"Women's Risk of Sexual Aggression in Bar Culture"

Rachel Dotson Faculty Mentor:  Nicole Petersen Center for Gender Symposium ~ 5:15-6:30pm ~ Heth 22

Current research shows that women are at a high risk for experiencing sexual aggression in bar settings. This study will use video scripts of intoxicated actors and actresses, who will be acting out different levels of intoxication, towards the end of the video they will experience some sort of sexual aggression (grabbing around the waist/sexual comments). Participants will be asked to watch the videos and then fill out a brief survey on their perceptions of the drunk actor or actress. They will also be surveyed about their perceptions of bar culture and their own personal experiences within bar settings. This includes any history of sexual assault, of physical assault within a bar setting. It is predicted that drunk female actresses will receive a more negative evaluation from participants (both male and female) than the drunk male actors. The more intoxicated a female actress appears to be the higher likely hood that she will be blamed for any sexual aggression she experiences, as opposed to her male counter part who is acting out the same level of intoxication. Perceptions about the who is responsible for preventing and causing sexual assault are important for understanding why these types of assaults occur.

Symposium Notice 2017  Keynote Speaker: Presentation  Program-2017  Kemp Awards  Oral-Poster Presentations

Center Home  Psychology   Women's Studies  College of Humanities & Behavioral Sciences  Radford University

Web page:  w. andrew  &  a. elliott     Last update April 14th, 2017