The Sex Crime: Deterioration more Apparent than Real?

Public concern about an escalation of sex crime is unsupported by a critical analysis of official crime statistics in England and Wales. Assumptions about the inveterate recidivism of sex offenders are unconfirmed by follow-up studies. A great variety of behaviours is covered by sex crime, from the grave to the trivial. To the traditional offences of predatory aggressors, violent rapists and a small number of dangerous offenders driven by pathological emotions, are now added date rapes and harassments previously little reported. All sex incidents involving children are widely believed to cause lasting damage, despite evidence to the contrary. Female offenders and boy victims are receiving more attention. Adolescent involvement is insufficiently distinguished from paedophile offences and male homosexuals are suspected of paedophile tendencies. The development of constructive therapeutic approaches is impeded by doubts about efficacy and a punitive ethos.     

Differences in Psychosexual Development Among Child,Peer, and Mixed Juvenile Sex Offenders

Researchers have examined a number of typologies of juvenile sex offenders, including victim age. Using data from psychological evaluations and the Multiphasic Sex Inventory-II (MSI-II; [Psychological assessment of sex offenders, 2010 ]), this study compared child offenders (i.e., victims were more than 4 years younger), peer offenders (i.e., victims were 4 years younger or less), and mixed offenders (i.e., both child and peer victims) on variables including victim, offender, and offense characteristics, and psychosexual development. Peer offenders had more severe sexual offenses, prior status/nonviolent charges, and issues with sexual functioning. Mixed offenders began offending at a younger age and were indiscriminate in gender and relationship of the victim. Mixed offenders were also more likely than child and peer offenders to have prior sex offender treatment, meaning they had previously failed treatment. As juvenile sex offenders are a heterogeneous group, these research findings suggest that child offenders, peer offenders, and mixed offenders’ treatment needs differ from each other.     

Juvenile Sexual Murderers: Examination and Classification of the Crime-Commission Process

This study aims to empirically explore the crime-commission process of juvenile sexual homicide offenders (SHOs). First, a comparison between the crime-commission process of juvenile and adult SHOs is undertaken, while as a second step, this study also provides an empirical classification specific to juvenile SHOs. The sample used in this study consists of 55 juvenile SHOs and 281 adult SHOs. A sequential binomial regression was used to compare at the multivariate level the two groups of offenders, while a latent class analysis was used to examine the relationships between each step of the crime-commission process of juvenile SHOs. Our findings suggest that the crime-commission process of juvenile SHOs present differences when compared with adult SHOs. Moreover, we identified four different patterns in juvenile sexual homicide: explosive opportunistic, sadistic, overcontrolled anger, and predator. Theoretical and practical implications in terms of criminal investigations as well as offenders’ management and treatment are discussed.     

Estimating Crime Laboratory Efficiency in the Testing of Sexual Assault Kits,

Over the past decade, the large numbers of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) have been highlighted as a systematic problem that jeopardizes or delays justice for victims. Considering the benefits of testing SAKs, researchers have worked to shed light on why sexual assault evidence has not been effectively submitted to and processed by crime laboratories. Missing from this discourse has been an understanding of the types of practices or qualities that encourage efficiency in the testing of SAKs in crime laboratories. We analyzed results of a national survey administered to all publicly funded state and local crime laboratories (N = 132 respondents) to provide critical information about (i) the extent to which laboratories are testing all of the SAKs possible given the resources they have available; and (ii) the impact that staffing, equipment, policies, and other practices have on SAK testing efficiency. We find that the average laboratory tests only about 69% of the SAKs possible given the resources available to them. However, although technical inefficiencies explain a large proportion of the number of untested SAKs, the accumulation of untested SAKs must also be attributed to laboratories having insufficient resources (e.g., too few forensic analysts). Moreover, results from stochastic frontier models show that doubling the number of forensic analysts in the typical laboratory would allow them to expand their SAK testing capacity by nearly 50%. Implications of these findings are discussed as they relate to the prioritization of resources for crime laboratories, which often operate under strict budgetary realities.     

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI): Treatment Scales and Interpersonal Characteristics in a Sample of Men Charged with or Convicted of a Sexual Offense*

An individual's interpersonal features are pertinent to treatment within clinical populations. The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) contains two scales that assess the interpersonal features of warmth (WRM) and dominance (DOM), as well as two additional measures to assess to treatment prediction, process, and rejection (RXR; TPI). The current study examined associations between these PAI scales in a sample of 92 men who underwent comprehensive evaluations of sexual behavior after being charged with or convicted of a sexual offense. Analyses indicated that RXR was positively associated with WRM and DOM, TPI was negatively associated with WRM, and the two interpersonal scales of WRM and DOM were positively correlated with each other. A significant inverse relationship was found between the two treatment scales RXR and TPI indicating that motivation for treatment may have a limited relationship with the treatment process. WRM significantly predicted scores on the TPI, and both WRM and DOM predicted individual scores on RXR. Higher scores on positive impression management (PIM) were predictive of lower TPI and higher RXR, as individuals with higher stakes cases may score higher on PIM and underreport obstacles within treatment or be unwilling to accept the need for treatment. Overall, findings suggest that interpersonal characteristics identified by the PAI scales may be advantageous in approaching treatment within this population.     

The Victimization of LGBTQ Students at School: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT

Although research suggests that LGBTQ youth are at risk for victimization at school, it remains unclear just how much more likely they are to be victimized relative to heterosexual or cisgender youth, or the conditions under which their risks for victimization are highest. Accordingly, we conducted a meta-analysis on the relationship between LGBTQ identification and school victimization. Multilevel analysis of 276 effect size estimates, from 55 studies, revealed a moderate overall mean effect size (r = .155). Moderator analyses indicated the relationship was stronger for transgender youth, homophobic victimization, and students in the Western United States; and weaker for questioning youth. We conclude with recommendations for policy and future research, and suggest that theories of victimization be broadened to better explain the risks that LGBTQ students face.     

工作场所中的性骚扰:多重权力和身份关系的不平等——对20个案例的调查和分析

本研究着眼于受害女性的经验和解释,试图通过这些女性在工作中经历的性骚扰事件以及她们的态度和感受,了解性骚扰背后的制度和文化因素,以及这些制度和文化因素对这些女性态度和自我定位的影响,同时了解受害女性是如何感受和评价性骚扰带来的危害和后果,等等,以此为反性骚扰的法律、制度和社会文化的形成与完善提供必要的依据。     

日本职场性骚扰立法和实践对我们的启示

2005年以来,随着性骚扰问题被正式写入中国法律,职场性骚扰备受社会各方关注。然而,由于种种原因,职场性骚扰问题实际并未得到有效解决。日本职场性骚扰立法和实践着重对雇用劳动者的雇主进行规制,强调雇主的义务和责任,为我们解决职场性骚扰问题提供了有益的参考和启示。     

“It's Just an Image,Right?”: Practitioners’ Understanding of Child Sexual Abuse Images Online and Effects on Victims

Child sexual abuse images online (CSAIO) present new and daunting challenges for practitioners working in the field of child sexual abuse (CSA). Current understanding of the phenomenon is severely limited due to a lack of theoretical and empirical research in the area. This article reports findings from a study that examined practitioners’ experiences with, and views of, CSAIO. Participants differed in how they conceptualized what constituted online CSA images and held varying degrees of concern regarding the potential effects of CSAIO on the child. Some practitioners were uncertain about whether child victims of CSAIO experience particular effects different from or over and above those caused by conventional (non-Internet related) CSA. A key finding was that most practitioners did not have a clear understanding of CSAIO. This article includes recommendations for future research regarding the implications of technology in the field of CSA.