Clarifying Consent: Primary Prevention of Sexual Assault on a College Campus

Although more universities are developing policies for students regarding consent for sexual behavior in response to the problem of sexual violence on campus, many students seem either unaware of these policies or what they mean for actual behavior. Policies are only as effective as peoples' understanding and use of them. The current study aimed to evaluate the utility of a prevention education program focused on teaching students about consent. Two hundred and twenty undergraduates, composing a control group, a shorter treatment group, and a longer one, participated in the study. The findings showed the greatest knowledge gain for participants in the longer treatment group that included a discussion of the policy and participation in an activity dealing with its implications. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Separation/Divorce Sexual Assault in Rural Ohio: Survivors' Perceptions

Since the 1970s, many studies have enhanced a social scientific understanding of the lethal and non-lethal physical abuse of women during and after separation and divorce, but less than a handful have examined sexual assaults on rural women who want to leave, are trying to leave, or who have left spouses or live-in male partners. Further, none of the work done so far on this problem has examined the role of collective efficacy. The results presented here help fill these research gaps and call into question the common assumption that there is more collective control on criminal behavior in rural settings. Moreover, our exploratory qualitative data show that collective efficacy can take many shapes and forms, and often what is perceived as the “common good” may actually be behaviors and discourses that threaten the health and well-being of women seeking freedom from abusive male partners.     

In search of real justice for Africa and Africans,and her/their descendants in a world of justice,injustices and impunity

Abstract

The quest for justice by Africans and peoples of African descent, wherever they may be in the world, is arguably one of the most daunting mental, psychological, moral, legal and material challenges facing humanity in general, and the peoples of Africa in particular. It is a question of whether African peoples demand justice for the wrongs committed against Africa and its peoples over the last 500 years, or whether Africa and African peoples accept complicity in the global impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of those injustices, and by doing so diminish the significance of contemporary enthusiasm for global justice. Centralising the question of impunity to date for horrendous crimes, gross human and peoples’ rights violations and other injustices against Africa and Africans is not meant to distract Africans in Africa and the diaspora from the quest, in the 21^st century, for a new Africa that we have a historical responsibility to build and, by doing so, to ensure that the past is not repeated. Acknowledging the wrongs of the past and making symbolic reparative actions for those wrongs are essential for ensuring that the pursuit for a better world of justice is not built on top of underlying sinkholes and on the waste dumps of past injustices. Critical breakthroughs, such as the commitment enshrined in the Constitutive Act of the African Union (2000), on crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and the prohibition of unconstitutional change of government, must be vigorously pursued to their logical conclusion. To do so requires an understanding of where Africans, in their relationship with peoples in the rest of the world, are coming from. Smaller parts of the world have experienced similar heinous injustices with impunity, and Africa's pursuit of real justice also applies to those states and their peoples. Corrective or reparative justice is needed to clear the path for the meaningful and honest promotion of real global justice in the making of the future. It is imperative that the making of the African Renaissance confront real global justice for the sake of the past, the present and the future.     

Rape,Defendant Anonymity and Evidence‐Based Policy Making

In 2010, the Coalition government announced in its Programme for Government, that: ‘We will extend anonymity in rape cases to defendants.’ The question of anonymity for defendants accused of rape and other sexual offences, has been repeatedly raised in parliamentary debates over several decades, and has also received frequent attention in newspapers and, to a lesser extent, in academic and professional literature. The debate includes an array of factual claims and arguments that rest on weak empirical foundations. In November 2010, the Ministry of Justice published a report entitled: Providing Anonymity to those Accused of Rape: An Assessment of Evidence, which was intended to provide an evaluation of evidence that would inform the debate over defendant anonymity. This article critically examines this report and its discussion of key issues such as false rape allegations, and considers whether its conclusions can be relied upon by policy makers.     

Swedish rape offenders — a latent class analysis

Sweden has witnessed an increase in the rates of sexual crimes including rape. Knowledge of who the offenders of these crimes are is therefore of importance for prevention. We aimed to study characteristics of individuals convicted of rape, aggravated rape, attempted rape or attempted aggravated rape (abbreviated rape+), against a woman ≥18 years of age, in Sweden. By using information from the Swedish Crime Register, offenders between 15 and 60 years old convicted of rape+ between 2000 and 2015 were included. Information on substance use disorders, previous criminality and psychiatric disorders were retrieved from Swedish population-based registers, and Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to identify classes of rape+ offenders. A total of 3 039 offenders were included in the analysis. A majority of them were immigrants (n = 1 800; 59.2%) of which a majority (n = 1 451; 47.7%) were born outside of Sweden. The LCA identified two classes: Class A — low offending class (LOC), and Class B — high offending class (HOC). While offenders in the LOC had low rates of previous criminality, psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders, those included in the HOC had high rates of previous criminality, psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders. While HOC may be composed by more “traditional” criminals probably known by the police, the LOC may represent individuals not previously known by the police. These two separated classes, as well as our finding in regard to a majority of the offenders being immigrants, warrants further studies that take into account the contextual characteristics among these offenders.

Key points

• Rape, aggravated rape, attempted rape or attempted aggravated rape (rape+) are increasing in Sweden.
• The majority of those convicted of rape+ are immigrants.
• LCA identifies two classes of rape+ offenders: LOC and HOC.

     

On national and cultural boundaries: a cross-cultural approach to sexual violence perpetration in Brazil and the United Kingdom

The majority of research on rape has so far neglected to examine the effects of socio-cultural beliefs and practices on sexual violence perpetration, with most authors dedicating themselves, instead, to an individualistic approach of this phenomenon. Although these approaches are certainly valid, they often ignore how these behaviours are embedded in the culture and, as a result, do not adequately explore the causes and consequences of sexual violence perpetration. Therefore, the primary goal of this review is to redress this deficiency, focusing on the connection between the phenomenon and the cultural backdrop against which it occurs. Hence, a discussion around certain factors that may serve to either legitimise or to condemn sexual violence in two different countries (Brazil and UK) is necessary. To make this possible, differences regarding each country’s culture, rape legislation and prevalence are presented, and issues regarding the current individualistic theoretical approach to the subject are explored.     

Sexual assault complainants on the stand: a historical comparison of courtroom questioning

Because most cases of alleged sexual assault involve few sources of evidence, the complainant’s testimony is crucial. In line with empirical research findings, the way in which police question sexual assault complainants has evolved to ultimately maximise both the completeness and accuracy of evidence. But has courtroom questioning changed over time? To answer this question, we compared the courtroom questioning of sexual assault complainants in the 1950s to that used in cases from the turn of the twenty-first century. Overall, lawyers in contemporary cases asked complainants more questions and uttered more words than they did historically. Complainants, too, appear to have become more vocal over time. Across the two time periods, the questioning style used by prosecuting lawyers has shifted towards a more open style. In stark contrast, the format of cross-examination questions has remained remarkably consistent over time, with leading questions still making up the bulk of the questions asked. These findings have important implications for future legal reform and legal practice.     

A rape case solved by mitochondrial DNA mixture analysis

In cases of stains that contain mixed DNA from different contributors, analyzing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) requires the use of cloning techniques. We developed an efficient cloning technique that was applied in a rape case. After a differential lysis-based DNA extraction from vaginal swabs, hypervariable region I and II (HVI, HVII) amplicons obtained from the male fraction were cloned. Although we mainly found the victim's haplotype, we were able to detect the suspect's haplotype in two clones for HVI and in one clone for HVII. As the midpiece of the flagellum, which contains mitochondria, can be lost during the differential lysis, we also investigated the female fraction by cloning to evaluate the proportion of victim/suspect mtDNA. Unfortunately, only clones presenting the victim's haplotype were found. This case highlights the need for an optimal differential lysis protocol to enrich the male fraction not only with nuclear but also mitochondrial DNA.     

精神病人限定刑事责任能力评定量表在强奸案件中的运用

目的探讨《精神病人限定责任能力评定量表》在强奸案件中的运用。方法用《精神病人限定责任能力评定量表》评定为限定刑事责任能力的77例强奸案例,完成了量表评定,同时将限定刑事责任能力进行三级划分。结果小部分组、部分组、大部分组量表评定分逐渐升高,且具有显著性差异,量表共16个条目与评定分相关,相关系数从0.265至0.611不等,因子分析得到7个因子,解释75.784%的变异。结论精神病人限定责任能力量表内部构建合理,在强奸案件中其评定总分能有效反映三级限定刑事责任能力之间差异。     

从习水性侵害幼女案谈嫖宿幼女罪的适用

嫖宿幼女罪是从强奸罪中分离出来的一个新罪名,两者之间存在法条竞合关系。当行为人嫖宿幼女具有一般情节时,应适用嫖宿幼女罪。当嫖宿行为具有符合强奸罪的加重情节时,虽然强奸罪的最高法定刑比嫖宿幼女罪为重,但综合考量强奸罪的法定刑排列顺序、嫖宿人的主观意图、幼女的过错等方面,以强奸罪论处的刑罚并不意味着比嫖宿幼女罪为重,因嫖宿幼女罪的特殊规定性,以嫖宿幼女罪论处更为合理。行为人以嫖宿的方式与幼女发生性关系,不论是否明知该幼女是被强迫卖淫的,只要自己未实施该强迫行为,都应以嫖宿幼女罪论处,同时也不构成强迫卖淫罪的共犯。