The influence of contextual information regarding the breakdown of relationships and perpetrator-target sex composition on perceptions of relational stalking

ABSTRACT

The present study examines the influence of prior relationship (with contextual information regarding the breakdown of the relationship) and perpetrator-target sex composition on perceptions of relational stalking. The study employed an experimental 7?×?2 independent measures design, and the sample comprised 1,260 members of the community residing in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Participants received one of 14 versions of a hypothetical scenario and responded to scale items concerning the situation described. The situation was perceived to be most serious when the perpetrator was a stranger or a physically violent ex-partner and least serious when the perpetrator was an ex-partner of an unfaithful target. Scenarios involving a male perpetrator and a female victim were also perceived to be more serious than scenarios involving a female perpetrator and a male target. It is apparent therefore that the context of the relationship breakdown and the sex of the perpetrator and target significantly influence perceptions of relational stalking.     

Blame attributions and rape: Effects of belief in a just world and relationship level

Purpose. The blaming of rape victims can cause secondary victimization. It is of importance to investigate factor that might lead to victim blaming. This study investigated the effect of belief in a just world (BJW), gender of participant, and level of relationship closeness between victim and perpetrator on attributions of both victim and perpetrator blame. Methods. In a between‐subjects experiment, a community sample (N= 166) answered questions of victim blame and perpetrator blame after reading one of four scenarios, each depicting a different level of relationship between the victim and the perpetrator (strangers, acquaintances, dating, or married). Results. Overall, high levels of perpetrator blame and low levels of victim blame were found. Contrary to previous research, the victim of a stranger rape was blamed more than when the perpetrator was known to the victim. Furthermore, participants high on BJW attributed higher levels of victim blame and lower levels of perpetrator blame. Specifically, female participants high on BJW attributed most blame to a victim of stranger rape. Conclusions. In conclusion, BJW was a significant predictor of blame attributions, and relationship type is a variable that merits further research.     

The Effect of Gender of Perpetrator and Victim on Perceptions of Psychological and Physical Intimate Partner Aggression

Most studies of third-party perceptions of intimate partner violence focus on heterosexual relationships and report that male-to-female aggression is perceived more negatively than female-to-male. Since gender of aggressor and gender of victim are consistently confounded in these portrayals, it is not clear whether the gender of the aggressor or the gender of the victim accounts for the effect. The present research manipulated gender of perpetrator and victim to unravel this confound. Two hundred and fifty one participants (166 females) read scenarios involving psychological or physical aggression between two males, two females, or a male and a female. Participants reported their perceptions of the encounter and the character and emotional reactions of the individual couple members. Physical aggression was evaluated more negatively than psychological aggression. Participants evaluated the encounter and the perpetrator and victim in a manner consistent with stereotypical gender roles, revealing more concern for female than male victims and greater denigration of male than female perpetrators. These results have implications for programs aimed at the reduction of intimate partner violence and the services and programs developed for perpetrators and victims.     

The Social Construction of Roles in Intimate Partner Violence: Is the Victim/Perpetrator Model the only Viable one?

An ongoing discussion in the partner violence (PV) literature exists concerning the respective roles of perpetrator and victim. Most of it is gender based. The classical feminist argument is that women are victims of the violence and this is sustained by the social perception of them as victims. More recently increased recognition of mutual violence has taken place, calling into question the gender-based victim/perpetrator model. Recent research further calls into question this role differentiation through findings indicating that a majority of the protagonists in the PV drama view themselves as victims. A corollary to this controversy is that whether a man or a woman is the victim, the principal client in conventional intervention with PV is the woman. This paper will argue that the relevancy of gender-based role differentiation for most PV cases is not supported by recent data, and that incorporating an interactive perspective enables a more complex view than the classical victim/perpetrator one, and may improve our practice with PV populations.     

Examination results and autopsy findings in assaults on elderly people

As the percentage of elderly people in the population grows, violence against persons of advanced age constitutes an increasing social problem. The findings of the clinical forensic examinations (CE group) and autopsies performed on elderly violence victims (> or = 60 years) between 1999 and 2008 at the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Hanover Medical School were retrospectively analysed. In all, the study material comprised 55 victims of the CE group (35 females and 20 males, median age 73.5 years) and 55 autopsies (33 females and 22 males, median age 72.7 years). In most of the autopsy cases, the suspect was a family member or partner. In contrast, the alleged perpetrator was a stranger in most cases of the CE group. Blunt force injuries were most often found in the CE group victims (63.6%). Altogether, 38.2% (CE group) and 20.0% (autopsy cases) of the violent assaults were associated with robbery. In the majority of the CE cases, the victims suffered potentially or acute life-threatening injuries. In summary, the analysis shows that elderly people frequently become victims of robbery and blunt force injury. In most homicides of old people, the perpetrator is familiar to the victim. In surviving elderly violence victims, the assault is more likely to be reported to the police if the suspect is a stranger.     

Attributions about perpetrators and victims of interpersonal abuse: results from an analogue study

This analogue study (written vignettes and videotapes) examines the influence of victim-perpetrator relationship (spouse or acquaintance), sex of perceiver, and type of abuse (psychological vs. physical) on attributions about victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse. College student participants (73 men, 108 women) were randomly assigned to condition. As expected, type of relationship influenced observer perceptions. Specifically, participants rated the victim of marital violence as more psychologically damaged and disturbed by the abuse than the victim of acquaintance violence. Furthermore, interaction effects showed that men, more than women, rated the actions of the married perpetrator as more of a victim's rights violation than the actions of the acquaintance perpetrator. Second, type of abuse was shown to influence perceptions of the perpetrator but not the victim. Sex-of-perceiver effects were also obtained. Women held the perpetrator more responsible and assigned less blame to the victim than did men. Legal and clinical implications are then discussed.     

Does Perceived Injury Explain the Effects of Gender on Attributions of Blame for Intimate Partner Violence? A Factorial Vignette Analysis

Perpetrator and victim gender influence how blame is assigned in intimate partner violence (IPV) scenarios. Although men’s differential capacity to inflict and sustain harm is posited as the reason male perpetrators and victims receive more blame for IPV, it is possible that other aspects of the construct of gender, such as gender role beliefs, underscore these effects. Using a sample of 323 college students and a factorial vignette design that varied body sizes and genders of victims and perpetrators, we examined the extent to which perceptions of physical injury accounted for the effects of perpetrator and victim gender on blame attributions, and whether adherence to traditional gender roles moderated any influences of gender unassociated with perceived injury. For female perpetrators, participants estimated lower levels of perceived injury and greater victim blame, with the former effect predominantly accounting for the latter. Male victims were viewed as less injured and more blameworthy, but the latter finding was not predominantly driven by injury perceptions. Perceived physical injury also did not account for why females perpetrating against males were blamed least. Controlling for differences in perceived injury, those holding more traditional gender views blamed victims of female violence more than victims of male-perpetrated violence. Notably, variations in body physical size were not associated with injury perceptions or blame attributions. These findings overall suggest that gender does influence blame attributions by way of perceived physical injury, but other aspects of the construct of gender are also relevant to these evaluations.

     

A Study of the Predictors of Persistence in Stalking Situations

Stalkers engaging in persistent campaigns of harassment have the potential to cause immense harm to their victims and themselves. Being able to estimate which stalkers are likely to persist longest is important to clinicians dealing with both perpetrators and victims. This study of 200 stalkers investigated characteristics of the stalkers and their behaviour that were associated with increased persistence. Logistic regression models were developed to predict low, moderate, and highly persistent stalking. The results supported previous research indicating that the type of prior relationship between stalker and victim is strongly associated with persistence, with prior acquaintances the most persistent, and strangers least. Being aged over 30, sending the victim unsolicited materials, and having an intimacy seeking or resentful motivation was also associated with greater persistence, as was the presence of psychosis.

The violent female perpetrator and her victim

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between violent female offenders and their victims as well as the putative differences in the motives and specific psychological factors among three groups of female offenders: women who have victimised someone closely related to them, those who have victimised an acquaintance and lastly women who have victimised a stranger. More than half (N=61) of all violent female offenders hospitalised or incarcerated in Finland during the year of study were interviewed and assessed by Structured Clinical Interview II for DSM-IV (SCID-II) and Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). In 34% of the cases the victims were persons close to the offender, in 41% the victims were acquaintances and in 25% strangers. The victims in homicide offences were more often both male and closer to the perpetrator than in assault offences. Although motives were related to interpersonal problems, self-defence and long-term physical or psychological abuse were reported by only a few women, even for the small proportion of women whose victims were intimate partners. The most frequent reason for offences stemmed from confrontational situations in connection with alcohol use. Women who victimised acquaintances and strangers were also more likely to have a history of criminality and substance abuse than women who victimised those in close personal relationships. The latter were also more likely to have an antisocial personality disorder (PD) and psychopathic characteristics. There were, however, no significant differences found between those who had experienced physical or psychological abuse in childhood or adulthood and those who had no adverse experiences. These findings suggest that the violent behaviour by females leads more often to the death of the victim, when the victim is closely related to the perpetrator. The commonly-held view that violent female offending occurs primarily as a consequence of precipitation by the victim was not supported.     

Rape victim and perpetrator blame and the Just World hypothesis: The influence of victim gender and age

Abstract

Victims of rape are sometimes blamed for the assaults against them. Research has examined primarily female victims; much less is known about men as victims and whether victim age affects attributions of victim blame. Furthermore, the study investigated the effects of Belief in a Just World (BJW) on blame attributions. Employing a vignette-type experimental study with a 2 (gender of participant)×2 (victim's gender)×2 (victim's age)×2 (participant BJW score) between-subjects design and several measures of blame attributions towards victim and perpetrator as dependent variables, a community sample (n = 164) participated. The main results were as hypothesised, namely that young male victims were attributed more blame, particularly by participants scoring high on BJW. Overall, victim blame level was low and perpetrator blame was high, and BJW was a powerful predictor of blame attributions.     

刑事和解“反悔”行为的认定与处理——兼议刑事和解协议的审查标准

刑事和解在实施过程中存在着加害人与被害人达成协议后反悔的情况,此时如何发现当事人达成和解的真实意思表示,成为司法机关具体认定原有刑事和解协议效力及其履行行为的关键,由此延伸出司法机关审查刑事和解协议的一般标准,具体包括加害人与被害人对和解的后果是否"明知"、对事实的认知是否同一、加害人是否作有罪答辩并真诚悔过、协议的达成是否基于加害人与被害人的自愿、对被害人的经济赔偿是否体现加害人的悔罪意思、和解协议是否注意关注了被害人的精神需要等。     

Perceptions of victims and perpetrators in a depicted child sexual abuse case: gender and age factors

This study investigated the roles of respondent, perpetrator, and victim gender on attributions toward a 10- or 15-year-old victim and an adult perpetrator in a hypothetical sexual abuse case. It was predicted (a) that female respondents would be more provictim and antiperpetrator than men, (b) that 10-year-old victims would be deemed more credible than 15-year-olds, and (c) that men would deem a 15-year-old male victim more culpable when child sexual abuse is perpetrated by a female abuser. Three hundred thirty-seven respondents read a 350-word sexual abuse depiction in which victim age, victim gender, and perpetrator gender were varied between respondents. Respondents then completed a 14-item attribution scale, relating to victim blame, perpetrator blame, assault severity, and victim credibility. A series of ANOVAs revealed support for all predictions. Results are discussed in relation to gender role attitudes. Suggestions for future work also considered.     

The scope of sexual victimization in Germany

This study examined the sexual victimization of 309 female students in Germany. The results indicate that the majority of the subjects have been victims of minor offenses and that a minority of subjects was severely victimized. As to the relation of victim and perpetrator, the milder offenses are more likely to be committed by strangers. In contrast, the most serious offenses are more likely to be committed by perpetrators with a close relation to the victim. It was also investigated whether the perception of being victimized correlates with the subjects' gender-role orientation and their health problems.     

The impact of extralegal factors on perceived credibility of child victims of sexual assault

ABSTRACT

The study examined the impact of victim age, victim gender, and perpetrator gender, across five domains of witness credibility: accuracy, believability, competency, reliability and truthfulness. The study also investigated which of these sub-constructs is the best predictor of guilt. 231 adult lay-people completed a survey measuring perceived credibility. Victim age emerged as having the most consistent effect, with the 5- and 10-year-old victims rated as more credible than the 15-year-old victim. Despite their legal incapacity to consent to sex, 15-year-old victims appear to be viewed as ‘quasi-adults’. Victims were rated as more accurate and truthful when the defendant was male compared to when the defendant was female. This may be due to the availability heuristic, as cases involving female defendants are less common. A significant main effect for victim gender was found for the competency sub-construct, such that males were rated as more competent than females. This result suggests that gendered attitudes and stereotypes may begin in childhood and extend to complainants of sexual assault. Main effects for accuracy and truthfulness, were qualified by three-way interaction effects. The five-factor model of perceived credibility accounted for 42% of variance in guilt perceptions, with truthfulness emerging as the strongest predictor of guilt.     

How Much Does Effortful Thinking Underlie Observers’ Reactions to Victimization?

From blaming to helping innocent victims, just-world research has revealed that observers react to victimization in a variety of ways. Recent research suggests that such responses to victimization require effortful thought, whereas other research has shown that people can react to these situations intuitively. Along with manipulating just-world threat, across seven experiments, we manipulated or measured participants’ level of mental processing before assessing judgments of victim derogation, blame, willingness to help, and ultimate justice reasoning. The effect of just-world threat on these responses held constant over a range of manipulations/measures, suggesting that the processes involved in maintaining a belief in a just world are not restricted to the rational, deliberative level of mental processing but also occur intuitively.     

PEDOPHILIA

Sex offenses against children are considered the worst of crimes, even among criminals themselves. Attitudes have changed from blaming the victim to holding the perpetrator responsible for the actions. The prevalence of such offenses continues unabated despite the stigma for the offender and the irreparable trauma to the victim. Society and the medical and legal communities have to present a more feasible definition of the problem, addressing specifically the acts that fall under the term of pedophilia . A plan needs to be formulated by various disciplines working together for the common goal of identifying the most effective method to deal with the victims and perpetrator and also to lower the incidence and recidivism rates. Different psychological and biological tests have been devised for investigations but fall short of the desired purpose. Various treatment modalities have been suggested and tried, but much work still needs to be done in that area.     

Classification Systems for Stalking Behavior

Stalking is a complex behavioral phenomenon that is unique in that it necessarily involves a prolonged dyadic relationship between both a perpetrator and a victim. Since criminalization of stalking behavior in the 1990s, different conceptual typologies have attempted to classify this behavior to assess risk and aid in management decisions. The authors reviewed the current literature regarding the most recent and accepted stalking classification systems. The three predominant stalker typologies currently in use include Zona's stalker–victim types, Mullen's stalker typology, and the RECON stalker typology. Of these, the RECON classification system alone was developed in an attempt to separate stalkers into groups based on previously known risk factors for behaviorally based phenomenon such as propensity for violence. Understanding and simplifying these classification systems may enhance the potential that new research will lead to evidence‐based management and treatment strategies in the stalking situation.