When Justice is Conditioned: The Influence of Rape Myths on Arrest Decisions

Rape research has increasingly examined how stereotypes about victims, offenders, and the nature of the crime (i.e., rape myths) shape public perceptions and case outcomes. These myths include beliefs such as perpetrators being strangers, the impossibility of spousal rape, the necessity of weapons or physical injury, and the idea that intoxication negates culpability. Rape myth acceptance influences how victims are treated within the criminal justice system and may affect outcomes such as arrest. This study examined whether rape myth-aligned characteristics predicted arrest in reported rape cases using 2020 National Incident-Based Reporting System data and logistic regression. Cases involving a spousal offender were significantly less likely to result in arrest, consistent with rape myth narratives. In contrast, cases involving sober offenders were also less likely to result in arrest, indicating that documented intoxication was associated with a higher likelihood of arrest. This pattern contradicts the expectation that intoxication reduces perceived culpability and instead suggests it may function as a situational or evidentiary cue. Additionally, cases involving physical injury and weapon use were less likely to lead to arrest, further contradicting common rape myth expectations, while the stranger rapist myth was not significant. Overall, rape myth alignment did not consistently increase the likelihood of arrest and was sometimes associated with decreased legal action.