THE SAMPLE INCLUDED 335 WHITE, 336 BLACK, AND 340 MEXICAN AMERICAN (MALE AND FEMALE) CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO, TEX. THE SUBJECTS ANSWERED QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO THEIR CRITERIA FOR DEFINING A SITUATION AS RAPE, THEIR VIEWS REGARDING THE FAULT OF RAPE VICTIMS, THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT APPROPRIATE TREATMENT FOR RAPE OFFENDERS, AND THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD BEHAVIOR AND BELIEFS ASSOCIATED WITH TRADITIONAL MALE-FEMALE SEX ROLES AND WITH WOMEN'S LIBERATION. ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY DATA INDICATES THAT THE PUBLIC'S DEFINITIONS OF RAPE SUBSUME A PERCEPTION OF VICTIM FAULT AND ARE INFLUENCED BY BOTH DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND THE CONCEPT OF WOMEN'S LIBERATED BEHAVIOR. THE PERCEPTION OF VICTIM FAULT CUTS ACROSS ETHNIC LINES, AS DO ATTITUDES ABOUT WOMEN'S LIBERATED BEHAVIOR. IN GENERAL, RESPONDENTS' DECISIONS ABOUT THE APPROPRIATE TREATMENT FOR ALLEGED RAPISTS REFLECT THEIR DEFINITIONS OF RAPE SITUATIONS. HOWEVER, THERE WERE DIFFERENCES AMONG ETHNIC GROUPS IN THIS RESPECT. THE FINDINGS PROVIDE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (ALTHOUGH TENTATIVE) SUPPORT FOR A LINK BETWEEN ASSESSMENT OF VICTIM FAULT AND ATTITUDES ABOUT SEX ROLES AND WOMEN'S LIBERATION. THE RESEARCH POINTS UP THE NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ETHNIC DIFFERENCES AS WELL AS SEX ROLE STEREOTYPES AND SEXUAL STRATIFICATION IN ATTEMPTING TO UNDERSTAND ATTITUDES TOWARD RAPE. STUDY METHODS, FINDINGS, AND IMPLICATIONS ARE DISCUSSED AT LENGTH. SUPPORTING DATA AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)