Intimate partner violence and miscarriage: examination of the role of physical and psychological abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder

Despite research documenting high rates of violence during pregnancy, few studies have examined the impact of physical abuse, psychological abuse, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on miscarriage. Secondary analysis of data collected by the Chicago Women's Health Risk Study permitted an exploration of the relationships among physical abuse, psychological abuse, PTSD, and miscarriage among 118 primarily ethnic minority women. The interaction between maximum severity of abuse and age provided the best multivariate predictor of miscarriage rate, accounting for 26.9% of the variance between live birth and miscarriage outcome. Mean scores of psychological abuse, physical violence, forced sex, and PTSD were significantly higher in the miscarriage group than in the live birth group. Women who experience physical violence and psychological abuse during pregnancy may be at greater risk for miscarriage. Prospective studies can confirm findings and determine underlying mechanisms. Routine screening for traumatic stress and PTSD may reduce rates of miscarriage.     

Stateless Crimes,Legitimacy, and International Criminal Law: The Case of Organ Trafficking

Organ trafficking and trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ transplantation are recognized as significant international problems. Yet these forms of trafficking are largely left out of international criminal law regimes and to some extent of domestic criminal law regimes as well. Trafficking of organs or persons for their organs does not come within the jurisdiction of the ICC, except in very special cases such as when conducted in a manner that conforms to the definitions of genocide or crimes against humanity. Although the United States Code characterizes trafficking as “a transnational crime with national implications,” (22 U.S.C. § 7101(b)(24) (2010)), trafficking is rarely prosecuted in domestic courts. It has thus functioned in practice largely as what might be judged a “stateless” offense, out of the purview of both international and national courts. Yet these forms of organ trafficking remain widespread—and devastating to those who are its victims. In this article, we begin by describing what is known about the extent of organ trafficking and trafficking in persons for the purpose of removal of organs. We then critically evaluate how and why such trafficking has remained largely unaddressed by both international and domestic criminal law regimes. This state of affairs, we argue, presents a missed chance for developing the legitimacy of international criminal law and an illustration of how far current international legal institutions remain from ideal justice.     

Reinventing Government: The Case of National Service

When Bill Clinton embraced national service as one of his administration's priorities, he took a step forward on two of his key initiatives. Not only was national service a new initiative in its own right, but Clinton also held it up as a model of his efforts to reinvent government. It would be an exemplar of government that is catalytic, competitive, decentralized, and results oriented. This case study examines the theory and reality of reinvention. The Corporation for National Service and its programs have come under fire for being more political than catalytic, being simultaneously too centralized and too decentralized, and pursuing too many unclear goals. This article seeks to identify discontinuities between the rhetoric and the reality of reinvention in this instance and draw lessons for public-sector reform.     

The use of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in assessing offenders

The intersection between the legal and mental health professions is sometimes marked by controversy, and the application of psychological assessments to forensic issues is no exception. However, the field of psychological assessment holds particular promise for clarifying decision making within the forensic arena, as it can bring a particularly well-established body of theory and data to bear upon clinical forensic practice. This article describes one psychometric instrument, the Personality Assessment Inventory, as an example of how particular assessment instruments can help inform this process.     

False papers and family fictions: household responses to ‘gift children’ born to Indonesian women during transnational migration

When parents pursue transnational labour migration, challenges arise around ensuring the social belonging of children, especially ‘gift children’ who are conceived or born abroad as a result of out-of-wedlock relationships or sexual assault. Families we interviewed in Lombok, Indonesia, displayed complex social ingenuity to ensure the gift child’s social belonging. Caregivers described how they address discrimination by manipulating and falsifying family histories in identity documents, including census forms and birth registration. These family strategies drive home the local role of identity documents as a tool to enhance belonging rather than as proof of legal identity. We spotlight the time lag between birth and obtaining an official birth record as a crucial space in creating ‘citizenship from below’ in communities with high out-migration and low birth registration rates.     

Advocates for hire: How government contracting shapes politics

Many public services in the United States are administered through non-state actors, many of which are nonprofits with broad social missions. Some scholars show that contracting these organizations can compromise their broader goals and political activities, while others find that such arrangements empower the organizations to engage in advocacy and influence policy. We argue that not only can contracting strengthen nonprofits' capacities to engage in politics and advance their missions, but it can mobilize political activity among those working for and engaging with the nonprofits. We use the case of Teach For America (TFA) and an instrumental variable approach that leverages plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of TFA's arrival in states to show that contracting TFA is related with the arrival of new education reform advocacy groups spearheaded by TFA alumni. This, in addition to TFA's direct efforts, leads to the passage of reform policies—especially charter school laws.