When sexual assault victims’ characteristics do not match the stereotypical sexual assault scenario (i.e., feminine women victim of male strangers) they are often stigmatized after the assault. A possible explanation for such biases is Moral Typecasting, a theory stating that people perceive a moral act as having a moral agent (a person morally responsible for the action) and a moral patient (a passive sufferer of its consequences). Through experimental studies, this project aims to contribute by proposing Moral Typecasting as a psychological mechanism underlying perceptions of victims and aggressors in non-stereotypical sexual assault cases. It also aims to understand its impact on prosocial behaviours towards sexual assault victims. Finally, we seek to understand how intraindividual variables explain differences in perceptions and proclivity to help the victim, as well as victim’s characteristics (specifically sexual orientation) that seem crucial in social judgements towards sexual assault victims but have not been sufficiently explored.

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Stereotypes,Judgement and decision-making,Gender stereotypes,Moral Typecasting Theory