浅谈遭遇性侵犯不报的女性被害人心理

在《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法》中,将被害人陈诉列为直接证据,被害人作为犯罪侵犯的客体,是犯罪行为最直接的受害者,也是其中亲身经历者,而被害人的心理直接影响到被害人的行为,因为他们的心理状态直接影响到提供情况的准确性和真实、客观程度,也直接影响到案件的侦破。女性被害人以遭受性侵犯的心理状况最为典型,通常出现惧怕、恐慌、愤怒、报复、屈辱等心理状态,严重影响了案件的侦破和女性被害人日后的工作和生活,也对社会造成了一定影响,因此对遭遇性侵犯的女性被害人的心理研究显得日益重要。     

论我国对男性性权利保障立法的可行性研究

随着社会的发展,以及各种不良思潮的影响,一些以前比较少见的性侵犯形式和案件开始大量涌现,而我国在这方面的立法仍然停留在比较保守和滞后的状态.对于相当一部分罪行严重的性侵犯行为,尤其是对男性进行性侵犯的行为,在现行法律上找不到相应的法律依据.使得大量的被害人因为立法上的空白而得不到相应的救济.笔者通过对实际案例的分析,结合中外法律对保护男性性权利的不同规定,提出了一些对于保护男性性权利的立法设想.     

略论社会力量对监狱行刑矫正的参与

利用社会力量参与监狱行刑符合行刑社会化思想;符合人性发展的需求;有利于监狱行刑效能的发挥。我国在社会力量参与监狱行刑方面还有许多有待完善之处。主要有:监狱、社会与罪犯三者关系的发展滞后于时代进步;对犯罪被害人的忽视,表明了行刑结构的失衡,影响了行刑效益实现;监狱行刑的信息意识不够强,在利用外界信息促进监狱行刑方面做得不够。应加强监狱与社会的联系,建立一种有力高效机制,形成行刑的"合力",促进行刑机能的增强。应健全行刑社会参与机制。包括:建立地方刑罚执行协调委员会,完善"罪犯就业保障体系",建立监狱行刑与社区矫正的良性互动机制,建立行刑社会参与评价机制,增强信息意识,加强文化建设。     

男性间同性强奸时被害人权利保护问题之探究

强奸(又称为性暴力、性侵犯、强制性交),是一种违背被害人的意愿,用暴力、威胁等手段,强迫与被害人进行性交的行为。通常意义上认为被害人一般为女性。而当男性被施以这种暴力行为时,人们在观念上通常不会予以重视。况且过去这种行为实在是罕见,立法者并不关注那些只会发生一两次的情形,我国的法律对这种情况同样没有足够的重视。然而男性的权利应该得到同女性一样的保护,我国刑法应该结合其特点以及国外立法例,规范对该问题的认识。     

未成年被害人刑事案件检察环节特殊办理机制的构建与完善

刑事案件中的未成年被害人因其具有尚未成熟的身心特点,司法机关有必要建立相应的特殊办案机制对其开展及时、有效的保护与救助.本文结合刑事诉讼中未成年被害人保护与救助的实际情况,提出构建与完善我国未成年被害人刑事案件检察环节特殊办理机制的具体内容.     

被害人陈述的证据能力与证明力规则 ——一个比较证据法的视角

基于被害人陈述的独立地位,我国应当探索并确立与被害人陈述的特点相适应的证据能力与证明力规则.被害人辨认属于被害人陈述,可以通过辩护律师在场来监督被害人辨认程序的合法性与结果的准确性.我们需要系统反思对被害人陈述之证据能力的规制,推动非法证据排除规则、传闻排除规则、意见证据规则进一步走向精细化.我们要辩证地评价被害人陈述的证明力,检讨对被害人陈述的补强规则,在建立科学的人证可信性检验机制的基础上,允许单独依靠被害人陈述慎重地定罪.     

论强奸罪的认定——从心理控制角度

强奸罪的认定是刑法学界广泛关注也倍受争议的理论问题,特别是怎样认定是否违背了妇女意志更是一个实践中的难题,广州大学城“危险导师强奸案”再一次引起了我们的思考.通过心理控制理论,结合此案,本文认为被害人是否被心理控制应该从被害人的阅历和人生经历出发来认定,通常人不会被心理控制的情况下被性侵犯不能认定为强奸罪..     

监狱依法履行惩罚职能的思考

监狱是我国刑罚执行机关,依法履行"惩罚和改造罪犯"的本质职能.在全面依法治国的新形势下,如何依法实施惩罚职能,是当前监狱面临的一个重大现实课题.文章有针对性地通过分析当前监狱惩罚职能特点、问题和原因,结合实际提出了形成政策与法律合力、监狱与社会合力、体制与机制合力、民警与罪犯合力,确保监狱惩罚职能依法实施的对策与建议.     

刑事被害人权利保护机制之反思与完善

由于认识上存在误区、立法不尽完善、被害人自身消极心态的影响以及司法实践的偏离,我国现行刑事法在刑事被害人权利保障方面存在着被害人对案件的知情权严重受限、代理和辩护权的行使上不对等、刑事诉讼部分没有发言权、没有独立直接的上诉权、获得民事赔偿的范围狭窄、国家救助政策阙如等诸多不足之处.从目前立法和司法实践看,需要进一步加强被害人对刑事诉讼的参与,完善对被害人损害的赔偿和补偿机制,逐步建立和健全对被害人的保护机制.     

论“涉众型”经济犯罪被害人经济权利救济的困境及出路

办理"涉众型"经济犯罪案件的重点和难点在于如何最大限度地为被害人挽回经济损失。对"涉众型"经济犯罪被害人经济权利进行救济,须重构防范与保全结合型的财产控制机制、建构特殊类型案件民事救济程序独立于刑事诉讼程序的运行机制、建立健全长效机制破解民事赔偿判决执行难、构建恢复性司法理念指导下的被害人救济三元刑事诉讼模式、建立"涉众型"经济犯罪被害人国家救助制度。     

Factors Influencing the Filing of Complaints,Their Investigation,and Subsequent Legal Judgment in Cases of Sexual Assault

In Geneva, examination of victims of sexual assault is performed by a gynecologist and a medical examiner. 48% of the victims file a complaint and we wanted to investigate the factors leading to file a complaint, those leading the Prosecutor to go to trial, and those influencing a conviction. Between 2006 and 2012, 676 victims of sexual assault were investigated (averaged age 26 year, mean 22). Information on injuries, perpetrators, and circumstances of the assault was collected and analyzed. The attacker being the ex‐spouse or a friend and the presence of semen were factors leading to file a complaint. The assailant being a family member or ex‐spouse and the presence of genital/anal lesions were factors influencing the Prosecutor. The presence of nongenital lesions, the assailant being known by the victim, influenced conviction. This study shows that the medical examiner plays a vital role in the investigation of cases of sexual assault.     

Sexual Assault Training of Law Enforcement Officers

Abstract

The importance of proper response to victims of sexual abuse or assault has been well documented. However, despite their prominence as responders, little research has been conducted on training law enforcement officials to conduct this aspect of their jobs effectively. We describe results of a statewide survey of the adequacy of law enforcement officers' preparation to respond to victims of sexual assault. Results revealed a significant need for greater training on the topic, as well as a number of potential positive impacts of additional training and education, including feelings of better preparation, greater collaboration with external resources, more likelihood of victim participation in investigation, and more cases being brought to prosecution. Based on the results, we present a model of proposed benefits of additional training for police officers in sexual assault.     

Judicial responses to the protected confidential communications legislation in Australia

The article examines the background, aims and scope of recent legislation enacted in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia to protect from disclosure in court of "confidential communications" generated in the context of counselling persons who allege that they were victims of sexual offenses. In drafting the "confidential communications" legislation, the legislators undertook a difficult task of balancing the public interest in therapeutic confidentiality that would encourage victims of sexual assaults to report these offenses and seek psychological and psychiatric care on the one hand, and the public interest in fairness of the trial, which may be prejudiced by exclusion of evidence pertinent to the forensic process on the other. In South Australia this task was fulfilled with greater success than in New South Wales and Victoria.     

Police Reporting by Sexual Assault Victims in Western and in Non-Western Countries

The current research had the primary goal of investigating the difference in police reporting patterns by sexual assault victims in Western and in non-Western countries. The data for the present study were obtained from the International Crime Victimization Survey. The present work found a significant difference in police reporting behavior by sexual assault victims in Western and in non-Western countries. Gender, urban residency, and the number of offenders were important factors for victims in non-Western countries, but not for those in Western countries. On the other hand, a victim’s prior relationship with his or her offender and family income level were significantly related to police reports in Western countries, but not in non-Western countries.     

The Darkest Figure of Crime: Perceptions of Reasons for Male Inmates to Not Report Sexual Assault

Although sexual assault behind bars is recognized as problematic, very few of the sexual assaults that occur behind bars are officially reported. Many researchers have examined the individual and institutional variables which can help predict an inmate’s probability of being victimized by his fellow inmates. With a sample obtained from a sample of eight Texas prisons, the current survey will disentangle the individual, institutional, and individual–institutional level variables which contribute to the rationales behind inmates choosing to report or not report sexually assaultive behavior. The findings somewhat mirror the findings of sexual assaults in the free community, with inmates indicating that the primary reasons to not report include embarrassment, fear of harassment, and retaliation from the perpetrator.     

Female-perpetrated sexual abuse: a review of victim and professional perspectives

Abstract

Professional attitudes towards female-perpetrated sexual abuse (FPSA) reportedly reflect the gender-role expectations found in broader society, which cast males almost exclusively as sexual aggressors or willing sexual recipients, females as sexually non-coercive or victims and male-perpetrated sexual abuse as particularly significant or injurious. Such views, however, appear to stand in contrast to the perspectives of individuals who have experienced FPSA. This paper details a systematic review of peer-reviewed quantitative and qualitative literature examining these different (professional and victim) perspectives. Although the methodological shortcomings of primary papers limit the conclusions that can be drawn, the findings suggest that victim and professional perspectives of FPSA remain discrepant; professionals generally considered FPSA as less serious, less harmful and less deserving of investigation than male-perpetrated abuse; while victims of FPSA felt their experiences influenced significantly their psychological wellbeing and abilities to form and maintain interpersonal relationships. These findings are discussed in relation to professional practice and suggestions for future research.     

The rarity of "unusual" [corrected] dispositions of victim bodies: staging and posing

The act of leaving a victim's body in an unusual position is a conscious criminal action by an offender to thwart an investigation, shock the finder and investigators of the crime scene, or give perverted pleasure to the killer. The unusual position concepts of posing and staging a murder victim have been documented thoroughly and have been accepted by the courts as a definable phenomenon. One staging case and one posing case are outlined and reveal characteristics of those homicides. From the Washington State Attorney General's Homicide Investigation and Tracking System's database on murder covering the years 1981-2000 (a total of 5,224 cases), the relative frequency of unusual body dispositions is revealed as a very rare occurrence. Only 1.3% of victims are left in an unusual position, with 0.3% being posed and 0.1% being staged. The characteristics of these types of murders also set them apart: compared to all other murders, in staged murders the victims and killers are, on average, older. All victims and offenders in the staged murders are white, with victims being disproportionately white in murders with any kind of unusual body disposition. Likewise, females stand out as victims when the body is posed, staged, or left in other unusual positions. Whereas posed bodies are more likely to include sexual assault, often in serial murders, there is no evidence of either in the staged cases. Lastly, when a body is left in an unusual position, binding is more likely, as well as the use of more "hands on" means of killing the victim, such as stabbing or cutting weapons, bludgeons, ligatures, or hands and feet.     

Reconstruction of sexual offences--forensic aspects of sperm traces

The investigation of sexual offences is a real challenge, as the injuries are often unspecific or faint and may sometimes be missing completely. Evidence recovery and analysis as well as the statements of the victims and suspects are therefore of vital importance. In both presented cases, the results of trace evidence analysis were basically consistent with a sexual assault, but the victims' statements regarding the course of events and the pattern of traces showed severe discrepancies.     

Viewing time measures and sexual interest: another piece of the puzzle

Abstract

The present study compared a viewing time (VT) measure with the Sexual Deviance Card Sort (Laws et al., 2000 Laws, D. R., Hanson, R. K., Osborn, C. A. and Greenbaum, P. E. 2000. Classification of child molesters by plethysmographic assessment of sexual arousal and a self-report measure of sexual preference. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15: 1297–1312. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and past sexual behaviour. Twenty-six adult males who committed a contact sexual offence (19 of whom had child victims and seven with adult victims) each completed the self-report card sort and viewed 640 slides of nude and clothed males and females, ages 5, 9, 13 years and adult. The offenders were unaware that their viewing time was being recorded. VT allowed for greater consistent classification of sexual interest: for gender preference, 79% for individuals with child victims, 86% for individuals with adult victims; for age preference, 84% for individuals with child victims, and 57% for individuals with adult victims. Results demonstrated that a combination of nude and clothed computer-modified imagery can provide accurate sexual interest classification.     

Mental health in violent crime victims: Does sexual orientation matter?

The present study investigates victim sexual orientation in a sample of 641 violent crime victims seeking emergency medical treatment at a public-sector hospital. Victim sexual orientation was examined as it: (a) varies by type of violent crime and demographic characteristics, (b) directly relates to psychological symptoms, and (c) moderates the relationship between victim and crime characteristics (i.e., victim gender, victim trauma history, and type of crime) and psychological symptoms (i.e., symptoms of acute stress, depression, panic, and general anxiety). Results showed that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) victims were more likely to be victims of sexual assault. Heterosexual victims were more likely to be victims of general assault and shootings. LGBT victims demonstrated significantly higher levels of acute stress and general anxiety. Moreover, victim sexual orientation moderated the association of type of crime with experience of panic symptoms. Also, victim sexual orientation moderated the relation of victim trauma history and general anxiety symptoms. Results are discussed in relation to victimization prevalence rates, sexual prejudice theory, and assessment and treatment of violent crime victims.