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Female Sexuality and Attribution of Blame in Intimate Partner Violence Situations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) largely affects women of various sexual orientations. However, research suggests that bisexual women are more likely than heterosexual and homosexual women to be victims of IPV and they tend to be more often blamed for the abuse experience, a phenomenon known as victim blame attribution (VBA). A team of researchers, including Agata Dębowska Ph.D. / Associate Professor , and Professor Daniel Boduszek from SWPS University’s Social Behavior Research Center investigated this phenomenon.

#intimate partner violence #victim blame attribution #bisexual women #abuse #sexuality

woman shouting at another woman on sofa

What we researched:

  • The main aim of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the role of female victim sexuality (bisexuality, homosexuality, and heterosexuality) and observer sex in the attribution of blame to the victim and perpetrator of IPV.

How we did it:

  • We randomly assigned participants (N = 232; aged 18–24 years) into one of four conditions (heterosexual victim, bisexual victim with same-sex partner, bisexual victim with different-sex partner, homosexual victim), each containing a vignette portraying IPV within a relationship.
  • We performed randomization checks to ensure that participants in the four conditions did not differ significantly on underlying attitudes (institutional heterosexism (IH), aversive heterosexism (AH), heterosexual privilege (HP), sexist attitudes, just world beliefs) that may have affected their responses on outcome measures.

What we discovered:

  • The main analyses demonstrated that bisexual victims with a same-sex partner received the highest attribution of blame, whereas perpetrators in this condition received the lowest blame attribution. Male participants attributed significantly higher blame to victims than did female participants, regardless of victim sexuality.

Why is it important?

  • Because these findings substantiate the role of victim sexuality and observer sex in IPV blame attribution patterns.

This research aimed to promote equality and rightful treatment to all victims of IPV regardless of their sexuality.