Adolescent Attitudes about Rape

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INTRODUCTION

Study after study have demonstrated the vulnerability of young women to rape. Not only are they at risk for stranger rape, but rape within the context of dating (Ageton, 1983; Krasner, Meyer, & Carroll, 1976; Muehlenhard, & Linton, 1987; Warshaw, 1988).

Unfortunately, young women are least likely to contact law enforcement agencies; even so, the numbers are troubling (Violence Against Women: The Increase of Rape, 1990). Between 1973 and 1987, 11% of female victims were deemed to be between the ages of 12 and 15, while 25% were 16 to 19 (Crime of Rape, 1985). Youth Indicators (1991) indicated that 1.9 rapes occurred per 1,000 girls of ages 16 to 19.

Research findings support governmental studies. Walmsley and White (1979) found that 24.3% of rape/attempted rape victims were between 13 and 15. Other studies with similar findings include Medea and Thompson's (1974), where 8% of victims were under age 15, 20% were between 15 and 17, and 23% were 17 to 18. Hall and Flannery (1984) conducted a telephone survey of 508 Milwaukee adolescents in which 12% of the females and 2% of the males reported a sexual assault. In another study of 122 adolescent victims, 45 were between ages 12 to 14; the remaining 77 were ages 15 to 17 (Mann, 1981).

A large number of rape offenders are adolescents. Males between the ages of 12 to 20 were involved in 17% of single-offender rapes …