Although the majority of the research has examined gender differences in attitudes about rape, there is also research on ethnicity differences in rape attitudes. Overall, ethnic minorities have been found to have more traditional attitudes toward women, which has been found to affect rape attitudes (Fischer, 1987). For example, among college students, non-Hispanic whites are more sympathetic than African Americans to women who have been raped (Nagel et al., 2005). However, African Americans are more sympathetic than either Hispanic (Fischer, 1987) or Japanese American college students (Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005). Asian American students have the least sympathy for women who have been raped, and are more likely to hold a rape victim responsible for the rape and excuse the rapist (J. Lee et al., 2005; Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005).
Researchers suggest that these differences are due to variations in cultural gender roles and conservative attitudes about sexuality. It’s important to keep in mind that within these ethnic groups, there are also gender differences in attitudes about rape, with women more supportive of rape victims than men.