Can Game Theory help to prevent rape?
This article discusses how under reporting of rape is so prominent among college students and how some concepts in game theory can help prevent further assault to other students by the same perpetrator. According to the article, only 11 percent of the rapes in college campuses are reported. The main reasons these victims are hesitant to report the rape include: not wanting any attention drawn to them or their assailants, worried that they will not be believed, and they do not know whom to report to.
A new website, Callisto, is providing a platform for students to document and report sexual assaults if they wish. One way this website is going to be different from traditional means is that the student can opt to put the report into ‘matching’ whereby the report will only be filed if someone else claims to be assaulted by the same person. The reasoning behind why this would work is as follows: victims aren’t always sure about whether a crime occurred and give the assailants the benefit of doubt. However, knowing that someone else was also assaulted by the same person, will help push them over the edge and not make them hesitant anymore. In this way, about 60 percent of future rapes could be prevented.
This is based on a concept in economics known as the “hungry-penguin problem” or the “first mover disadvantage” which basically means that no one wants to be the first person to make a move and file a report only to later be humiliated if it weren’t true. Therefore, this feature in Callisto helps reduce the first mover disadvantage and gives victims more confidence to report their assaults.
I think this is a really interesting and effective way to help reduce the incidence of under reporting and consequently preventing rape in the future. Although it is not really thought of as a ‘game,’ the underlying incentive or strategic reasoning is driven by others’ behavior and choices.
Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/09/can-game-theory-prevent-rape/405607/