Recent research published by PhD candidate Samuel Hales and Professor Gannon from Kent’s Centre of Research and Education in Forensic Psychology reveals rapes and assaults admitted to by male UK students.
Across two studies PhD candidate Samuel Hales and Professor Theresa Gannon examined rates and correlates of sexual aggression and coercion admitted by heterosexual male UK university students in the first paper of its kind published in Sexual Abuse (formerly SAJRT).
‘University-based sexual aggression is an international public health issue; however, to date, there have been no formal assessments of the prevalence or psychological indicators associated with the proabuse behaviors of the most common perpetrators at UK universities: heterosexual male students.’ reads the abstract.
554 male students surveyed, 63 reported that they had committed 251 sexual assaults, rapes and other coercive and unwanted incidents.
Hales interviewed about the research in The Guardian newspaper said;
“Perpetrators were significantly more likely to endorse offence-excusing myths associated with rape, eg victims are to blame for being assaulted, and to have more negative sexist and hostile views about women, eg believing that many of their troubles were the fault of women, and to report sexually fantasising more about harmful, such as physically hurting their sexual partner when they didn’t have consent to do so.”
Read the full paper here: