Negotiating a Victim Identity: Young Men as Victims of Violence

This article is based on an interview study of how 10 young male crime victims talk about violent events and actors involved. It focuses on how the young men present their identities as ‘young men’ who have been victims of violent crimes. In their narrations the men struggle with a cultural understanding that ‘masculinity’ is associated with strength and power, while ‘victim’ is associated with weakness and impotence. During the interviews the young men actualize several balancing acts in their presentation of themselves as men and victims in a delicate manner by use of specific word choice, manner of speaking, laughter, etc. The young men are negotiating a victim identity; they portray themselves by careful positioning as both victims and strong, active young men. By this discursive balancing of identities the young men present themselves as manly at the same time as they present themselves as victims. In collaboration with the interviewer the participants negotiate how they want to be known: as ‘victim-worthy’ young men, with associations to a ‘hegemonic manliness’.     

Justice for All: Putting Victims at the Heart of Criminal Justice?

This article considers the claim in the government's White Paper, Justice for All , to put victims and witnesses at the heart of the criminal justice system and argues that there is an unresolved tension within the paper between instrumentalist crime control concerns and intrinsic concerns for the rights of victims and witnesses. It is argued that many of the proposals now contained in the latest Criminal Justice Bill are so preoccupied with rebalancing the system away from offenders that they risk doing injustice to defendants with little tangible benefit to victims and witnesses in terms of rights and remedies.     

刑事被害人救助制度研究

随着国际间对于刑事被害人权利保护的持续关注和日益加强,建立刑事被害人救助制度乃大势所趋,目前国外已陆续建立了刑事被害人救助制度,因此我国亟需建立刑事被害人救助制度。首先阐述刑事被害人救助制度的法理基础,其次对国外刑事被害人救助制度进行比较法的介绍与评价,最后在对刑事被害人救助制度进行实证考察的基础上提出我国构建刑事被害人救助制度的立法建议。     

Transgender Victims and Offenders: Failures of the United States Criminal Justice System and the Necessity of Queer Criminology

The purpose of this article is to highlight the experiences of transgender people within the criminal justice system as both victims and offenders. We contend that queer criminology is both needed and can assist in exploring the experiences of this unique population who face discrimination within the US criminal justice system and who are often ignored within criminological research. The article will provide an overview of transgender people’s general experiences within the criminal justice system and explore influences of cultural stereotypes about transgender people by examining the cases of three transgender victims of violence—Brandon Teena, Gwen Araujo, and Cece McDonald. This article highlights the importance of concepts such as sex, gender, transpanic, transphobia, victim-blaming, and the responses by key players in the criminal justice system (police, courts, and corrections) to transgender victims and offenders.     

Racial Minority Women and Criminal Justice Responses to Domestic Violence

Racialized minority women’s experiences with Canadian specialized criminal justice responses to domestic violence have seldom been documented. Informed by an intersectionality framework, this qualitative study presents the struggles of 14 racial minority women from three Canadian cities and their experiences with the police and criminal court’s response to their partner’s acts of domestic violence. The results focus on how well specialized criminal justice responses address the needs of these women and protect them from further violence. Factors that facilitate or deter these women from approaching the criminal justice system for help are highlighted. The implications of these women’s narratives for criminal justice responses to domestic violence are discussed.     

A Comparison of Civil and Criminal Orders of Protection as Remedies for Domestic Violence Victims in a Midwestern County

Past research has identified many potential advantages of civil protection orders as a means of addressing domestic violence without invoking an official response of the criminal justice system. Using data from a Midwestern county, this exploratory study provides a comparison of civil protection orders with orders of protection that are filed in conjunction with a criminal battering arrest. We examine the demographic characteristics of the respondents/defendants and petitioners/victims, the nature of the abuse leading up to the filing of the protection order, the reasons for filing, the terms of the order, location of the offense, and violations of orders. Our findings reveal many similarities between types of orders, in terms of order stipulations, past abuse histories of petitioners/victims, and respondents/defendants’ likelihood of reoffending. The findings also reveal an important difference in the petitioners’ and victims’ reasons for filing; whereas petitioners in civil cases were more likely to identify emotional abuse as the factor leading up to issuance of the order, victims in criminal cases were more likely to document physical abuse. We discuss these findings in the context of victim preference.     

建议确立刑事被害人援助制度

在我国尚处于理论探索阶段的刑事被害人援助制度,它不仅是一国刑事被害人权利保障实现程 度的反映,也是一国刑事法制文明程度的重要标志。从实现保障人权和惩罚犯罪的刑事诉讼目 的,从实现诉讼公正和诉讼效率的刑事诉讼价值角度考虑,我国有必要设立刑事被害人援助制 度。为此,在整个刑事诉讼过程中,刑事被害人有权从警察、司法、医疗保健、社会服务等人员获 得必要的物质援助、医疗援助和心理援助等。可见,对刑事被害人援助实施机构、援助的内容、方 式、条件和程序等进行研究就显得十分重要。     

The Salvadoran Criminal Justice System

This research analyzes comparative data on offenders, offenses, sentences, and dispositions for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the United States. This paper is based upon a larger research project examining political death and homicide in El Salvador through 1984. The analysis examines the effectiveness of the Salvadoran criminal justice system before and after initiation of Its civil war.

The statistics showed that El Salvador's capacity to investigate homicides and detect murder suspects had improved over the last 10 years or so, whereas its ability and length of time to prosecute, try, sentence, and commit offenders had deteriorated over this same period. Substantial numbers of Salvadoran criminals were apprehended, arrested, tried, sentenced, and incarcerated for routine crimes of violence and property. On the other hand virtually none of the perpetrators of thousands of political murders were apprehended by the Salvadoran Government despite the increase in arrest and sentencing for routine homicides. This may be indicative of a lack of commitment by the Salvadoran Government to deal with political killings by death squads.     

论我国应建立犯罪被害人国家补偿制度

犯罪被害人国家补偿制度是指遭受犯罪侵害的被害人或其近亲属在一定条件下可获得国家提供的经济补偿的法律制度。这一制度在西方国家运行40年来已取得良好的社会效果,为我国提供了可借鉴的有益经验。我国目前的被害人保护立法有严重缺陷,缺乏对犯罪被害人的人文关怀,由此还引发诸多社会问题。在我国建立这一制度是实现正义、保障人权、控制犯罪、完善法制的必要,也是切实可行之策。     

Decision Support Within the Criminal Justice System

The Crown Prosecution Service forms a vital component of the criminal justice system, as the chief organization prosecuting on behalf of the State and therefore the public. This paper highlights those areas where the CPS has attracted most criticism, focusing on sources of inconsistency in decision-making and management practices which may be considered inappropriate in the provision of justice. An example of how new technology could be utilized to improve the service provided by the CPS is presented. This would increase consistency of decision-making by introducing an independent assessment of the 'realistic prospect of conviction' test in the form of a decision support system. The various artificial intelligence tools available are discussed, in addition to a brief summary of why a neural network was felt to be the most suitable for the task under consideration. Preliminary results of a practical test, undertaken using archived data collected from various magistrates'courts are disseminated,together with discussion of the issues raised. Key issues concerning the philosophical and social acceptability of utilizing such a system within the Crown Prosecution Service are addressed by reference to correspondence with representatives of various organizations within the criminal justice system. This method is adopted in order to illustrate problems, both real and perceived, with the notion of utilizing technological support in what is a crucial human process.     

贯彻司法为民彰显人文关怀——关于刑事被害人救助制度若干问题研究

现代刑事被害人国家救助制度源于英国,是体现司法人文关怀的一项重要措施。在我国,现代意义上的刑事被害人救助制度肇始2004年,2009正式建立。随着实践的发展,司法实务部门和理论界对刑事被害人救助制度的研究也不断深入,取得了不少可喜的成果,对一些重大问题的认识也渐趋统一,但对我国刑事被害人救助制度究竟应当如何定位,也就是说我国刑事被害人救助制度的法律属性是什么,还需要进一步明确。作为一项新生事物,我国经济、社会发展的实际情况决定了刑事被害人救助制度在我国的发展必然是一个渐进的过程,短期内不可能期望该制度全面解决刑事被害人所面临的各种困难,因此必须要将刑事被害人救助制度与现行的其他制度结合起来,形成一整套刑事被害人保障机制。     

略论刑事诉讼中的公正与效率——以不起诉制度为范本

现代法治国家,公正与效率无疑是刑事诉讼法追求的两种价值,刑事诉讼的基本制度无不体现着此两种价值的冲突与融合.中德两国的刑事诉讼法均将公正摆在优先于效率的位置,但我国刑事诉讼法却更加突出了实体公正的重要性,忽视了诉讼效率的因素.文章以中德两国的不起诉制度为比较范本,进一步分析刑事诉讼中公正与效率的关系,从而在刑事诉讼的制度构建与实践中实现两者关系的合理定位.     

Male Victims of Domestic Violence

Most studies regarding DV focused mainly on female victims. To gain more insight into the problems male victims encounter, this study investigated the characteristics of this group in the Netherlands. Adult male victims of DV filled out an online questionnaire regarding the characteristics of the abuse (N?=?372). When men are victims of DV, they are physically as well as psychologically abused with the female (ex)-partners often being their perpetrator. The most important reason for men not to report the abuse is the belief the police would not take any action. Our findings suggest society should be aware that men are also victims of DV and feel the need to talk about it and desire support.