Replication Data for: Sex Crime and Punishment in the #MeToo Era

One of the core tasks of a well-functioning state is providing fair and adequate criminal justice. Recent events have raised concerns that the US exhibits a “culture of rape,” wherein victims are often disbelieved and blamed. Scholars have not yet examined how the public understands rape and how it should be punished, despite the important role that public pressure has played in the #MeToo era. We present an empirical conceptualization of rape culture to generate predictions for how various attributes of rape incidents affect the likelihood they are perceived as punishable crimes. In a series of conjoint experimental studies, we demonstrate that details relating to the victim’s consent and credibility significantly decrease participants’ propensities to support reporting to police or a severe punishment for the perpetrator. The results show that emphasizing certain legally irrelevant features of rape strongly affect whether the public views an incident as severe or worthy of punishment.