Analysis of Rape Myth Use and Implications in an Australian Court Context - Law Assignment Help

Assignment Task

An Analysis of Rape Myth Use and Implications in an Australian Court Context
Introduction
In recent years there has been an increased awareness surrounding sexual assault and rape
cases. This has been credited to feminist movements which have attempted to reduce victimblaming within the criminal justice system (Walfield 2018, p. 2). Despite this, there is still a prevalent culture of victim shaming in the form of socially constructed rape myths during sexual assault cases (Smith & Skinner 2017; Temkin et al. 2018). Whilst the use of rape myths within criminal court casesis not a new phenomenon, there is a current lack of understanding regarding this relationship, particularly within an Australian context (Walfield 2018, p. 2). This study aims to gain a better understanding of the current prevalence of myths within the court system and further investigate their purpose and implications within this setting, as such this study is exploratory in nature. Due to the gendered nature of rape myths and their reinforcement of gendered norms, this exploration will adopt a feminist framework (Hockett, Saucier & Badke 2016, p. 312). This perspective is consistent with prior research and views rape as being motivated by power and control as they exacerbate this power imbalance and sexist views (McPhail 2016). Furthermore, this approach provides context for the social
discourse that will be explored during the critical discourse analysis(Hockett, Saucier & Badke 2016, p. 318).

Review of Literature
Rape myths refer to the false stereotypes and generalisations surrounding rape and the correlating conditions (Temkin et al. 2018; Walfied 2018). These myths can be classified into distinct categories, including the stereotypes surrounding the circumstances of a ‘real’ rape involving a stranger, physical restraint, obvious injuries and the immediate reporting of the incident (Deming et al. 2013; Smith & Skinner 2017; Temkin et al. 2018). These create an unrealistic benchmark for what is considered a ‘real’ rape, that conforming to all these stereotypical conditions would result in only a few cases reaching this benchmark (Temkin et al. 2018, p. 206). Another classification includes myths that attempt to undermine victims through shifting responsibility away from the defendant (Eyssel and Bohner 2011). These myths aim to discredit through focusing on victim’s morality and background, including prior sexual history (Temkin 2018). Researchers also emphasised how these myths provided an oversimplified version of a complex issue, that involve the omission of other significant factors, including reasons for not reporting (Smith & Skinner 2017, p. 16). In their study on rape myth acceptance and blame, Eyssel and Bohner (2011, p. 1580) concluded that the goal of these myths was the “overall negation of the crime of rape”. 

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