home Office Research and Statistics Department.
17.
Ellis, L. ( 1989). Theories of rape: Inquiries into the causes of sexual aggression. New York: Hemisphere Publishing.
18.
Feild, H.S. ( 1978). Attitudes toward rape: A comparative analysis of police, rapists, crisis counsellors, and citizens. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 156-179.
19.
Finch, E., & Munro, V.E. ( 2005). Juror stereotypes and blame attribution in rape cases involving intoxicants: The findings of a pilot study. British Journal of Criminology, 45, 25-38.
20.
Gibbon, D.C. ( 1984) Forcible rape and sexual violence. Research in Crime and Delinquency, 21(3), 251-269.
21.
Glasman, L.R., & Albarracín, D. (2006). Forming attitudes that predict future behavior: A meta-analysis of the attitude-behaviour relationship . Psychological Bulletin, 132(5), 778-822.
22.
Holmstrom, L.L., & Burgess, A.W. ( 1979). Rape: The husband’s and boyfriend’s initial reactions. The Family Coordinator, 28(3), 321-330.
23.
Howard, J.A. ( 1984). The "normal" victim: The effects of gender stereotypes on reactions to victims. Social Psychology Quarterly, 47(3), 270-281.
24.
Janoff-Bulman, R. ( 1985). The aftermath of victimization: Rebuilding shattered assumptions. In C. R. Figley (Ed.), Trauma and its wake: The study and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (Vol. 1, pp. 15-35). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
25.
Jewkes, R., & Abrahams, N. ( 2002). The epidemiology of rape and sexual coercion in South Africa: An overview. Social Science & Medicine, 55, 1231-1244.
26.
Johnson, B.R., Jang, S.J., Larson, D.B., & Li, S.D. ( 2001). Does adolescent religious commitment matter? A re-examination of the effects of religiosity on delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38(1), 22-43.
27.
Jones, C., & Aronson, E. ( 1973). Attribution of fault to a rape victim as a function of respectability of the rape victim. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 26(3), 415-419.
28.
Kilpatrick, D.G., Resnick, H.S., Saunders, B.E., & Best, C. ( 1998). Rape, other violence against women, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In B. Dohrenwend (Ed.), Adversity, stress, and psychopathology (pp. 161-176). New York: Oxford University Press.
29.
Koss, M.P., Gidycz, C.A., & Wisniewski, N. (1987). The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 162-170.
30.
Krahe, B. ( 2001). The social psychology of aggression. East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.
31.
Kraus, S.J. ( 1995). Attitudes and the prediction of behaviour: A meta-analysis of the empirical literature. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21(2), 58-75.
32.
Krug, E. G., Dahlberg, L. L., Mercy, J. A., Zwi, A. B., & Lozano, R. (Eds.). (2002). World report on violence and health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
33.
Lonsway, K.A., & Fitzgerald, L.F. (1994). Rape myths: In review. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 133-164.
34.
Luo, T. ( 2000). Marrying my rapist? The cultural trauma among Chinese rape survivors. Gender & Society, 14(4), 581-597.
35.
Martin, E.K., Taft, C.T., & Resick, P.A. ( 2006). A review of marital rape. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 329-347.
36.
Monson, C., Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., & Binderup, T. ( 2000). Does "no" really mean "no" after you say "yes"? Attributions about date and marital rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 15, 1156-1174.
37.
Nagel, B., Matsuo, H., McIntyre, K.P., & Morrison, N. ( 2005). Attitudes toward victims of rape: Effects of gender, race, religion, and social class. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(6), 725-737.
38.
O’Malley, T. ( 1996). Sexual offences: Law, policy and punishment. Dublin, Ireland: Sweet and Maxwell.
39.
Payne, D.L., Lonsway, K.A., & Fitzgerald, L.F. (1999). Rape myth acceptance: Exploration of its structure and its measurement using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. Journal of Research in Personality, 33, 27-68.
40.
Peterson, Z.D., & Muehlenhard, C.L. (2004). Was it rape? The function of women’s rape myth acceptance and definitions of sex in labelling their own experiences. Sex Roles, 51, 129-144.
41.
Pugh, M.D. ( 1983). Contributory fault and rape convictions: Loglinear for blaming the victim. Social Psychology Quarterly, 46(3), 233-242.
42.
Roiphe, K. ( 1993). The morning after: Sex, fear and feminism on campus. New York: Little, Brown.
43.
Russell, D.E.H. ( 1983). The prevalence and incidence of forcible rape and attempted rape of females. Victimology: An International Journal, 7, 1-4.
44.
Russell, D.E.H. ( 1984). Sexual exploitation: Rape, child sexual abuse, and workplace harassment. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
45.
Russell, D.E.H. ( 1990). Rape in Marriage. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
46.
Russell, D.E.H., & Bolen, R.M. ( 2000). The epidemic of rape and child sexual abuse in the United States. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
47.
Russo, N.F. ( 1999). Feminist research: Questions and methods. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23, i-iv.
48.
Sheldon, J.P., & Parent, S.L. ( 2002). Clergy’s attitudes and attributions of blame toward female rape victims. Violence Against Women, 8(2), 233-256.
49.
Walby, S., & Allen, J. ( 2004). Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking: Findings from the British Crime Survey (Research Study No. 276). London: Home Office Research and Statistics Department.
50.
Ward, C. ( 1988). The attitudes toward rape victims scale: Construction, validation and cross-cultural applicability. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 12, 127-146.
51.
Ward, C. ( 1995). Attitudes toward rape: Feminist and social psychological perspectives. London: Sage.
52.
Williamson, C., & Folaron, G. ( 2001). Violence, risk, and survival strategies of street prostitution . Western Journal of Nursing Research, 23, 463-475.
53.
Winfield, I., George, L.K., Swartz, M., & Blazer, D.G. ( 1990). Sexual assault and psychiatric disorders among a community sample of women. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 335-341.
