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Effects of Defendant Sexual Orientation on Jurors’ Perceptions of Child Sexual Assault

Effects of Defendant Sexual Orientation on Jurors’ Perceptions of Child Sexual Assault We examined mock jurors’ reactions to a sexual abuse case involving a male teacher and a 10-year-old child. Because gay men are sometimes stereotyped as child molesters, we portrayed defendant sexual orientation as either gay or straight and the victim as either a boy or girl. Jurors made more pro-prosecution decisions in cases involving a gay versus straight defendant, particularly when the victim was a boy. In boy-victim cases, jurors’ emotional feelings of moral outrage toward the defendant mediated these effects. On average, women jurors were more pro-prosecution than were men. Results have implications for understanding social perceptions of cross- and same-gender child sexual abuse and juror decision making in child sexual assault cases perpetrated by homosexual and heterosexual men. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Law and Human Behavior American Psychological Association

Effects of Defendant Sexual Orientation on Jurors’ Perceptions of Child Sexual Assault

Law and Human Behavior , Volume 33 (1): 15 – Feb 11, 2009

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References (97)

Publisher
American Psychological Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 American Psychological Association
ISSN
0147-7307
eISSN
1573-661X
DOI
10.1007/s10979-008-9131-2
pmid
18404363
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

We examined mock jurors’ reactions to a sexual abuse case involving a male teacher and a 10-year-old child. Because gay men are sometimes stereotyped as child molesters, we portrayed defendant sexual orientation as either gay or straight and the victim as either a boy or girl. Jurors made more pro-prosecution decisions in cases involving a gay versus straight defendant, particularly when the victim was a boy. In boy-victim cases, jurors’ emotional feelings of moral outrage toward the defendant mediated these effects. On average, women jurors were more pro-prosecution than were men. Results have implications for understanding social perceptions of cross- and same-gender child sexual abuse and juror decision making in child sexual assault cases perpetrated by homosexual and heterosexual men.

Journal

Law and Human BehaviorAmerican Psychological Association

Published: Feb 11, 2009

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