Characteristics of court-involved men and non-court-involved men who abuse their wives

The characteristics of court involved (CI) (n=86) and non-court-involved (NCI) men (n=42) who abused their wives and attended a treatment program were investigated. The groups experienced similar childhoods concerning family violence. The NCI men had more years of education, were more likely to be employed full-time, and tended to earn more money than the CI men. The NCI men also had more social support and scored higher on interpersonal problems than the CI men. The CI men were more likely to be separated, more reported drinking during their most recent assaultive occasion. Compared to the norms on the Basic Personality Inventory, both groups scored significantly higher on depression, anxiety, feelings of alienation, hypochondriasis, and impulse expression. CI men had higher denial and social introversion scores and NCI men had higher interpersonal problem scores than the norm. These findings have some implications for the planning of treatment programs.     

‘Supportive Parenting’, Responsibility and Regulation: The Welfare Assessment under the Reformed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (1990)

Section 13(5) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 requires fertility clinics, before offering regulated treatment services, to take account of the welfare of any child who may be born as a result of the treatment and any other child affected by that birth. This paper presents the findings of an empirical study examining the impact on practice of the controversial reform of this section in 2008. While the broad values underpinning section 13(5) appear well embedded in clinic staff's engagement with ethical issues, there is little evidence that practice has been influenced by the 2008 amendments. A complex picture emerged regarding the implementation of section 13(5), particularly in its interaction with other factors, such as funding criteria and professional norms around counselling, implying a higher level of ongoing attention to likely parenting ability – particularly that of single women – than might be expected from a reading of the statute and guidance alone.     

“YFlag” – A Single‐base Extension Primer Based Method for Gender Determination

Assigning the gender of a DNA contributor in forensic analysis is typically achieved using the amelogenin test. Occasionally, this test produces false‐positive results due to deletions occurring on the Y chromosome. Here, a four‐marker “YFlag” method is presented to infer gender using single‐base extension primers to flag the presence (or absence) of Y‐chromosome DNA within a sample to supplement forensic STR profiling. This method offers built‐in redundancy, with a single marker being sufficient to detect the presence of male DNA. In a study using 30 male and 30 female individuals, detection of male DNA was achieved with c. 0.03 ng of male DNA. All four markers were present in male/female mixture samples despite the presence of excessive female DNA. In summary, the YFlag system offers a method that is reproducible, specific, and sensitive, making it suitable for forensic use to detect male DNA.     

Young people,family relationships and civic participation

This article examines young people’s civic participation and the extent to which this is influenced by the family. Although literature on young people’s civic participation is abundant, the role of the family in influencing this participation is largely absent. Drawing on survey data collected from 976 young people aged 13–14 in South Wales, we outline the extent and nature of civic participation and how this varies according to relationships with parents and grandparents. Our data show that relationships with mothers and grandparents are particularly important in young people’s accounts of their participation, suggesting that family is far more important in developing a propensity for engagement in civil society than is commonly understood.     

全球性剥削型人口贩运发案率的评估策略研究

评估性剥削人口贩运在全球的发案数是一项艰巨的任务,由于缺乏统一的措施以及可行的研究方法,关于人口贩运的实证研究非常缺乏,而了解性剥削的人口贩运活动对制定有效的反制措施具有至关重要的作用。根据针对目前已查明的人口贩运案件的深入挖掘和利用受害者收集的一手数据,本文试图提出基于外推法的评估全球性剥削人口贩运的发案数的可行策略。     

‘Couldn't You Have Got a Computer Program to Do That for You?’ Reflections on the Impact that Machines Have on the Ways We Think About and Undertake Qualitative Research in the Socio-Legal Community

This article addresses the role that computer software programs play in the sort of textual analysis that has typically been the preserve of the qualitative researcher. Drawing on two distinct research projects conducted separately by the authors, it considers the transformation of social science software from a competent assistant that can help to sort and retrieve data, to an intelligent assistant capable of independently finding trends and counter-arguments, to a co-investigator capable of doing things that human researchers cannot. In addition to challenging some of the claims of ‘siliconistas’, this article considers the impact of new technology on the aesthetics of research and the professional identity of qualitative researchers. In doing so, it raises some important questions about how well we are training early-career academics for the challenges that they are likely to face in the future world of socio-legal empirical research.     

Sexual fantasy in paedophile offenders: Can any model explain satisfactorily new findings from a study of Internet and contact sexual offenders?

Purpose. There is widespread acceptance that sexual fantasy plays a role in sexual offences but little clarity as the nature of this relationship. This paper seeks to understand better the role of fantasy in offending behaviour through the study of sexual fantasy in Internet child pornography offenders when compared with contact offenders. Differences in the patterns of sexual fantasy associated with the different offender types are explored in order to understand how fantasy content is associated with contact offences with children and desisting from such direct acting out. Methods. Participants were all convicted of child sexual offences and recruited with the help of the probation and prison services. Out of these, 16 were Internet‐only offenders, 25 were contact offenders with no history of Internet offending and 10 were offenders with a mixed contact and Internet offending history. A variety of self‐completion questionnaires including fantasy were completed on an individual basis together with a detailed interview. Results. The most common sexual fantasies were typical adult‐male heterosexual fantasies though a variety of child‐oriented and other fantasies were also common. Contact offenders reported fewer girl‐oriented sexual fantasies although the groups did not differ in terms of terms of boy‐oriented fantasies. There was evidence that confrontational fantasies were commoner among contact offenders than Internet offenders. There are relationships between early sexual experiences and fantasy but peer sexual contacts seemed to be important rather than sexual abuse. Conclusion. Generally, the contact offenders seem to have less sexual fantasy pertinent to their offending than did Internet offenders. Fantasy deficit may be involved in contact offending against children.