“It Happens All the Time”: Women’s Experiences and Normalization of Sexual Harassment in Public Space

This study explored the prevalence of sexual harassment, consequences of harassment, and reasons for not reporting these experiences through a survey among Swedish female university students (N?=?1941). One fourth reported one or more incidents of sexual harassment during the 12 months period prior to the survey. Victims were more often younger and with Swedish-born parents compared with nonvictims. Victimization most frequently occurred at clubs or restaurants and the most frequently reported consequences were anger and worry about being victimized again. Few reported the incidents to the police making this, in part, an invisible problem.     

Recent Supreme Court of Canada rulings on criminal defendants' right to counsel

The Supreme Court of Canada recently issued a trilogy of decisions pertaining to suspects' right to legal representation. These rulings further a major difference between the US and Canadian law: Canadian criminal suspects have far less access to legal counsel than suspects in the USA. This paper summarizes these decisions and draws comparisons between Canadian and the US criminal procedure with respect to a suspect's rights to legal representation. We present preliminary data on Canadian citizens' misunderstanding of criminal suspects' right to counsel and also Canadian legal professionals' opinions about the right to counsel. We recommend empirical investigation of the hypothesis that Canadian suspects are more likely than the US suspects to make false confessions.     

Practice and policy in the UK with children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviours: an analysis and critical review

Abstract

This article considers the trajectory and effectiveness of policy, procedures and practice in the UK since the early 1990s in responding to young people who display problematic and harmful sexual behaviours. It draws on data from three publications in which research, policy and practice in the last 20 years have been reviewed. Key themes raised by Masson and Hackett are revisited including: denial and minimisation; terminology and categorisation; similarities with other young offenders; the child protection and youth justice systems; and assessment and interventions. The authors find that there is improvement in recognition of, and practice in response to, this group of young people, but good practice standards are inconsistently applied. With devolution of political powers, Scotland and Northern Ireland are now embarking on a more strategic response than England. The absence of a public debate and prioritising of primary prevention of child sexual abuse is noted.     

A psychometric comparison of internet and non-internet sex offenders from a community treatment sample

Abstract

This paper compares psychometric test assessments of 39 men convicted of internet sex offences with 39 convicted of contact offences against a specific victim. Higher rates of socially desirable responding were identified in the internet group, as well as higher rates of emotional loneliness and under assertiveness, although the latter two findings were not statistically significant. This group also achieved lower scores measuring external locus of control, which might reflect their generally higher levels of education and employment (identified from research carried out in tandem with this work). The internet group achieved lower scores on sexualized attitudes towards children, emotional congruence with children and empathy distortions with regard to victims of child abuse. Hence, although they exhibited the kinds of general personality problems exhibited by other sex offenders, they did not support attitudes that explicitly endorse or condone the sexual abuse of children. This paper presents some hypotheses about these results and identifies further research necessary to develop understanding about this new kind of sexually abusive behaviour.     

Responding to youth sexual offending: a field-based practice model that “closes the gap” on sexual recidivism among Indigenous and non-Indigenous males

Abstract

Most studies that have explored the impact of youth sexual offender treatment on recidivism have not assessed whether effectiveness varies for important subgroups. The present study evaluated the impact of treatment provided by the Griffith Youth Forensic Service (GYFS) on 104 adjudicated youth sexual offenders referred between 2006 and 2012. Sexual, violent and “other” offending outcomes were examined, based on Australian Indigenous cultural heritage and whether the youth resided in a remote community, over an average 2.5-year follow-up timeframe. The findings indicated that GYFS treatment was equally effective for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth for preventing sexual recidivism and, for youth residing in remote and non-remote locations, for preventing sexual, violent and “other” recidivism. Treatment was less effective in preventing violent and “other” recidivism for Indigenous youth. The core components of the GYFS treatment programme therefore appear particularly well suited for reducing sexual recidivism by Indigenous offenders and those residing in remote communities.     

Radiographic age estimation based on degenerative changes of vertebrae

Age estimation is an important component of decedent identification. When assessing adult remains, anthropologists frequently use gross examination of skeletal elements, such as clavicles, ribs, and pubic symphyses. For fleshed bodies, this requires the removal of these elements and maceration prior to analysis. A new method was developed using radiographic imaging to estimate age from degenerative changes of the lower thoracic and upper lumbar vertebrae. This technique will complement anthropological age estimation methods in young and middle-aged adults and may serve as a stand-alone method for older individuals. Digital radiographs from 240 medical examiner cases were evaluated. The sample included 120 females and 120 males between the ages of 18 and 101 years. A 3-phased scoring system was used for the target vertebrae. Transition analysis was conducted on binned average scores and a Bayesian approach was used to assign age intervals. At the 90% credible interval, individuals in Bin 1 were under 36 years of age while those in Bin 3 were over 47 years of age. Individuals in Bin 2 showed too much age variation to be informative. No significant differences were found between males and females. These findings will be especially useful in the age estimation of older adults and may eliminate the need for skeletal sampling in medicolegal cases where advanced degenerative changes are radiographically observed in the lower thoracic and/or upper lumbar vertebrae. This method was developed for use on fleshed individuals but may also be applicable to skeletonized remains.     

A Calibration Test for Latent Fingerprint Development on Thermal Paper

A calibration test is described for monitoring the operation of equipment used to develop latent fingerprints on thermal paper by the application of either controlled or uncontrolled heat. A working solution of a water/glycerol emulsion and butylene glycol is applied to thermal paper by means of either a vinyl stamp and pad, or a marker pen. Varying the amount of butylene glycol enables the thermal paper to change color at different temperatures between approximately 40 and 60°C, which is below the normal color change temperature of the paper. The described test may be used to verify the correct operation, at different temperatures, of a controlled heat source during and after fingerprint development (such as the Hot Print System) or to monitor the paper temperature with an uncontrolled heat source (such as a warm air blower), thereby avoiding unintentional coloring of the entire paper surface.     

Internet subcultures and pathways to the use of child pornography

With continual advances in Internet capability the child pornography market is experiencing a boom in demand and supply. Attempts to reduce the market challenge legislators, law enforcement agencies, practitioners and researchers alike – due in large part to the decentralised and global nature of the Internet. Much research has focused on frequent users of child pornography and whether such behaviour is interrelated with child sexual assaults. This article instead draws attention to onset, the first deliberate viewing of child pornography. It presents the results of a three-month study of a global Peer-to-Peer network, isoHunt. Analysis of the site’s Top 300 search terms indicated that child pornography is consistently shared. Risk factors for onset are discussed, including the potential normalisation of child pornography among Internet subcultures. Strategies are discussed to encourage subcultures to inhibit child pornography use and to increase understanding of the harms associated with such material. Implications for legal systems, policy and research are explored.     

Electronic and School-Based Victimization: Unique Contexts for Adjustment Difficulties During Adolescence

Previous research suggests that school-based and electronic victimization have similar negative consequences, yet it is unclear whether these two contexts offer overlapping or unique associations with adolescents’ adjustment. 802 ninth-graders (43% male, mean age = 15.84 years), majority being Caucasian (82%), completed measures assessing the prevalence of school and electronic victimization, as well as self-reports on self-esteem, self-efficacy, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and locus of control. Results revealed that the majority of adolescents did not report being victimized in either the electronic (75.3%) or the school (72.9%) context. Victimization in both contexts was associated with lower self-esteem and self-efficacy as well as higher stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and locus of control. Importantly, even after controlling for school-based victimization, electronic victimization remained as a significant predictor for all outcome measures. Different types of electronic victimization were also associated with different psychological outcomes. The findings suggest that it is important to distinguish between victimization contexts and specific adjustment outcomes as school and health officials continue to battle the effects of peer victimization.     

Is Anybody Listening? Evidence That Voters Do Not Respond to European Parties’ Policy Statements During Elections

Although extensive research analyzes the factors that motivate European parties to shift their policy positions, there is little cross‐national research that analyzes how voters respond to parties’ policy shifts. We report pooled, time‐series analyses of election survey data from several European polities, which suggest that voters do not systematically adjust their perceptions of parties’ positions in response to shifts in parties’ policy statements during election campaigns. We also find no evidence that voters adjust their Left‐Right positions or their partisan loyalties in response to shifts in parties’ campaign‐based policy statements. By contrast, we find that voters do respond to their subjective perceptions of the parties’ positions. Our findings have important implications for party policy strategies and for political representation.