NECESSARY MEASURES AND LOGISTICS TO MAXIMIZE THE SAFETY OF VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ATTENDING PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS

This article suggests measures that should be taken to ensure, as much as possible, the safety of victims of domestic violence. Because victims and perpetrators of domestic violence will inevitably be attendees at parent education programs, such programs must be sensitive to the safety concerns of these victims. Only when victims of domestic violence are safe will their children be safe and able to benefit from what their parents learn at these education programs. This article concludes that, by weaving common-sense logistical, administrative, and curricular recommendations into the fabric of every parent education program, the safety of victims and children will be prioritized as it must be, while all attendees still receive the maximum benefit from these valuable programs.     

The Limits of European-ness: Immigrant women in Fortress Europe

This article is intended to contribute to the ongoing debate on the ideological, social and political formation of a New Europe. By focusing on the position of immigrant women it examines the gendered nature of the changing configurations of cultural and social European landscapes. Two features of immigrant women's positioning are the key issues of this analysis: regulations through national and European law and ideological representation. It is argued that the debate on European citizenship should be closely linked to the question of formal and substantive and also of symbolic rights. Moreover, feminists, when using the concept of difference in this context, should be aware of the power structures underlying differentiated social positions in society. European-ness will lose its exclusive character only if it provides a solid place in the symbolic order of Europe for immigrants.     

Amnesia and responsibility following brain concussion. A study of 70 patients

Hit- and run traffic accidents frequently occur because an intention to hide drunkenness. Later, the accused claims that he or she had amnesia due to concussion at the time of accident and what followed. In most cases, the question arises as to whether it is the truth or just a story to protect the defendant from punishment. To study this question, 70 patients (39 male, 31 female) were interrogated. They were asked about the duration of their amnesia and their ability to recall their own actions, or what they had been told. In 80% of the persons examined there was only a short period of amnesia (less than 30 min). Of 12 cases with a longer period of amnesia, 7 were also intoxicated from alcohol (one case had a concentration of 3.1%). In only one person suffering from concussion could it definitely be proved that the actions taking place long after the accident, were usually not comparable with evidence given in court.     

Morphometric assessment of testicular changes in drug-related fatalities

Testicular sections of 50 deceased drug addicts were examined by light microscopy using morphometric methods and determining the extent of spermatogenesis by application of the Johnsen score count. Twenty cases of violent death served as reference sample. The study was aimed at obtaining data about the degree of germinal gland damage following the duration of the individual drug career, which was correlated to the histologic findings. Progressively reduced maturation of germinal cells, decrease of tubular diameter and height of sperm-producing epithelium were found the longer the individual case history has been. The results clearly indicated a substantial impairment of male fertility in the course of a drug career, but etiology seems to be multifactorial, since most of the deceased were polytoxicomanic and more than 40% were under the influence of alcohol at the time of death. Testicular damage is obviously a sequel of long-lasting abuse and a very complex process, presumably progressing with the duration of the adverse habit.     

British Trials of Irish Nationalist Defendants: The Quality of Justice Strained

In what came to be controversial cases in the 1970s, British courts convicted individuals involved with IRA bombing campaigns and sent them to prison. The Guildford Four, Maquire Seven, and Birmingham Six were all convicted with faulty evidence and/or coerced confessions. Obtaining convictions for the bombings was important for the British government and British public opinion, since the guilty persons were caught and punished. There are few indications, however, that the government as a matter of policy decided to convict and imprison innocent people in order to mollify the public and achieve other political objectives. The original convictions were miscarriages of justice but not government policy. The delay in rectifying the original convictions, however, displayed more concern about potential negative effects for the political system if judicial errors were admitted.     

Fatal bicycle accidents--causes and legal responsibility

Ninety-nine bicycle and motorcycle accidents were analyzed that had taken place from 1980 to 1984 in and around Frankfurt on the Main. The postmortem examinations were done in the Center of Forensic Medicine at the University of Frankfurt. Twenty-five percent of the bicycle riders were children up to the age of 15 years and 25% were elderly people over the age of 60. Most of the people involved in motorcycle accidents were between 17 and 24 years of age. The greatest amount of accidents took place in the summer, but in October there was also a peak. On weekdays, Thursday was the day when most of the accidents happened and Sunday showed the least. About 50% of the bicycle accidents happened in the city; 44% of the motorcyclists had lethal accidents on normal roads in the country. The most dangerous situation for bicycle riders was created by fast vehicles following them, but intersections proved to be a danger point, too. Nearly 40% of the motorcycle accidents were not caused by other vehicles. The most frequent cause of death was head injuries (45%), followed by injuries of the internal organs and spine. Many bicycle riders caused the accidents themselves (43.6%). Most of the fatal motorcycle accidents were caused by others (56%). In all of the cases studied, 30% of the participants involved had a relevant blood-alcohol concentration.