Attitudes Toward Interpersonal Violence Against Women as a Function of Relationship

Abstract

This study hypothesized that people would be more accepting of violence towards prostitutes than towards other victims, that women would be less tolerant of violence toward either party than men, and that women would see both situations as equally unacceptable, but men would see violence toward prostitutes as more acceptable than violence against an ex-lover. Participants (114 undergraduate students) were asked to read one of two scenarios involving violence: one involving a prostitute relationship and the other involving an ex-lover relationship. The attitudes being measured were analyzed using a 2 (participant gender) x 2 (relationship: prostitute or ex-lover) ANOVA. The results of this study support all three hypotheses. Women were more pro-victim than men; people were more accepting of violence toward the prostitute than the ex-lover; and women saw both situations as equally unacceptable, but men saw violence toward prostitutes as more acceptable than violence against the ex-lover.