Attitudes towards rape victims among University students in Malta : a quantitative study

Abstract

The present study investigated the following demographics: age, gender, religion, university course, locality and parents’ annual salary and their influence or lack of on Maltese University Students attitudes towards female rape victims. The Attitudes Towards Rape Victims Scale (ARVS) was completed by 607 participants who were sent an automated link by Survey Monkey which was a site used for the creation of the survey, delivery of the survey and response site for participants. The analysis of the ARVS responses showed that males and Catholics scored highest in aversion within the Gender and Religious groups. Over all however, Maltese University Students scored a low mean aversion score in general indicating favourable attitudes for the most part towards female rape victims. The ARVS proved to be a necessary and valid instrument for research across demographics in victimology. This study builds on previous literature that investigates such attitudes from a cultural perspective and compliments that literature by investigating the interactive effects of various demographics within a University student population.