Sexual Assault of a Rohingya Woman: Anti-Rohingya Statements Embolden Those High in Sexism to Report Anti-Victim and Pro-Perpetrator Reactions

Abstract

Stateless and without citizenship, Rohingya women face elevated risks of sexual and gender-based violence. Notably, there has been little empirical examination of societal reactions to victimized Rohingya women and perpetrators. To address this lacuna of research, this study examines, with a sample from India, the roles of anti-Rohingya statements and hostile sexism in victim-directed and perpetrator-directed reactions to the sexual assault of a Rohingya versus Indian woman. Participants scoring high on sexism who were exposed to anti-Rohingya statements were more likely to engage in negative victim-directed responding (e.g., blaming) and positive perpetrator-directed responding (e.g., sympathy) when the victim was Rohingya. Anti-Rohingya statements had no impact in the Indian victim condition. Among low sexism participants, reactions to anti-Rohingya statement exposure did not vary as a function of victim ethnicity. The results imply that a collateral consequence of anti-Rohingya refugee statements may be to advance a “climate of social tolerance” for sexual violence against Rohingya women and embolden potential perpetrators, especially among majority group members who strongly endorse sexist beliefs. The findings underscore the need for greater societal awareness of the insidious effects of anti-refugee statements for Rohingya women, which could hopefully facilitate the development of effective interventions.