Why didn’t you resist? Situational influences on victim resistance during a rape
| Author | Julien Chopin,Eric Beauregard |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02697580221098762 |
| Published date | 01 May 2023 |
| Date | 01 May 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/02697580221098762
International Review of Victimology
2023, Vol. 29(2) 293 –312
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/02697580221098762
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Why didn’t you resist?
Situational influences on
victim resistance during a rape
Julien Chopin
University of Montreal, Canada; Simon Fraser University, Canada; Laval University, Canada
Eric Beauregard
Simon Fraser University, Canada
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing victim resistance during rape. Specifically,
this study aims to understand which factors impact victim resistance using a multivariate approach
focused on situational aspects related to offender, victim, and crime context characteristics.
The sample includes 2,017 rape cases where victims did not resist, resisted passively, resisted
verbally, or resisted physically. The first step of this study uses bivariate analyses to examine the
relationship between the different categories of victim resistance and offender, victim, and crime
context characteristics. Second, we computed three sequential binomial regressions in order
to better understand the impact of each variable in multivariate modeling. The findings suggest
that victim resistance is impacted by three main dimensions: victims’ physical and psychological
vulnerabilities, the mentalizing of victimization risk, and the analysis of offenders’ vulnerabilities
and additional risks to the victim. Both theoretical and practical implications for victims as well as
for various actors in the criminal justice system are discussed.
Keywords
Victim resistance, situational factors, sexual victimization, rape myths, extrafamilial context
Introduction
Still today, it is not uncommon to hear the general public and even various actors of the criminal
justice system (e.g. defense attorneys, police officers) questioning why the victim did not resist the
offender during a rape. The issue of victim resistance has been the object of significant controversy
Corresponding author:
Julien Chopin, International Centre for Comparative Criminology, University of Montreal, 3150 rue Jean-Brillant,
Montreal, QC H3T 1N8, Canada.
Email: julien.chopin@umontreal.ca
1098762IRV0010.1177/02697580221098762International Review of VictimologyChopin and Beauregard
research-article2022
Article
294 International Review of Victimology 29(2)
in criminology. The first empirical studies on the topic were conducted alongside the development
of the field of victimology and the understanding of the role of the victim in the alchemy of crime
(Mendelsohn, 1956; Miethe, 1985; Von Hentig, 1948). The development of the victim-precipita-
tion approach (Amir, 1968; Wolfgang, 1957, 1958) led to significant controversy over the issue of
victim resistance and their responsibility for their own victimization (Miethe, 1985). These contro-
versies have led to a shift from a victimology of the act—which is empirically driven—to an action
victimology, which is mainly based on activism (Fattah, 2000, 2019), thereby rendering the study
of victims and their behavior as an unsuitable research topic.
Paradoxically, this absence of research on victim behavior—such as victim resistance—can be
a disservice to victims by accentuating the prevalence and perpetuation of enduring rape myths as
well as victim-blaming. For instance, several studies have identified that victim resistance to sex-
ual assault is one of the central aspects crystallizing rape myths (Carr et al., 2014; Deitz et al.,
1984; Randall, 2010). An ‘ideal’ victim is a victim who resists physically, and ideally, the stigmata
of his aggression (Deitz et al., 1984; Randall, 2010). More perversely, rape myths have led to blam-
ing victims for not resisting ‘enough’, making them responsible for their own victimization (see
Bieneck and Krahé, 2011; Gravelin et al., 2019). The lack of understanding of victim resistance
and the myths they propagate is of particular concern as it affects not only the public but also police
officers, prosecutors, judges, medical providers, and physicians, who are all in contact with the
victims (Aronowitz et al., 2012; Rich and Seffrin, 2012; Suarez and Gadalla, 2010). The majority
of victim resistance studies have focused on the impact of that resistance on offender behavior and
crime outcomes (e.g. Balemba et al., 2012; Reid and Beauregard, 2017; Tark and Kleck, 2004;
Wong and Balemba, 2018). However, it is of utmost importance to adopt a victimology-centered
approach to understanding victims’ behavior. Such studies are limited in number despite their con-
tribution in improving our knowledge on this topic. Unfortunately, most of these studies are based
on non-representative samples (e.g. student samples and small samples), focused only on one type
of variable (e.g. victimological variables), or used samples of victims that are too heterogeneous
(e.g. children, adult, and the elderly). The objective of the current study is to better understand
victim resistance using a multivariate approach with a large sample, focusing on the situational
circumstances that may affect the victims’ decision to resist or not during a rape.
Literature review
Victim resistance research has focused on two different aspects: the impact of that resistance on the
crime outcome (i.e. the offender’s reaction to the resistance) (Balemba et al., 2012; Guerette and
Santana, 2010; Reid and Beauregard, 2017; Ullman, 2007) and the situational factors that influ-
ence victim resistance during the assault. For the purpose of this study, we specifically review the
latter.
First, previous studies have suggested that some offender characteristics may impact victim
resistance (Clay-Warner, 2003; Gidycz et al., 2008). The situational approach suggests that some
offender characteristics might lead victims to identify offenders’ strengths and vulnerabilities to
assess the risk (e.g. additional injury and death) that resistance behavior may bring. Thus, the main
characteristic that has been examined is the offender’s alcohol intoxication during the crime.
Hence, an association was identified between offender alcohol intoxication and the level of victim
resistance (Ullman et al., 1999a, 1999b). In their study, Atkeson et al. (1989) explored factors pre-
dicting victim resistance among a sample of 116 female rape victims. They found that when
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