WED, Oct 6 \ 17.00-19.00 \ Phenomenology of Sexual Abuse, II

024
THE EFFECTS OF NORMATIVE INFLUENCE ON RAPE-MYTH ACCEPTANCE AND RAPE PROCLIVITY

Afroditi Pina, Garcia Tendayi Viki
University of Kent at Canterbury Department of Psychology, Canterbury, England
ap98@kent.ac.uk

The aim of this study is to assess possible predictors of rape proclivity. More specifically, the relationship between in-group identification (as described by Self-Categorisation theory), rape-myth acceptance and rape proclivity is investigated.
A between-subjects design is used. All 90 participants involved in this study are British male students of the University of Kent. Participants completed one of three questionnaires that featured three sub-sections: 1) feedback from an in-group (British university students), 2) feedback from an out-group (Greek university students) or 3) no feedback (control group). The results are in support of the hypotheses that the participants who received the feedback (intervention information) would score lower in rape-myth acceptance and rape proclivity measurements. The results do not support the hypotheses that participants who received the feedback from their in-group would score lower on rape-myth acceptance and rape proclivity than the participants who received feedback from their out-group. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

025
TO HONOR AND OBEY A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL LOOK AT THE ROLE OF SEX OFFENDER'S WIVES; VICTIM, ACCOMPLICE, AND CATALYST.

Clairissa D. Breen
Masters Graduate from Buffalo State College, Kenmore N.Y., USA
b_clairissa@hotmail.com

Wives hold a dubious place in the lives of sex offenders. Some are used to portray a sense of normalcy, others are victims of psychological abuse leading them to assist their husbands in their crimes, still others are victims of physical or sexual abuse themselves and thus keep silent about their husband's crime in order to stave off further abuse. Some wives actively participate or even instigate a husband's sex offenses, and in other cases it is the loss of the wife through divorce or abandonment that sparks an onslaught of offending.
Albert DeSalvo (the self-proclaimed Boston Strangler and Green Man) found no outlet for his sexual desires in his marriage. After his wife left him John Wayne Gacy's rituals of rape and murder of young men and boys escalated. In the case of the Scarborough Rapist, Karla Holmoka claimed intense psychological abuse in her part in the school girl murders, insinuating that her activities on tape with the victims were scripted by her husband Paul Bernardo and not an outlet for her own sadistic pleasure. These and many others will be examined on an international level for similarities in order to present an idea of what kind of woman falls in love with a sex offender and what to honor and obey can come to mean in such a relationship. Cultural and historical demographics will be examined to show a temporal evolution in such relationships.

026
ATTITUDES TO SEXUAL ABUSE AMONG THREE SAMPLES OF NORWEGIAN ADULTS

Oddfrid Skorpe, Torbjørn Rundmo
Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Oddfrid.Skorpe@svt.ntnu.no

This paper presents some results of a study on attitudes to sexual abuse. The aim of the study is to reveal adults attitudes to sexual abuse of children and explore factors that account for the variability in attitudes. The first sample consisted of a general population of Norwegian adults (18 - 65 years, N = 255). Sample 2 consisted of active Christian adults (N = 124). The third sample consisted of people convicted for sexual abuse of children (N = 36). The response rate for Sample 1 was 26 %, and 50 % for Sample 2 and 3. To measure attitudes to sexual abuse ATSA (Briere et al., 1992) was used. In addition an extended list of attitudes was tested. Predictors of attitudes were among others empathy (Davis, 1996), social support (Procidano and Heller, 1983), cultural factors (Rippl, 2002), femininity and masculinity (Bem, 1977).
The result showed that the attitudes varied across the samples and the convicted were more positive to abuse than the other samples. They also reported less social support and a more conservative cultural view. Social support, own experience, knowlegde and cultural factors predicted the attitudes. The results indicate that a more thorough understanding of the culture when planning prevention strategies are beneficial. The adults attitudes seem to be more “socially acceptable” than similar studies with sample consisting of adolescents, not giving support to the idea that the parents are the the most important providers of attitudes to the youth. Other influential sorces should be investigated.

027
DISPUTES OVER WHETHER ADULTERY OF ONE OF THE SPOUSES NECESSITATES SEPERATION BETWEEN THEM

Muhammad Amanullah
Department of Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University of Malaysia, Malaysia
amanullah@iiu.edu.my

Sexual activities outside the wedlock are forbidden in Islam. Some of these activities are adultery and fornication. In English these two terms are used for two different types of illegal sexual intercourses, i.e., adultery for illegal intercourse committed by married persons, and fornication for illegal sexual intercourse committed by non-married ones. In Arabic, however, the word “zina” is used for both adultery and fornication with different rulings for each one. Adultery, like fornication, is not uncommon among Muslims. The former is committed by one of the spouses, or by those who were married in the past but at the time of committing this crime were not married; rather, they were divorced, widows, etc. Some Islamic legal rulings regarding the adultery of one of the spouses differ from the rulings for other types of adulteries. Spouses of this nature enjoy certain flexibilities that are not enjoyed by other adulterers or fornicators. This paper investigates one of these flexibilities, i.e., whether in Islamic law adultery of one of the spouses necessitates separation among them or they are still allowed to maintain their married life. In order to reach this goal, this paper is divided into three sections, i.e., concept of adultery in Islam; when is lawful, obligatory, or forbidden for a husband to accuse his wife of adultery publicly; and whether adultery of one of the spouses necessitates separation between them. Analyzing different types of arguments of Muslim jurists, and comparing among them, this paper strives to find out the appropriate and preferred opinion about the issues concerned.