Victimhood and Blame Dialectics in Culturally Diverse Male Students’ Discussions About Sexual Assault Policies

Bibliographic Data

ID12412441
AuthorsKelleyanne Malinen (0000-0001-7632-2020, Mount Saint Vincent University Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Halifax, NS, Canada, corresponding author), Brooke VanTassel (Halifax Regional Centre for Education, Dartmouth, NS, Canada), Karen Kennedy (0000-0002-8312-1494, Cape Breton University), Emily Macleod (0000-0002-0666-0056, Cape Breton University), Kristin O'Rourke (Cape Breton University)
Year2023
Volume31
Issue3
Pages371-395
Publication date2023-06-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Men s Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1060-8265 • E-ISSN: 1933-0251
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/10608265231182100
PMID37693227
OpenAlexW4379387355
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited57

Culture and Perspectives on Sexual Assault Policy was a qualitative, focus-group study conducted at four Canadian universities to gather culturally diverse student perspectives on university sexual violence or sexual assault policies and services. This article highlights two categories of dialectical tension expressed during several male focus groups. The Wrongful Blame Dialectic involved tension between anxieties about wrongful accusations and opposition to victim-blaming. Perceived risk of wrongful accusations was often linked to racism or ethnocentrism. The Male Victim Denial/Recognition Dialectic involved tension between denial and recognition of male sexual victimization. Male participants felt more vulnerable to wrongful accusation than to sexual violence. They felt more likely to be blamed and disbelieved, whether as respondents or complainants

Blame · Criminology · Denial · Dialectic · False accusation · Focus group · Harassment · Opposition (politics · Poison control · Political science · Sexual assault · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access