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30 J. Crim. Just. Educ. 1 (2019)

handle is hein.journals/jcrimjed30 and id is 1 raw text is: Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 2019 Vol. 30, No. 1, 1-21, https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2018.1448095 Assessing Student Attitudes Toward Sexual Assault by Using a Mock Trial Amy J. Stichman, McKenzie Wood and Anna-Alicia Watson Despite the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses, college stu- dents' views regarding rape continue to be an understudied area. Using criminal justice and sociology students who either attended a mock sexual assault trial or viewed the trial video in their class, this study examined stu- dents' attitudes toward rape and rape myth acceptance. Surveys assessed what students believed the verdict should be and why, along with questions surrounding rape myths and beliefs regarding women. Results indicate that female students were more likely to find the defendant guilty. None of the attitudinal variables or plans to work in the criminal justice system, how- ever, had an effect on the verdict. Multiple factors such as gender, race, and hostility toward women influenced attitudes regarding rape myths. These findings suggest that attitudes may be less important when determin- ing sexual assault defendants' guilt than the facts of the case. Policy impli- cations are discussed. Sexual assault continues to be a persistent problem in American society. A recent survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that approximately 19% of women have been raped, and around 44% have experi- enced other forms of sexual violence in their lifetimes (Breiding et al., 2014). Additional research states that almost 30% of women who are raped are first raped between the ages of 18 and 24 (Tjaden t Thoennes, 1998), an age at which many young women are attending college. The nature of college cam- puses may perpetuate stereotypes and negative attitudes supporting sexual violence. If campuses are considered safe havens for students, campus admin- istrations may be quick to attribute campus crime, and sexual assault in partic- ular, to an anomalous individual instead of a society that encourages this behavior (Fisher, Daigle, t Cullen, 2010). While this attribution may make campus administration and students' parents feel better, it allows administra- tors, parents, and students to ignore the growing problem, silence victims, and prevent positive and effective changes from occurring. Sexual assault has wide reaching impacts on both victims and society. Creat- ing a lasting, effective change begins with examining student attitudes toward Routledge Taylor&FrancisGmup D 2018 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

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