Sex differences in the experience of child sexual victimization

This study analyzed 390 (303 girls and 87 boys) cases of child sexual abuse to understand sex differences in child sexual victimization. Analyses focused on three domains that have received considerable empirical attention: victims' relationships with the offender, type and extent of abuse, and disclosure. Findings largely replicated previous efforts that reported sex differences in terms of victims' relationships with offenders. Although results also replicated previous findings about sex differences in disclosure patterns, these sex differences were minor in comparison with similarities in the way most instances of abuse were eventually identified. In terms of type and extent of abuse, results were the opposite of previous findings: girls, not boys, were the victims of more physical injury, violent threats, and use of force; and girls, not boys, were more likely to have physically resisted abuse. Divergences in findings were interpreted in terms of memory biases and social forces operating differently on the sexes.     

指纹鉴定人员对现场指印认知能力的研究

指纹鉴定主要是解决检材指印与样本指印是否为同一人所遗留问题,其鉴定意见是法定证据形式之一,关系着被检验对象是否有犯罪嫌疑,责任重大。指纹鉴定人员根据指纹鉴定方法与标准,结合从业经验对指印进行分析与比较,并最终给出鉴定意见,在此过程中,对现场指印的分析是否客观及准确,直接影响后续比对检验、综合评断及得出的意见。本文重点针对指纹鉴定人员在指印分析阶段的细节特征选择、信息判断等问题进行研究,邀请106家指纹鉴定机构参加4组指纹的测试,实验使用一款基于网络的指纹鉴定分析系统,记录每个机构在指纹鉴定中的工作过程,并使用统计学R软件对实验数据进行统计与分析。实验结果显示,不同的指纹鉴定机构之间做出判断与评估的准确性存在一定的差异,指纹鉴定人员点取特征的稳定性、选取特征的数量与现场手印质量之间存在显著关联。     

Nonmetric sex determination from the distal and posterior humerus in black and white South Africans

The successful identification of human skeletal remains relies on proven diagnostic techniques for sex determination. This research utilized 608 individuals from South Africa (420 men, 188 women) to conduct a blind nonmetric determination of sex from three features of the distal humerus: olecranon fossa shape, angle of the medial epicondyle, and trochlear extension. A scoring system between males and females was implemented, and the aggregate score of the three features determined the estimated sex of the skeletal element in question. With all features combined, black and white South Africans were categorized successfully as either male or female 75.5% (77% accuracy rate for females, 74% accuracy rate for males). This classification rate is lower than what was found in previous studies, but suggests that characteristics of the distal humerus are still quite valuable when estimating skeletal sex. More research is needed to assess reasons for the differential expression of these traits in different populations and to determine whether the method is nonpopulation specific.     

布料上掌纹的真空镀膜显现及DNA检验的研究

目的探究布料载体上潜掌纹经真空镀膜显现后,掌纹DNA提取相关影响因素与检出基因座数目的关系。方法分别进行出汗手与无汗手掌纹按压,放置不同时间;对提取的掌纹DNA进行定量检测;比较白色与黑色布料载体基因座数目检出情况。结果掌纹基因座数目检出随时间延长而递减,出汗手组基因座数目检出高于无汗手组,rfu值600时,基因座数目检出百分比90%,模板量阈值为0.013ng。同一提取方法白布基因座数目检出高于黑布,布料色素抑制PCR扩增,致使基因座检出数目减少。结论真空镀膜技术能够很好地应于掌纹DNA的检测。     

Prevalence and Processing of Child Sexual Abuse: A Multi-Data-Set Analysis of Urban and Rural Counties

This study investigated how contextual factors affect the processing of child sexual abuse cases, from reporting to sentencing. We analyzed three types of data: (a) data compiled by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape from monthly reports by all rape crisis centers in the state; (b) data from the Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth, and Families; and (c) sentencing data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. Results indicated that aggregate rates of reporting, substantiation, and sentencing were affected by county levels of expenditure. In addition, reporting and substantiation were affected by county-level factors, such that rural counties, counties with a higher percentage of individuals living below the poverty level, counties with higher expenditures, and counties with a higher percentage of stranger assaults had higher rates of child sexual abuse reporting.     

从足底压力分布看步法特征的可靠性

利用比利时FootScan压力传感器,对154名年龄在18至55岁之间的健康男性赤足正常行走时的足底压力数据进行提取,以运动生理学、运动生物力学及足迹步法特征理论为基础,用数理统计学方法对足迹压力数据进行了计算分析,对步法特征形成不同时期足与承受客体相互间的作用过程和作用方式进行深入、系统、定量的研究,进而对步法特征的传统理论进行验证,阐明了对步法特征理论中未经过科学验证部分的认识,并对步法特征理论中各类特征的可靠性及特征价值进行了初步的探讨,为今后的足迹步法特征检验鉴定工作和步法特征的发展完善都提供了有力的依据。     

Who do you believe? Assessing student and community member perceptions of bystander and victim witnesses

ABSTRACT

Eyewitness identifications provide critical evidence as they are often persuasive to jurors, but documented misidentifications have led to wrongful convictions . Researchers have examined how jurors evaluate multiple eyewitnesses, but not different types of eyewitnesses, such as bystanders and victims. Additionally, none of this research has examined jurors’ ability to evaluate bystander and victim identifications that vary in quality. Two studies examined student and community members’ perceptions of bystander and victim witnesses. Study 1 participants read about a good or poor-quality identification made by a bystander or victim. Study 2 participants read about both bystander and victim identifications that varied in quality. Both studies found jurors were sensitive to identification quality as demonstrated by a variety of legal decisions, including verdict, though the quality of a second identification in Study 2 did not change any legal decisions. Multiple differences between student and community member samples emerged across both studies suggesting that community members are more likely to trust witnesses and convict. Reliance on student samples may overestimate jurors’ ability to evaluate multiple eyewitnesses and underestimate the likelihood of conviction based on flawed eyewitness evidence.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Adult Sexual Perpetration

Empirical findings indicate that many adult sexual offenders experienced sexual abuse during childhood. It has been suggested that characteristics of offenders' sexual perpetrating behaviors may resemble their own victimization experiences, although there has been minimal empirical investigation in this area. The purpose of the present study was to provide preliminary data on the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and characteristics of sexual offending behavior. A sample of adult male sexual offenders with histories of sexual abuse completed the Sexual Victimization Survey as well as a measure on their sexual offenses. Such characteristics as the nature of sexual activities, duration and frequency of experiences, and age and relationship of participants were examined. Results showed trends in the hypothesized direction and revealed a variety of similarities between childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual perpetration. Findings of this exploratory study suggest the importance of addressing the nature of victimization in the treatment of sexually abused boys and offenders with histories of sexual abuse.     

宽容与不容:现代社会法对性调整的特点与趋势——以性权利为视角的考察

现代社会的性法律规范应该以性权利为本位,关怀人性,尊重合意,反对暴力,宽容多元,努力实现性的自由、独立和解放,这正是现代社会性法律规范的发展历程和基本走向。在这一过程中,法对性自由的拓展、对性权利的确认和保护实际是从两个途径来实现的:宽容和不容,即法对待不妨碍他人的性行为日益宽容,对待侵犯他人的性行为日益严厉。这具体表现为:人们裸露的空间得以增加,婚前、婚外性行为得到默许,色情物品得以解禁,各种异常性行为获得接受;而法对性侵犯的规制愈加严密,对未成年人的性保护愈加臻备。     

Y-STRs in forensic medicine: DNA analysis in semen samples of azoospermic individuals

ABSTRACT: The incidence of rape has increased, especially in metropolitan areas, such as the city of São Paulo. In Brazil, studies about it have shown that the majority of this type of crime is committed by the relatives and persons close to the victim. This has made the crime more difficult to be denounced, as only 10% of the cases are reported to competent police authorities. Usually, cytological exams are carried out in sex crime investigations. The difficulty in showing the presence of spermatozoa is frequent, but it does not exclude the presence of male DNA. The absence of spermatozoa in material collected from rape victims can be due to several factors, including the fact that the agressor suffers from azoospermia. This condition can be the result of a successful vasectomy. As the majority of DNA in the ejaculation sample is from spermatozoa, there is much less DNA to be analyzed. This study presents the application of Y‐STRs (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, and DYS393) in DNA analysis of sperm samples from 105 vasectomized men. The study demonstrated a great variation in DNA concentration. DNA extraction and amplification was possible in all sperm samples even in the absence of spermatozoa. The same profile was observed, for each individual, from DNA extracted from blood, pre‐ and postvasectomy semen samples. The use of markers specific for Y chromosome in sex crime cases, especially in the absence of spermatozoa, is very important, mainly because in most situations there is a small quantity of the agressor's DNA in the medium and a large quantity of the victim's DNA.     

Morphologic patterns of lip prints in a portuguese population: a preliminary analysis

Lip prints are thought to have the ability to distinguish individuals and, hence, have a potential use in human identification purposes. However, questions remain regarding their utility for sex determination. This study aimed to classify lip prints for different individuals in a Portuguese population and to determine whether sex differences exist. Lip prints of 25 females and 25 males were obtained using dark-colored lipstick and cellophane tape. Lip prints were analyzed using a magnifying lens and classified according to the Suzuki and Tsuchihashi classification. A Type II pattern was found to be most common. A comparison of lip-print patterns between males and females showed results with a statistically significant difference: Type III pattern was most common in males, and a Type II pattern in females. This study corroborates the hypothesis that lip prints are able to distinguish individuals and may be useful in sex determination.     

Do Trained Dogs Discriminate Individual Body Odors of Women Better than Those of Men?*

Scent identification lineups using dogs are a potentially valuable forensic tool, but have been dismissed by some critics because of cases where a false identification was shown to have occurred. It is not known, however, why dogs appear to make more false indications to the odors of some persons than of others. In this study, human genders were compared as to the degree their individual odors are distinguishable or "attractive" to dogs. Six dogs were trained to smell an individual's hand odor sample and then find the matching hand odor sample in a lineup of five odors. Using one-gender lineups and two-gender lineups with different gender ratios, it was found that dogs trained for the study identified individual women's hand odors more accurately than those of men. It is hypothesized that this is either because of differences in chemical compounds making discrimination of women's odors easier, or because of greater "odor attractiveness" of women's scents to dogs.     

The relationship between adverse childhood experiences,coping using sex,and adult sexual coercion in non-incarcerated,community-based females

ABSTRACT

Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with negative outcomes in adulthood, including sexual offending. Using a cross-sectional design, we investigated whether self-reported adverse childhood experiences related to the perpetration of coercive sexual acts among 250 females recruited from the community. Furthermore, we examined whether sexualised coping mediated any potential relationship between childhood experiences and sexual coercion. A Spearman’s rank order correlation revealed no relationship between adverse childhood experiences and sexual coercion. However, adverse childhood experiences were significantly correlated with sexualised coping, which in turn was correlated with sexual coercion. Additionally, there was a significant but small indirect effect of adverse childhood experiences on sexual coercion through sexualised coping. Findings may help researchers to better understand the causal relationship between childhood experiences, sexual coping, and sexual coercion in females.     

Marshall and barbaree's integrated theory of child sexual abuse: A Critique

Abstract

The aim of the current article is to critically examine an extremely influential multi-factorial theory of child molestation, Marshall and Barbaree's (1990) integrated theory. This powerful model was developed as a general theory of sexual offending and used to explain the onset of child sexual abuse in addition to other forms of sexual deviance. Despite its prominent status the adequacy of its basic ideas have never been systematically evaluated. First, I describe the integrated theory in detail and outline its core assumptions. Next, these ideas are subject to critical analysis and I highlight its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, I conclude with some brief comments about the model and the role of theory development in the sexual offending area.