Qeirat Values and Victim Blaming in Iran: The Mediating Effect of Culture-Specific Gender Roles

Sexual assaults are a social problem in Iran; however, psychological factors that predict perceptions of sexual assault remain largely unexamined. Here, we examine the relationship between moral concerns, culture-specific gender roles, and victim blaming in sexual assault scenarios in Iranian culture. Relying on Moral Foundations Theory and recent theoretical developments in moral psychology in the Iranian context, we examined the correlations between five moral foundations (Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Purity), a culture-specific set of values called Qeirat (which includes guarding and [over]protectiveness of female kin, romantic partners, broader family, and country), and victim blaming. In a community sample of Iranians (N = 411), we found Qeirat values to be highly correlated with victim blaming, and that this link was mediated by a number of culture-specific proscriptions about women's roles and dress code (i.e., Haya). In a regression analysis with all moral foundations, Qeirat values, Haya, and religiosity as predictors of victim blaming, only Haya, religiosity, high Authority values, and low Care values were found to predict how strongly Iranian participants blamed victims of sexual assault scenarios.

Automated summary

Sexual assault is a social problem in Iran, and this study examines the psychological factors that influence perceptions of sexual assault in Iranian culture. The research focuses on the relationship between moral concerns, culture-specific gender roles, and victim blaming. The results show that culture-specific values and proscriptions about women's roles and dress code play a mediating role in the link between moral foundations, culture-specific values, and victim blaming. The study also identifies specific factors that predict victim blaming in sexual assault scenarios in Iran, including Haya, religiosity, high Authority values, and low Care values.