People stigmatize victims of offenses such as rape and bullying due to psychological attribution biases.
Psychological attribution biases, such as the belief in a just world and reduced empathy or identification with victims, heavily influence why people stigmatize and blame victims of offenses like rape and bullying.
The retrieved literature consistently supports the idea that victim blaming and stigmatization in offenses such as rape and bullying are driven by cognitive distortions, biases, and psychological constructs like the belief in a just world. Multiple studies (e.g., [2], [3], [5]) explicitly connect these attributional processes to negative evaluations of victims, and no papers refute the role of psychological attribution biases in victim stigmatization.
Harrison Lee, Danielle Labhardt, Dominic Willmott. GHB, Chemsex and Chemical Submission: Investigating the Role of Sexuality on Victim Empathy and Blame Attribution in Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault against Men. 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14100913
Paper [2] examines blame attribution and empathy in sexual assault cases, showing how observer biases and victim characteristics shape victim-blaming.
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David Voss, Leonard S. Newman. Confronted with Bullying when You Believe in a Just World. 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.634517
Paper [3] demonstrates that the psychological belief in a just world directly predicts lower condemnation and greater tolerance of bullying behaviors.
Witte LP, Flechsenhar A. "It's Your Own Fault": Factors Influencing Victim Blaming.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241270030
Paper [5] highlights how psychological factors like belief in a just world, stereotyping, and lack of identification with the victim drive victim-blaming.
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