How can we tackle rape myths in policing?
Introduction
Like everyone in our society, police officers hold certain beliefs about the people that they work with.
In 2015, a large-scale review conducted by the Dame Elish Angiolini on the prosecution of rape in London suggested that negative beliefs about rape and those involved, known as 'rape myths', can affect an officers’ approach to the victims they work with. She recommended that officers attitudes' should be challenged, and that training should be given to dispel wrongly held beliefs.
In part responding to this review, Dr Ben Hine has worked closely with the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime to understand how these attitudes can impact the judgements that police officers make in cases of serious sexual assault. His work is some of the first of its kind in the UK.
Understanding rape myths
There are certain beliefs and stereotypes about the victims of rape and sexual assault that are widely held within our society. These beliefs, though never true, can have an impact on the way we view particular cases of sexual assault. We call these beliefs and stereotypes 'rape myths'.
Some of the most common rape myths relate to responsibility, and there are many reasons why a victim may be believed to be partly responsible for their sexual assault. For example, actions such as wearing particular clothing or consuming alcohol can affect this. Other factors, such as the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, or how/whether the victim resisted the attack, can also have an effect.
Testing the theory with hypothetical scenarios
To explore this within a policing context, Ben worked with the Metropolitan Police Service to test his hypothesis that officers might be affected by information relating to rape myths. His work involved presenting police officers with a hypothetical accusation of sexual assault and assessing their reactions, alongside measuring their attitudes to rape, and women more broadly.
In each scenario, he presented slightly different background information. The scenarios differed based on the reputation of the victim, the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator and the point at which they resisted.
His research showed a clear link between rape myths and the judgements that police officers made. In other words, although all the scenarios presented met the legal definition for rape, officers made different judgements based on the other information provided.
Making officers aware of their own beliefs
Armed with the results of his study, Ben developed and delivered training for officers. The training aimed to make officers aware of their own attitudes and the impact of rape myths and to make them consider how their beliefs might be impacting their work.
In the past five years, this training has been accompanied by several initiatives and policy directives aiming to tackle the issue of rape myths in policing. Anecdotal evidence so far suggests that initiatives have had a positive effect on policing in the Metropolitan Police Service.
In a follow-up study conducted last year, Ben repeated the 2015 research with a smaller sample of police officers, to see whether his research and other changes within the Metropolitan Police Service have had any effect on the judgements that officers make.
The results showed two main things. First, overall levels of attitudes haven’t changed. This shows just how stubborn these deeply ingrained beliefs can be to change. However, what had changed were officers’ judgements – they were much less negative, and suggested that they no longer blame victims as much, or judge their reports to not be legitimate claims of rape.
This would suggest that the training delivered by Ben and colleagues, and the broader conversations that have been had within the police force around these types of crimes over the last five years, have improved the police response in rape cases.
Research team and collaborators
- Dr Ben Hine, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
- Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime
- The London Metropolitan Police Service
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