The Effect of Sexual Stratification By Race on Official Reactions to Rape

Collins argues that sexual access, like other valuable commodities, is distributed according to relative power within a sexual stratification system. He predicts more serious official reactions to violations of the sexual stratification system in which men from less powerful groups sexually assault women from more powerful groups. Race continues to be an obvious correlate of stratified sexual access in America. But empirical studies have not assessed the cumulative effect of racial composition of victim-suspect dyads on processing outcomes in sexual assault cases. The present study examined the effect of race composition on processing decisions-from case report to final disposition-for 881 sexual assaults in a large, Midwestern city. Step-wise multiple regression analysis showed that, compared to other defendants, black men who assaulted white women received (1) more serious charges and (2) longer sentences, and were more likely to (3) have their cases filed as felonies, (4) receive executed sentences, and (5) be incarcerated in the state penitentiary. At the same time, black men who assaulted white women were no more likely than other suspects to be arrested or found guilty. The implications of the results for a sexual stratification theory of official reactions to sexual assault are discussed.