When Public Protection Becomes Punishment? The UK Use of Civil Measures to Contain the Sex Offender

In keeping with many countries the UK has moved the problem of sexual offending up the political agenda. On the criminal justice side sentences have been increased and supervision periods extended. On the civil side a raft of new measures have been put in place to regulate the behaviour of sex offenders in the interest of community safety and child protection; this paper examines these measures and, in particular takes the sex offender ‘register’ as a case study to show how political imperatives have been brought to bear with little reference to the research or professional views of practitioners in this area. It is contended that under these political pressures, what starts life as a preventive, regulatory measure can easily become a more punitive measure in its own right; as such it may be liable to challenge by those subject to it for failing to fulfil its primary purpose and for straying across a line between the civil and criminal aspects of intervention.     

Reliability of Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment Criteria in Florida

The present study investigated the reliability of Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) civil commitment criteria under Florida's Jimmy Ryce Act. The purpose of the study was to determine if, independently, 2 evaluators would reach the same conclusions about the same client (n = 295). According to civil commitment criteria outlined by the United States Supreme Court (Kansas v. Hendricks, 1997), SVPs must display a mental abnormality predisposing them to sexual violence and a likelihood of future sexual violence. The interrater reliability of 8 DSM-IV diagnoses applied by evaluators to determine whether a client has a "mental abnormality that predisposes him to sexual violence" was found to be poor to fair (kappa = .23 to . 70). The interrater reliability of risk assessment instruments used to determine "likelihood of reoffense" was good (ICC = .77 to .85). The recommendations made by evaluators regarding whether or not to refer a client for civil commitment demonstrated poor reliability (kappa = .54). Implications for practice and policy are explored.     

Selective Sexual Harassment: Differential Treatment of Similar Groups of Women Workers

If male workers categorize different groups of women coworkers and, subsequently, treat them differently, the experiences of women from one of these groups would not be indicative of the experiences of women from another group. When this different treatment involves hostile environment sexual harassment of one group, but not the other, then the law must recognize the possibility of "selective sexual harassment." Without this understanding of the nuances of the workplace dynamics, a court could mistake the women of the unharassed group as representing "reasonable women" and the women of the harassed group as simply oversensitive. This paper draws on empirical data to demonstrate such a situation and advocates for a version of the "reasonable victim" standard to facilitate a closer analysis of hostile environment sexual harassment suits.     

反思SARS：健康教育不容忽视

"非典"这一突发的公共卫生事件,充分体现了健康教育在疾病预防过程中积极重要的作用和人们对健康教育的需求,同时也暴露了我国健康教育存在的差距与问题。政府部门应制定相应的政策和法规,实行广泛的部门合作,将健康教育工作落到实处。健康教育工作者应采取有效可行的措施提高理论水平和工作方法,不断提高自身综合素质,推动健康教育事业的发展。     

Here comes the judge: the influence of judge personal characteristics on federal sexual harassment case outcomes

This study explored the effects of judges' personal characteristics (gender, race, age, and political affiliation) and case characteristics on the outcomes of federal cases of hostile environment sexual harassment. Results revealed that even after controlling for the effects of relevant case characteristics (e.g., severity of the harassment), judges' personal characteristics influenced case outcomes. Specifically, younger judges and Democrat judges were more likely to find for the plaintiff (the alleged victim of harassment). The probability that the decision would favor the plaintiff was only 16% when the case was heard by an older judge but 45% when heard by a younger judge. The probability that the decision would favor the plaintiff was only 18% when the case was heard by a judge who had been appointed by a Republican president but 46% when the judge had been appointed by a Democrat president.     

The Role of Woman's Explanations for Refusal on Men's Ability to Discriminate Unwanted Sexual Behavior in a Date Rape Scenario

This study examined the impact of types of women's verbal refusals, and the timing of her refusal, on men's discrimination of when a female wants her partner to stop making sexual advances. Male students were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 conditions (Explanations × Intimacy Levels). Before listening to an audiotape of a date rape, participants were told they would be listening to an interaction between a man and a woman who had just returned from a date. They were instructed to indicate when the woman wanted the man to stop making sexual advances by pressing a switch that synchronously stopped a timer (yielding the measure of latency). In the vignette, the woman provided an explanation for not engaging in sexual intercourse on the date either during kissing or when the man attempted to touch her breasts. She offered one of three reasons for refusing his sexual advances; fear of pregnancy, waiting until marriage, too early in the relationship. Results revealed an interaction in which participants in the too early in the relationship explanation at the level of breast contact condition displayed significantly longer latencies than individuals in the other groups. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Queen and the `Bolton Seven'

This note examines the case of a group of gay men who, having engaged in consensual sexual acts together, became known as the `Bolton Seven' following their conviction in 1998 for offences of buggery and/or gross indecency. More particularly the note scrutinises the implications of the ages of the participants (one of whom, at 17 , was unable to give lawful consent to sexual intercourse with a man) in the light of the enactment of Part I of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 which introduces a system of compulsory registration by some convicted and cautioned sex offenders with the police (including men convicted of, or cautioned for, buggery or gross indecency). The note explores the justification for inclusion of these offences within the remit of the1997 Act together with the cultural construction of gay men as predatory and as constituting a risk to younger members of society. It also analyses some of the effects of the registration requirement in terms of it constituting a potential violation of fundamental rights such as equality and respect for private life. This discussion is located particularly within the context of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the U.K.. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

监狱人民警察心理健康保障机制的构建与完善

监狱人民警察作为一个特殊的职业群体,集多种社会角色于一身,易产生心理冲突。大量研究表明,心理健康问题正严重威胁着监狱人民警察的生存状态,极大地降低了他们的生活质量,并严重影响其工作热情和效率。加强监狱人民警察心理健康问题研究,构建与完善监狱人民警察心理健康保障机制,具有十分重要的理论意义和实践价值。     

改善油田基层乙方员工心理健康的对策分析

作为国有企业,油田肩负着发展中国石油事业的重大责任和使命。然而,油田基层长期奋斗一线的乙方员工因工作性质和工作环境问题,频繁出现紧张、悲观、麻痹、浮躁和不合作等五种不健康心理,对此,要结合管理者、思想政治工作者、心理医生和员工自身四方面的努力,才能逐步改善油田基层乙方员工的心理健康问题。     

国有企业及科教文卫等行业行政化管理与“官本位”问题研究

由＂官本位＂衍生出来的泛行政化管理已成为影响和制约我国国有企业和科教文卫行业科学发展的最大阻力之一。本文在对我国国有企业及科教文卫等行业行政化管理的表现、问题、产生＂官本位＂的原因、危害进行分析的基础上,借鉴国内外人力资源管理开发的经验与教训,为在这些企业、行业有效防止和克服＂官本位＂消极影响提出了一些对策与建议。