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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Variables Affecting Guilty Pleas and Convictions in Rape Cases: Toward a Social Theory of Rape Processing
Contributor:
la Free, Gary D.
Published:
University of North Carolina Press, 1980
Published in:
Social Forces, 58 (1980) 3, Seite 833-850
Language:
English
ISSN:
0037-7732;
1534-7605
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
Previous research on reactions to rape has been flawed by methodological and theoretical problems that have prevented a reliable assessment of determinants. I argue that the likelihood of convictions in rape cases will be affected by the extent to which characteristics of cases approximate the stereotypes of rape held by criminal justice personnel. I assume that rape stereotypes are related to perceptions of the victim's and defendant's moral character and to characteristics of victims, defendants, and offenses. I relate these variables to the likelihood of guilty pleas and verdicts for 124 rape cases filed in criminal court in a large, midwestern city. Multiple regression analysis showed that net of the effects of evidence, black women, women who allegedly engaged in misconduct, women acquainted with the defendant, and women who did not report the incident promptly were less likely to have their complaints come to trial and result in conviction. Also, assaults by defendants with more serious records and assaults by more than one man were likely to end in conviction. Results were consistent with the proposition that reactions to rape are conditioned by stereotypes about the kind of women, men, and social situations most typical of rape.