Does Ambivalent Sexism Influence Verdicts for Heterosexual and Homosexual Defendants in a Self-Defense Case?

The current research examined the role of defendant and participant sex, presence or absence of expert testimony of the “battered person syndrome”, and sexual orientation of the defendant on perceptions of guilt in a self-defense case. The role of sexism in judgments of culpability was also examined. A sample of 442 participants read a self-defense case scenario and responded to questions pertaining to verdict, defendant culpability, legal element ratings, and sexist attitudes. Results revealed a four-way interaction, showing female participants prescribed the lowest guilt ratings to heterosexual female and homosexual male defendants who received expert testimony of the battered person syndrome. When heterosexual male defendants received expert testimony, ratings of guilt significantly increased. A multiple regression was conducted to determine whether legal and extra-legal factors predicted defendant culpability. Sexist attitudes (benevolent sexism towards men and women) and certain legal elements were predictive of defendant culpability. Limitations and implications are discussed. Study findings were presented in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS), Jacksonville, Florida (March, 2008).     

Female Sex Offenders: A Controlled Comparison of Offender and Victim/Crime Characteristics

The current study was a chart review of 31 female sex offenders (FSO), 31 male sex offenders (MSO), 31 female violent offenders (FO), and 31 male violent offenders (MO) using a 2 (female or male) by 2 (sex or violent offender) design. This is the first known study to employ three control groups when researching female sex offenders. Multiple variables appeared related to gender and crime. However, some variables emerged as FSO specific. They reported the least alcohol abuse history and had fewer admissions of guilt to the crime than the two violent offender samples. More FSOs knew their victim and were biologically related to their victim than MSOs. Lastly, the FSO sample was the least discriminating as to their victim’s gender and had the highest overall rate of sexual victimization.     

Sexual assault cases related to unknown perpetrator: Almost 50% of the analyzed cases corresponded to serial offenders

As a collaborative effort in solving sexual assault cases where there is no suspect, the DNA profiles associated with 273 cases were analyzed. Such cases were submitted from different Criminal Investigation Units belonging to eight judicial departments of Buenos Aires Province. A single NN male profile was recovered from the evidences by differential lysis with DNA IQ System (Promega) and typing with IdentiFiler kit. Comparative analysis of the compiled DNA profiles showed that in 45% of the cases the evidence DNA profile matched in at least two unrelated cases. Associations between groups of unsolved cases provided a valuable tool in aiding law enforcement investigations.     

Everyday Stranger Harassment and Women’s Objectification

The present research suggests that stranger harassment (i.e., experiencing unwanted sexual attention from strangers in public) is a frequent experience for young adult women, and that it has negative implications for their well-being. First, stranger harassment was positively related to self-objectification (Fredrickson & Roberts, Psychol Women Quart 21:173–206 1997). This was true for women who coped with stranger harassment using common strategies (passive, self-blame, or benign), but not for women who used an uncommon, active coping strategy (e.g., confronting the harasser). Second, stranger harassment experiences and self-objectification were positively related to women’s fear of and perceived risk of rape. Further, women who feared rape were more likely to restrict their freedom of movement. In concert, the findings suggest that stranger harassment may have both direct and indirect negative effects on women’s lives, and that it is a phenomenon worthy of future research.

美国性骚扰法律制度及其借鉴意义

性骚扰是不受欢迎的带有性色彩的言行,是一种非法的性歧视。依美国判例,性骚扰不必源于性的目的,其内容不必是直接的表示;同时,性骚扰行为者在主观上应当是有过错的,受害者在主观上须为不欢迎骚扰行为。构成可诉的性骚扰行为其损害后果须达到严重的程度。依美国最新判例,同性之间也可以构成性骚扰;雇主对员工中的上级职员的性骚扰行为承担民事责任。美国的性骚扰法律制度对我国的立法具有一定的借鉴意义,如公法上的规定并不排除私法的适用,性骚扰的含义应当包含性别歧视,雇主责任应当在立法上得以确立,立法者应当在道德规范和法律规范中寻找平衡点。     

PCR法对HLA-DQ_α基因的分型及其在性犯罪鉴定中的应用

本文应用 PCR 法及 ASO 探针斑点杂交技术,对100例无关个体血液 DNA 及10例性犯罪案件混合斑中精子 DNA 进行了 HLA-DQα基因的扩增及其 DNA 分型。结果正常人0.1～0.3μgDNA 就能满足 DQα基因扩增的需要。在100例个体中可以观察到由4种等位基因组成的10种 DQα基因型。10例不同条件的混合斑中精子 DNA 经30～60次扩增后与 ASO 探针杂交均能准确地判定 DQα基因型。HLA-DQα是个体识别能力较强的遗传标志。本文为性犯罪中精子来源的个体识别提供了一个新方法,具有一定的实用价值。     

Freedom from Fear of Stalking

The attention on stalking – willful and repetitive, sometimes dangerous harassment – and the ways in which legislation can address this issue is investigated. Since the attention on stalking is only a recent development a review is given of the international regulations as well as several opinions about the nature of stalking     

职场性骚扰雇主责任的法经济学分析

职场性骚扰雇主责任就是雇主要为其雇员的性骚扰行为负责任。通过法经济学的分析,对于监督管理者雇员实施的交换型性骚扰雇主承担严格责任;对于敌意环境型性骚扰雇主承担过错责任。这对预防与抑制职场性骚扰更有效率,同时,可以使社会成本降到最低。     

A Comparison of 9th and 10th Grade Boys'and Girls' Bullying Behaviors in Two States

Abstract

This paper compared the bully behaviors of 250 9th and l0th grade boys and girls in four schools in Texas and Nebraska. Nearly one-third of girls and one-fifth of boys observed bullying often. The most common kind of bullying for both boys and girls was hurtful teasing and name-calling. Boys bullied using more physical violence, while girls reported less; however, both boys and girls indicated they were threatened with harm more than 26% of the time when bullied.     

Reviews

Books reviewed:
Ibbetson A Historical Introduction to the Law of Obligations
Ripstein Equality, Responsibility and the Law
Rubio-Marin Immigration as a Democratic Challenge: Citizenship and Inclusion in Germany and the United States