Individuals perceive domestic assaults differently based upon a number of variables. The purpose of this research is to analyze how perpetrator and victim gender and sexual orientation affects attributes of responsibility, guilt, and sentencing. I also investigated the extent to which a perpetrator’s perceived attractiveness and likeability can mediate these attributions of guilt and responsibility. There were 266 college students who participated in a research study that manipulated perpetrator and victim gender and sexual orientation. Results found that attributes of perpetrator guilt, responsibility, and sentencing were significantly higher when the victim was a female. When likeability of the perpetrator was controlled, there were significant effects suggesting that likeability affected attributions of guilt and responsibility. Lastly, consistent with gender norms, participants were more likely to arrest a male perpetrator when the victim was female and would actually arrest a male victim when the perpetrator was female. This demonstrates the ingrained belief that females are perceived as victims and not perpetrators of assault.
