The Police Reporting Behavior of Intimate Partner Violence Victims

In the current research, we draw on Canadian national data to examine the police reporting decisions of married and cohabiting intimate partner violence victims. Our analyses examine how police notification decisions are influenced by the demographic characteristics of victims and incident-specific factors. We find that the victims who contact the police more often live in a cohabiting relationship and with children. In contrast to predictions, we find that visible minority women more often call the police. Income, education, and employment status do not appear to shape the police reporting decisions of women. Finally, women who call the police are also likely to have experienced severe forms of violence including threats with weapons, injury, and the destruction of their property.     

Reaching the marginalised? Gender value chains and ethical trade in African horticulture

Ethical trade, through codes of practice, forms an important part of the value chains for horticultural products sourced from Africa by major European buyers. This paper explores the relationship between value chains in the horticultural sector, the employment patterns of African producers, and the process of code implementation from a gender perspective. It asks whether, in the context of the gendered economy, codes alone can improve working conditions for all workers. Using case studies of Kenyan flowers, South African fruit, and Zambian flowers and vegetables, the article highlights the implications of flexible employment strategies for workers, and shows that social codes have not necessarily achieved better outcomes for women and informal workers, owing to the gendered economy. Ultimately, it is only by addressing the local gendered economy that the employment conditions of all workers, including those of marginal workers and women, are likely to improve.     

The juvenile death penalty and the Eighth Amendment

The present study investigated the Eighth Amendment tests of societal consensus and proportionality as applied to juvenile death penalties. A sample of former jurors (N=179) voted on whether to execute the defendant in a hypothetical case. Defendant's age (10, 15, 16, or 19) and level of remorse were varied. A large percentage of participants voted to execute the defendant in each condition, but the defendant's age and the participant's attitude toward juvenile culpability significantly predicted the likelihood of execution. Implications for the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty and future research directions are discussed.     

Prevalence of spouse aggression in Hong Kong

The present study explored the extent of spouse aggression in Chinese families in Hong Kong. Subjects were 246 female and 136 male undergraduate students who reported on the various forms of interparental aggression and violence. About 75% of the subjects reported interparental verbal or symbolic aggression and 14% indicated the use of physical violence between parents. In general, compared to mothers, fathers engaged in more verbal aggression against their spouses. Mothers were as likely as fathers to use actual physical force toward their spouses. Interparental responses to family conflicts did not vary with children's gender except that female subjects observed that fathers reasoned less but engaged in more insulting, throwing, smashing, hitting, or kicking things than mothers.     

The Missing Child in Child Protection: The Constitutional Context of Child Maltreatment From Meyer to DeShaney

This paper employs DeShaney v Winnebago County (1989) as an illustration of how the law has lost sight of the interests of children in cases of child maltreatment. The historical constitutional context of child maltreatment – balancing state's interests and parental rights – is discussed. The opinions in DeShaney and two of the major criticisms of the majority's opinion – the action versus inaction dichotomy and the restrictive interpretation of the special relationship doctrine – are then considered. Legislatively created entitlements to protection are suggested as an avenue of relief for injured children which also necessitates a focus on the rights and interests of children.