The right to choose to die with dignity

Advances in medical science have done much to improve the quality of life but in some cases medical treatment may result in the prolonging of death rather than the enhancement of life. Patients may wish to refuse or withdraw from medical treatment even though they realise that this will lead to an early death. Medical attendants may, however, see it as their legal or ethical duty to impose medical treatment in the interest of preserving life. At a broad level two crucial interests come into headlong conflict--the patient's right to self-determination and society's interest in the preservation of human life. In this article the legal principles which are invoked to resolve this conflict both at common law and under recent Victorian legislation, the Medical Treatment Act 1988, are discussed and the thesis advanced that, in relation to competent patients, the law favours the right to self-determination.     

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.     

The Police Reporting Behavior of Intimate Partner Violence Victims

In the current research, we draw on Canadian national data to examine the police reporting decisions of married and cohabiting intimate partner violence victims. Our analyses examine how police notification decisions are influenced by the demographic characteristics of victims and incident-specific factors. We find that the victims who contact the police more often live in a cohabiting relationship and with children. In contrast to predictions, we find that visible minority women more often call the police. Income, education, and employment status do not appear to shape the police reporting decisions of women. Finally, women who call the police are also likely to have experienced severe forms of violence including threats with weapons, injury, and the destruction of their property.     

The Human Rights Act 1998 and the individual's right to treatment

The right to demand treatment--even when life-saving--is not recognised by English common law. The courts have consistently stated that they do not have the jurisdiction to order a doctor to perform a particular treatment. This article considers whether the impending Human Rights Act 1998 can be interpreted so as to allow this right. While a general right to treatment is discussed the argument focuses on life-saving treatment. As an illustration, the David Glass case will be analysed and the impact of the Human Rights Act will be examined by considering how the judgment might have differed had the Act been in force.     

莫妮卡:既是天使,又是斗士

从南欧的波斯尼亚到非洲的刚果,莫妮卡·豪瑟尔(Monica Hauser)在世界各地竭尽全力帮助那些被社会遗忘的受害者——因战争冲突而遭受性暴力摧残的女性。由于她非凡的工作,著名的美国《读者文摘》将其评为该杂志"2011年欧洲年度人物"。     

我们有权选择死亡吗? ──对"安乐死"的法理学思考

随着荷兰“安乐死”法案的通过，关于“安乐死”问题的争论日趋激烈，仁智各见。本文拟从法理学的角度对“安乐死”提出个人的反对意见，并进行了较为严谨的论证。     

High Risk Behaviors Among Victims of Sibling Violence

Despite the fact that sibling abuse has been documented as the most common form of intrafamilial abuse, it has been largely overlooked. Using data from the 2007 Delaware Secondary School Student Survey (N = 8,122), this paper focuses on four objectives: to estimate prevalence of sibling abuse, examine the relationship between sibling violence and high risk behaviors such as substance use, delinquency and aggression, explore the interplay of sibling abuse and other forms of family violence in predicting high risk behaviors, and test theory. Results suggest that sibling violence occurs more frequently than other forms of child abuse. Results also confirm that sibling violence is significantly related to substance use, delinquency, and aggression. These effects remain significant after controlling for other forms of family violence. The data suggest support for feminist theory and social learning theory.     

Coping Among Adult Female Victims of Domestic Violence

This paper examines the current literature regarding coping among battered women. It considers a number of contextual factors that are related to women's choices in coping with partner abuse, including factors related to the relationship (e.g., frequency and severity of abuse, length of relationship) and women's resources (e.g., social support, financial resources). Relationships between different forms of coping and psychological outcomes are also examined. As the research in domestic violence coping is somewhat lacking in coherence, theories, and models from the broader coping literature are used to organize the findings from the domestic violence field. Methodological concerns, such as research methods, measurement issues, and sampling, are raised throughout the paper. Suggestions for future research are made.     

Intimate Partner Violence: Victims’ Opinions About Going to Trial

Criminal justice officials assume that intimate partner violence victims oppose filing charges against their abusers. In a study of 94 respondents, reluctance actually occurred with the prospect of going to trial. While 70% supported filing charges, only 37% wanted a trial. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses help explain the reasons women gave for their opinions about trials. The strongest quantitative predictor was that as the level of the victim’s injury sustained from the crime increased, their support for a trial increased. Gondolf and Fisher’s (1988) survivor theory predicted factors that influenced victims’ support or opposition to a trial in the quantitative section. The nested ecological model explained approximately half of the open-ended responses to those opposing trials while the goals of sentencing model articulated most victims’ support for trials.     

Rural Versus Urban Victims of Violence: The Interplay of Race and Region

This paper examines individuals who were victims of domestic violence in Illinois between 1990 and 1995, comparing the traits and service needs of those who received assistance in an urban county over the 5-year period with those who were served by domestic violence programs in rural areas. Analysis focuses on the demographic characteristics of clients in each region, their relationship to the abuser, type of abuse, referral source, and need for both concrete and supportive services. In addition to looking at variations by region, analysis examines differences between African American and White clients within and across geographic areas so that the interaction of race and location is highlighted. Results indicate that apart from demographic differences related to race, there is little difference in the circumstances of abuse when victims in the urban region are compared to rural victims of violence. However, those in rural environments regardless of race, have more service needs. Differences in service needs also exist in relation to race, and for some services, both race and location are important. The implications of these findings for policy, practice, and future research are examined.     

Intimidation and Street Gangs: Understanding the Response of Victims and Bystanders to Perceived Gang Violence

While research routinely examines the influence of gang membership on the quantity of violent crime involvement, less is known about the influence of gang violence on the situational characteristics of violent victimization. Felson’s discussion of street gangs highlights the possible functional role gang membership plays in the commission of violent crime; what he terms “the street gang strategy.” This study examines the functionality of gang membership during violent crimes by investigating the influence of perceived gang membership on the likelihood of victim resistance, bystander intervention, and police reporting using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey. Findings offer little support for the idea that gang members intimidate victims and bystanders to the extent that their behavior during and after violence differs systematically from responses resulting from non‐gang violence. Results are discussed in terms of their policy relevance and implications for future research.     

Evaluating the Efficacy of Protection Orders for Victims of Domestic Violence

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to gauge the efficacy of protection orders for victims of domestic violence. The theoretical basis for this analysis is Johnson's (1995) theory that there exist two distinct forms of domestic violence: “common couple violence,” which consists of low-grade, mild abuse that is equally perpetrated by both men and women, and “patriarchal terrorism,” which involves severe mental and physical abuse that is used primarily by men to control their female partners. Based on Johnson's theory, it is hypothesized that protection orders will be less effective for women who experience patriarchal terrorism than for women who experience common couple violence. The results of this analysis indicate that the primary independent variable, that is, whether a woman experiences common couple violence or patriarchal terrorism, is not a good predictor of protection order violation. However, several secondary independent variables were found to be significant, including victim's race and employment status, as well as the couple's living arrangements at the time of the protection order.