Attitudes And Beliefs Regarding Sexual Assaults

Abstract

Perceptions of sexual assaults were compared among college students in this thesis. The findings indicate that men and women have significantly different perceptions of sexual assault and the fairness of the criminal justice system. The findings also showed that those who are criminal justice majors as opposed to those who are not do not generally have significantly different perceptions of sexual assault. The one exception to this was that CRCJ majors are more likely to believe a victim has given a false report of sexual assault victimization to law enforcement. Self-reported likelihood of reporting sexual assault victimization to law enforcement and the reasons are also considered. These reasons were consistent with those reported in previous research. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are also provided.