Sexual predators and prey: a comparative study of the hunting behavior of rapists and child molesters

Although there has been an increase in research on sex offenders' modus operandi, geographic decision making, and hunting behavior, most studies still tend to emphasize criminal motivation while overlooking the role of situational and environmental factors. Studies of mixed samples of rapists and child molesters typically neglect to conduct comparative analyses. Consequently, the full nature of their distinction is not clear. This is particularly problematic for the understanding of crossover or polymorphous sex offenders, who target victims from various age groups. Using a sample of 216 incarcerated sexual offenders, hunting behavior patterns were identified and tested to establish which hunting behavior patterns were associated with each type of offender. Relationships between modus operandi, geographic decision making, and hunting behavior were also examined. Three types of offender were identified: (a) manipulative; (b) opportunist; and (c) coercive. The manipulative offender is typically a child molester. The coercive offender is typically a rapist. The opportunist offender includes both rapists and child molesters. These findings emphasize the relevance of polymorphous, crossover, or versatile sex offenders and suggest new ways of conceptualizing sex offenders and their study.     

Behold the shut-eyed sentry!

Whistleblowers, employees of conscience who report on wrongdoing, integrate into their socially useful role one of exposing institutional torpor and bureaucratic incompetence in those official structures responsible for the investigation and correction of wrongdoing. This paper reports on the finding from Australia's largest study into whistleblowers. It shows a crisis of competence in the official capacity of government structures to respond effectively to disclosures made in the public interest.     

Personality Disorder Symptoms in Women as a Result of Chronic Intimate Male Partner Violence

This study explores the personality disorder symptoms of women victims of intimate male partner violence (IPV), after controlling for the contribution of experiences of childhood abuse. Victims of both physical and psychological violence (n = 73) or psychological violence alone (n = 53) were compared with non-abused control women (n = 52). Information about sociodemographic characteristics, childhood abuse, and personality characteristics (MCMI-II) was obtained through face-to-face structured interviews. Women victims of IPV had higher scores than controls in schizoid, avoidant, self-defeating personality scales, as well as in the three pathological personality scales (schizotypal, borderline and paranoid). Both physical and psychological IPV were strongly associated with personality disorder symptomatology, regardless of the effects of childhood abuse. These findings underscore the need to screen for personality disorder symptoms in women victims of IPV when dealing with therapeutic interventions.     

Liability for the Escape of GM Seeds: Pursuing the ‘Victim’?

The widespread commercial cultivation of GM crops in the EU and the UK is getting closer. Intense concerns about the uncertain health and environmental effects of GM farming have been the subject of high profile debate. The effects of GM farming on existing forms of agriculture, raised by the prospect of cross–pollination by GM seed, provoke similarly polarised views. However, whilst regulatory developments have been strongly influenced by environmental and health concerns, the socio–economic impact of GM agriculture is relatively neglected in current regulatory approaches. The authors examine various possible legal responses to unwanted cross–pollination by GM seed, and contend that the law is likely to struggle to cope with the conflicts that may arise.