The lore of sexual difference in social and legal discourse on ‘date rape’

Using a framework informed by Foucauldian discourse theory and feminist accounts of sexual difference, this paper investigates the process of attrition in cases initially recorded as rape and in which complainant and suspect are known to each other. Having particular regard to police and prosecutor decision-making in the processing of such cases, the authors consider discourses that utilise conceptions of sexual difference, which work to normalise and privilege cultural assumptions about male desires and conduct in sexual relations. In illuminating the manner in which the traditional binary categories of sexual difference is put to work, the authors argue that socio-legal debates over the phenomenon commonly described as ‘date rape’ have over-simplistically inverted these categories. The authors further argue that this inversion operates to women's detriment and fails to advance a sufficiently nuanced understanding of complex issues implicated in rapes committed against women by men they know. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Clothing damage analysis and the phenomenon of the false sexual assault

This paper describes three recent false sexual assaults examined at the Victoria Forensic Science Centre laboratory where clothing damage analysis assisted in the resolution of the case. Suspected false reports of sexual assaults are often sensitive cases with little other forensic evidence. Any evidential value that can be obtained is thus valuable in order to minimize any ordeal to the complainant and any suspect and to conserve valuable resources. The findings illustrate the application of clothing damage analysis in a cross section of confirmed false sexual assault reports and the fact that the forensic examiner should be aware of the potential evidential value of this kind of analysis. Furthermore, the corroboration of a victim's scenario when the investigator has doubts may be no less valuable as it may minimize the adversarial ordeal that is often faced by a rape victim.     

Novel recovery methods for biological materials in cases of alleged sexual assault: A word of caution

Many believe that an increase in the public confidence in the investigation of sexual crimes, and in conviction rates, will lead to an increase in the reporting of these crimes. Consequently, Forensic Science Providers are continually striving to make improvements in evidence recovery and examination and the subsequent interpretation of evidence. One development is in methods that enable an individual to self-sample. However, in cases where a complainant has self-sampled, questions of when the samples were taken, how they were stored and so on, can be legitimately raised. Additionally the continuity and integrity of evidential samples may be questioned resulting in them not being acceptable to the courts and potential evidence could therefore be lost. There is a large emotional and psychological impact of sexual assault and rape and no complainant who reports a sexual assault and recovers material should have that evidence inadmissible to a court. Specialised units for victims of alleged sexual violence are available and offer far more than the recovery of evidential samples. This commentary on behalf of the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine (FFLM) and the Association of Forensic Science Providers Body Fluid Forum (AFSP BFF) highlights the need for after care for the victims of sexual assault and why all evidence recovered in cases of alleged sexual assault and sexual violence should be obtained in line with best practice protocols.     

Distinguishing Between Damage to Clothing as a Result of Normal Wear and Tear or as a Result of Deliberate Damage: A Sexual Assault Case Study

Abstract:  This paper focuses on bra damage, specifically damage observed in hook and eye fasteners that are generally located at the backstraps of bras. We describe bra design including the method by which hook and eye fasteners are generally constructed. We assess bra damage in two situations where the damage observed was unexpected given the case scenarios. These were: (i) the complainant of an alleged rape attributed damage to her bra hooks to force during a struggle and (ii) the complainant had earlier manipulated her bra hooks in an incident not related to her complaint. Steriomicroscopy and reconstruction experimentation were necessarily used to assess the bra damage. A systematic approach to damage analysis was employed by the forensic practitioners to correctly identify damage as being a result of mechanical manipulation and therefore as falsified. This paper suggests that more examples of falsified damage should be documented.     

Calculating likelihood ratios for a mixed DNA profile when a contribution from a genetic relative of a suspect is proposed

This technical note describes a practical method for evaluating evidence in the case of a two person conditioned DNA mixture where the defence proposition is that the unknown contributor is genetically related to the suspect. A conditioned mixture is one where the presence of DNA from one of two individuals is accepted by both prosecution and defence. A typical example would be a vaginal swab in an alleged rape case, where the presence of the complainant's DNA would be expected and samples have been taken from the complainant and a suspect. Much has been written about the interpretation of such mixtures and the calculation of the conditional genotype probabilities that must be carried out. In general, such treatments assume that the unknown contributor, under the defence proposition, is unrelated to the known individuals. In this paper, we consider the case where the defence proposition is that the unknown contributor is genetically related to the suspect. We describe a method, incorporating a flow chart and reference tables that facilitate manual calculations of the likelihood ratio for several postulated genetic relationships.     

Prospective lawyers’ rape stereotypes and schematic decision making about rape cases

Abstract

Two studies explored stereotypic information processing in rape cases by prospective lawyers in Germany. In Study 1, 451 undergraduate law students rated rape scenarios varying with respect to defendant–complainant relationship and coercive strategy (force versus exploitation of the complainant's alcohol-induced defencelessness). Acceptance of rape myths was also measured. Likelihood of defendant liability was rated to be lower when there was a prior relationship between the parties and when the defendant exploited the complainant's defencelessness as compared to when he used force (except in the ex-partner rapes where blame was higher in the alcohol-related than in the force-related cases). Complainant blame was higher when there was a prior relationship between the parties and was higher in the alcohol-related cases than in the force-related cases, except in the ex-partner rape where the pattern was reversed. Participants with high rape myth acceptance held the defendant less liable and blamed the complainant more, especially when the two had known each other. Study 2 largely replicated these findings with 129 postgraduate trainee lawyers and showed that sentencing recommendations also varied as a function of defendant–complainant relationship and coercive strategy. Providing participants with the legal definition of rape did not reduce reliance on rape stereotypes.     

The ABH reactions of seminal stains

The ABO grouping results from approx. 1000 seminal stains have been collected and analysed. Most of the stains came from rape cases where the ABO and secretor status of both complainant and suspect were known. The results of the survey provided information concerning the usefulness of elution and inhibition as methods of body fluid grouping, the relative strengths of reaction of the A, B and H antigens in body fluids and the interpretation of the ABH reactions of body fluid stains.     

Rape Shield Laws and Sexual Behavior Evidence: Effects of Consent Level and Women’s Sexual History on Rape Allegations

Rape shield laws, which limit the introduction of sexual history evidence in rape trials, challenge the view that women with extensive sexual histories more frequently fabricate charges of rape than other women. The present study examined the relationship between women's actual sexual history and their reporting rape in hypothetical scenarios. Female participants (college students and a community sample, which included women working as prostitutes and topless dancers, and women living in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center) imagined themselves in dating scenarios that described either a legally definable act of rape or consensual sexual intercourse. Additionally, within the rape scenarios, level of consensual intimate contact (i.e., foreplay) preceding rape was examined to determine its influence on rape reporting. Women were less likely to say that they would take legal action in response to the rape scenarios if they had extensive sexual histories, or if they had consented to an extensive amount of intimate contact before the rape. In response to the consensual sexual intercourse scenarios, women with more extensive sexual histories were not more likely to say that they would report rape, even when the scenario provided them with a motive for seeking revenge against their dating partner.     

Predicting charges and convictions for rape suspects in Denmark: characteristics associated with the notion of the ‘credible criminal’

In recent years, focus on the high attrition rates and low conviction rates in sexual assault cases in Scandinavia has increased. Attrition refers to the dropout of cases through the criminal justice system. However, only limited research exists on the importance of suspect characteristics for the legal outcomes in these cases. The present study is the first in Scandinavia to investigate legal and extralegal suspect variables relating to charges and convictions in the criminal justice system regarding suspected offenders in rape and attempted rape cases. All reported cases of rape and attempted rape in the Eastern Jutland Police District from 2008 to 2010 with an identified rape suspect (N = 175) were analysed through binary logistic regression analyses to examine which variables might increase the likelihood of charges or convictions. Results show that suspects with one or more prior sexual assault charges were more likely to be charged and convicted of a rape offence. The results of the present study help improve the understanding of the judicial processing of cases of rape from a different perspective than the victims’ and partially lend support to the hypothesis of ‘the credible criminal’ in terms of investigative and prosecutorial decision-making in rape cases.     

Sexual Assault Case Outcomes: Disentangling the Overlapping Decisions of Police and Prosecutors

The rape reform movement of the 1970s and 1980s was designed to improve the likelihood of prosecution and conviction in sexual assault cases. However, there is evidence that the attrition rate for sexual assaults reported to the police remains high, and that the locus of case attrition is arresting and charging decisions. In this paper, we analyze police and prosecutorial decision-making in sexual assault cases using quantitative data on sexual assaults reported to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2008. We argue that decisions made by police and prosecutors should not be examined in isolation from one another and that researchers who analyze arrest decisions by examining only cases that are formally cleared by arrest or who focus only on charging decisions that follow the arrest of a suspect may be ignoring important aspects of police and prosecutorial decision-making. This is confirmed by the results of our study, which reveal that a significant proportion of cases in which the police appear to have probable cause to make an arrest do not result in the arrest of the suspect and that a substantial number of cases are rejected for prosecution by the district attorney before an arrest is made. Moreover, the factors that predict arrest and charging vary depending upon the way in which the outcome is operationally defined. These results have a number of important policy implications for police and prosecutors handling sexual assault cases.     

Relationships and sexuality of imprisoned men in the German penal system--a survey of inmates in a Berlin prison

The lack of concrete scientific data on the sexual behavior of inmates in German prisons is surprising, especially given the extant international scholarship on prison culture and sexual violence. Historically, the most influential publications were Clemmer's "The Prison Community", and Sykes's "The Society of Captives", which both addressed the importance of sexual deprivation and analyzed the impact of sexual victimization on prisoners. Different forms of homosexual contact between inmates include prostitution and "protective pairing", both characterized as "dark" issues--nonconsensual sexual acts--which still have not been scientifically researched. The United States enacted the Prison Rape Elimination Act, 2003, revealing nationwide data on the prevalence of sexual assault within correctional facilities. Prison inmates suffer not only from separation from their spouses or partners, but also from sexual harassment, extortion, and the threat of rape, which has multiple implications for their mental and physical health. This article presents the first German study to record data about the relationships and sexuality of imprisoned men, and was conducted in an adult correctional facility for long-term prisoners in Berlin-Tegel. The survey, which is based on results from a questionnaire taken by voluntary study participants, had a special focus on the occurrence of consensual homoerotic contacts between heterosexual inmates. The emphasis was on the potential impact of such contact on role behavior during confinement, as well as the impact on sexual identity after release. The survey revealed the first data on the incidence and prevalence of sexual violence and coercion within correctional facilities. This article presents the results of this survey for the first time.     

The sexual stratification hypothesis revisited: Testing assumptions about simple versus aggravated rape

Previous research testing the sexual stratification hypothesis has included only African American and White victims and suspects. This study also included Hispanic victims and suspects. Using data on all sexual assaults reported to the San Diego Police from 1995 to 2002, the analysis focused on the effects of the racial/ethnic composition of the victim/offender dyad, the relationship between victim and offender, and type of rape on three sexual assault case outcomes: whether the victim declined prosecution, whether the police unfounded the crime, and whether the district attorney filed charges. A secondary analysis employed the liberation hypothesis to test whether the effect of race was confined to simple rape. Results indicated that the racial composition of the victim/offender dyad was largely insignificant in determining case outcomes, but that the relationship between victim and offender and whether the suspect and victim were under the influence of alcohol or drugs had strong effects.     

Police Responses to Sexual Assault Complaints: The Role of Perpetrator/Complainant Intoxication

This study explored the impact of victim and perpetrator alcohol consumption on police officers' evaluations of an alleged sexual assault and their reported likelihood of charging the perpetrator. Two hundred and twelve police officers were presented with a vignette depicting an acquaintance rape in which the beverage consumption (beer, cola) of both the victim and perpetrator was systematically varied. Results indicated that the officers' perceptions of the complainant's intoxication level, as well as the gender of the officer, influenced officers' evaluations of the alleged sexual assault. The more intoxicated the complainant was perceived to be, the more negatively she was viewed. Female police officers evaluated the victim more favorably than male officers. The only factors related to the officers' likelihood of charging the perpetrator, however, involved their assessment of the complainant's credibility and their perception of the likelihood that the perpetrator would be found guilty in a court of law.     

Complainant emotional expressions and perceived credibility: Exploring the role of perceivers’ facial mimicry and empathy

Purpose

This research investigated the roles of perceivers’ facial mimicry and empathy in the emotional victim effect (EVE) – the finding that complainants tend to appear more credible when exhibiting (vs. not exhibiting) negative emotional displays during their statements. Because facial mimicry plays a key role in empathic responding, it was hypothesized that inhibiting and facilitating perceivers’ mimicry would attenuate and amplify the EVE, respectively.

Methods

Participants (N = 362) in an experiment were instructed to mimic or not to mimic facial expressions (controls received no mimicry instructions) while watching a statement by an emotional or non‐emotional rape complainant. Participants rated the complainant's believability and the extent to which they experienced cognitive and affective empathy.

Results

The perceived believability of the complainant was not affected by complainant emotions, thus failing to replicate the EVE. However, the inhibition of mimicry unexpectedly reduced the perceived believability of the complainant, apparently by decreasing participants’ cognitive empathy.

Conclusions

The current findings suggest that mimicry inhibition may increase scepticism in the context of credibility assessment. This has important implications for decision‐making in legal settings and for research on the process of credibility attribution. Moreover, the failure to replicate the EVE adds to the cumulative evidence on the underlying effect size for the phenomenon.     

Unfounding Sexual Assault: Examining the Decision to Unfound and Identifying False Reports

One of the most controversial—and least understood—issues in the area of sexual violence is the prevalence of false reports of rape. Estimates of the rate of false reports vary widely, which reflects differences in way false reports are defined and in the methods that researchers use to identify them. We address this issue using a mixed methods approach that incorporates quantitative and qualitative data on sexual assault cases that were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 2008 and qualitative data from interviews with LAPD detectives assigned to investigate reports of sexual assault. We found that the LAPD was clearing cases as unfounded appropriately most, but not all, of the time and we estimated that the rate of false reports among cases reported to the LAPD was 4.5 percent. We also found that although complainant recantation was the strongest predictor of the unfounding decision, other factors indicative of the seriousness of the incident and the credibility of the victim also played a role. We interpret these findings using an integrated theoretical perspective that incorporates both Black's sociological theory of law and Steffensmeier, Ulmer, and Kramer's focal concerns perspective.     

Use of a Y chromosome probe as an aid in the forensic proof of sexual assault

Currently, the most common procedures for the forensic identification of semen that may be present due to a sexual assault include the microscopic identification of spermatozoa, acid phosphatase activity, or the detection of PSA. However, not all cases of sexual assault result in the deposit of semen. Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) has been found to be a very sensitive and specific method for detection of the Y chromosome from male cells. This study was undertaken to demonstrate the presence of epithelial cells of male origin in the postcoital vaginal tract using a commercially available probe. Results identified Y chromosome in intact epithelial cells on postcoital Days 1 through 4, and on Day 7. Additionally, Y chromosome positive epithelial cells were identified in vaginal swabs obtained following intercourse with no ejaculation. The method developed in this study demonstrates that FISH is a sensitive method for the identification of the presence of male epithelial cells in the postcoital vagina.     

A case study on forensic polymer analysis by DIOS-MS: the suspect who gave us the SLIP

New technology was used to identify traces of a commercial barrier/spermicide in evidence from a case of a man accused of rape of a minor. Examination of vaginal swabs performed by another laboratory had been negative for seminal fluid or other sources of DNA from the suspect and we were asked to examine the remaining swabs for any traces that might have originated from the commercial product. Encare consists of vaginal inserts having a suppository-like shape. They contain the spermicide, nonoxynol-9, in a matrix consisting of approximately two parts polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1000 to one part PEG 1450, plus minor inorganic components added to produce foaming. Portions of the cotton from vaginal swabs from the victim and penile swabs from the suspect were extracted with methanol and subsequently examined by desorption ionization on silicon time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DIOS TOF MS). Low levels of PEG in the same mass range as Encare were found on two separate vaginal swabs from the victim and one penile swab from the suspect. Subsequent to these findings, the suspect (through his attorneys) provided us with a sample of SLIP Plus, a commercial sexual lubricant that also contains nonoxynol-9. Traces of PEG in the same mass range as Encare were found in this sample, while no PEG was found in a sealed sample of SLIP Plus provided by the manufacturer. At trial the suspect's attorneys stipulated that their client had added some Encare to the SLIP Plus sample he had provided.     

Pornography and rape: theory and practice? Evidence from crime data in four countries where pornography is easily available

We have looked at the empirical evidence of the well-known feminist dictum: "pornography is the theory--rape is the practice" (Morgan, 1980). While earlier research, notably that generated by the U.S. Commission on Obscenity and Pornography (1970) had found no evidence of a causal link between pornography and rape, a new generation of behavioral scientists have, for more than a decade, made considerable effort to prove such a connection, especially as far as "aggressive pornography" is concerned. The first part of the article examines and discusses the findings of this new research. A number of laboratory experiments have been conducted, much akin to the types of experiments developed by researchers of the effects of nonsexual media violence. As in the latter, a certain degree of increased "aggressiveness" has been found under certain circumstances, but to extrapolate from such laboratory effects to the commission of rape in real life is dubious. Studies of rapists' and nonrapists' immediate sexual reactions to presentations of pornography showed generally greater arousal to non-violent scenes, and no difference can be found in this regard between convicted rapists, nonsexual criminals and noncriminal males. In the second part of the paper an attempt was made to study the necessary precondition for a substantial causal relationship between the availability of pornography, including aggressive pornography, and rape--namely, that obviously increased availability of such material was followed by an increase in cases of reported rape. The development of rape and attempted rape during the period 1964-1984 was studied in four countries: the U.S.A., Denmark, Sweden and West Germany. In all four countries there is clear and undisputed evidence that during this period the availability of various forms of pictorial pornography including violent/dominant varieties (in the form of picture magazines, and films/videos used at home or shown in arcades or cinemas) has developed from extreme scarcity to relative abundance. If (violent) pornography causes rape, this exceptional development in the availability of (violent) pornography should definitely somehow influence the rape statistics. Since, however, the rape figures could not simply be expected to remain steady during the period in question (when it is well known that most other crimes increased considerably), the development of rape rates was compared with that of non-sexual violent offences and nonviolent sexual offences (in so far as available statistics permitted). The results showed that in none of the countries did rape increase more than nonsexual violent crimes. This finding in itself would seem sufficient to discard the hypothesis that pornography causes rape.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

College Women and Sexual Assault: The Role of Sex-related Alcohol Expectancies

This study examined the relationship between alcohol, sex-related alcohol expectancies, and sexual assaults among women college students. Participants completed measures of sexual behaviors, sexual victimization experiences, sex related alcohol expectancies, and drinking habits. Based on participants’ responses women were categorized as having experienced no assault, unwanted sexual contact, sexual coercion, attempted rape, and rape. It was observed across groups that relative to controls, women reporting attempted rape and rape consumed higher levels of alcohol. Within group comparisons revealed that relative to controls, victimized women endorsed higher levels of sex-related alcohol expectancies. In the prediction of severity of sexual victimization, regression analyses revealed an interaction between alcohol consumption and expectancy of vulnerability to sexual coercion. At higher levels of alcohol consumption women endorsing high vulnerability to sexual coercion experienced more severe victimatization. Implications of the findings are discussed. This work was conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree by the first author under the direction of the third author.