UNI RESEARCHER UNVEILS FINDINGS AFTER MOCK TRIALS

A major misconception is that rape is often committed in dark alleys by men against strangers. In fact that scenario relates to only 10% of attacks.

“Ninety per cent of rapes are committed by someone the victim knows, but that is not a rape stereotype some people recognise,” said Dominic. “Often there are no witnesses and it comes down to one person’s word against another’s.”

To prove his theory Dominic ran a series of nine simulated trials using real barristers and judges and a cross-section of Huddersfield people aged 18-70. He presented an equal amount of evidence both for and against victim and defendant. He expected a 50/50 split between guilty and not guilty and was surprised when it did not occur. “We got nine not guilty verdicts, which shows the scale of bias. In terms of showing how bias can affect the verdict we found what I hoped we would find.” The American system of vetting jurors looks at personality traits such as egocentricity, empathy, and interpersonal manipulation, in which extroverted people can apply pressure or intimidate others to follow their opinion. Figures for 2013 show there were around 15,000 allegations of rape made to police. Of these just over 3,000 made it to court, and around 1,000 people were convicted. Dominic says his research proves that rape misacceptance bias is a significant factor. “People’s views are so deeply rooted that simple training will not eradicate it,” he added.