Research focusing on the victims of rape suggests that women are at a greater risk of rape if they are frequently intoxicated, have casual sex with others, attend fraternity parties, or if they have a history of sexual abuse as a child. Identifying these situations can help individuals make informed choices about their behaviors. Furthermore, recognizing background factors or personality characteristics that are conducive to victimization can help to develop theraputic methods to prevent these patterns of behavior from occurring. Problems with this approach is that it may suggest that those who are most at risk for rape (mostly women) should restrict their behavior in order to avoid being rapes, thus limiting their mobility and freedom. Another problem is that this approach may blame the victim. For example, victims that engage in risky behaviors and are raped might be blamed by others and themselves for contributing to their victimization.



Reference: Miller, Arthur. Social Psychology of Good and Evil. New York: The Guilford Press, 2004.