Multiple Perpetrator Sexual Assault: The Relationship Between the Number of Perpetrators, Blame Attribution, and Victim Resistance

Sexual assault has been and continues to be a prevalent public health and social problem that can lead to severe ramifications for the victim. There has been growing research on multiple perpetrator sexual assault (MPSA) and how it qualitatively differs from single assailant offenses. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating the differences between sexual assault perpetrated by duos versus three or more individuals and how it affects victim behavioral responses and blame attribution. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the perceived level of victim blame and the number of perpetrators in MPSA cases contingent on the degree of victim resistance exhibited. Firstly, it was hypothesized that the level of victim blame will increase as the number of perpetrators increase. Secondly, it was predicted that the level of perceived victim blame will increase as the displayed level of victim resistance decreases. Using a two (degree of victim resistance) by three (number of perpetrators) design, a sample of 713 individuals were randomly assigned to one of six conditions. Results indicated that the level of reported victim blame was highest in the lone offender condition, but there were no differences between groups when more than one assailant was present. The level of perceived victim blame was higher in the low victim resistance condition compared to the high victim resistance condition. Understanding the characteristics of MPSA and how it affects observer blame attribution may aid in the training and education of professionals working with MPSA victims

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead