The Impact of Rape Myth Education on Jury Decision-Making: A Systematic Review

A systematic review of research exploring the impact of providing rape myth countering information to mock-jurors was conducted. The primary aim of the review was to inform the development of an educational intervention for jurors to reduce potential bias in their decision-making based on belief in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trauma, violence & abuse violence & abuse, 2024-12, Vol.25 (5), p.4062-4077
Main Authors: Hudspith, Lara Flynn, Wager, Nadia, Willmott, Dominic, Gallagher, Bernard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent development
Child development
Criminal justice
Criminal Law
Decision Making
Education
Educational administration
Expert witnesses
Female
Humans
Information
Information processing
Intervention
Judicial system
Juries
Male
Mythology
Rape
Rape - prevention & control
Rape - psychology
Review Manuscripts
Sex crimes
Social services
Systematic review
Test bias
Testimony
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Summary:A systematic review of research exploring the impact of providing rape myth countering information to mock-jurors was conducted. The primary aim of the review was to inform the development of an educational intervention for jurors to reduce potential bias in their decision-making based on belief in prevalent rape myths. In total, the following 12 databases were searched: British Education Index, CINAHL, Child Development and Adolescent Studies, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Educational Administration Abstracts, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Social Care Online. The databases were filtered to return peer-reviewed publications, written in English, and published between 1980 and 2023. The search returned 6,119 potential articles. After duplicates were removed, the 3,202 remaining publications were screened. Only studies that presented rape myth countering information to participants within a mock-juror paradigm were included. Studies that did not compare an information condition to a no-information control condition were excluded, as were those which concerned male rape myths, given the focus on female rape myth beliefs in this review. Eight studies were reviewed and were critically appraised according to validity criteria utilized by Dinos et al. Some evidence emerged to suggest that the provision of judicial directions, expert witness testimony, and complainant statements regarding rape myths can impact upon jury decision-making although the findings were mixed overall. Study limitations regarding internal and external validity were frequently present. Recommendations regarding future research questions and methods are advanced, including those that can inform the development of an effective intervention for jurors.
ISSN:1524-8380
1552-8324
1552-8324
DOI:10.1177/15248380241270082