Metacarpal sexual determination in a Spanish population

Anthropologists and forensic pathologist determine the sex of skeletons by analyzing quantitative and qualitative characters in the bone remains. Generally, the skull and os coxae are the elements most used, but they are not always preserved. In such cases, the investigator needs to have available other techniques based on different remains. The aim of the present work is to develop and describe discriminating functions for sex determination in a recent Spanish population using metacarpal morphology. A sample of bones corresponding to a contemporary Spanish population deposited at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) was analyzed. This sample comprised 697 metacarpals, corresponding to 79 adult individuals (37 men and 42 women). These allowed us to obtain 120 unifactorial discriminant functions. We selected the 10 equations, one for each metacarpal from both hands, that provided the best sexual discrimination. The correct sex classification rank progressed from 81%, for right (R) metacarpals IV and V, to 91%, for left (L) metacarpal II. The results suggest that metacarpals are structures that can be used for sex determination in paleoanthropological and forensic identifications.     

Symptom Overreporting and Recovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse

The authenticity of recovered memories is a much debated issue. Surprisingly, no study has systematically looked at symptom overreporting in people claiming recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). In a first sample we administered the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) to individuals who said they had recovered CSA memories (n=66), individuals who said their CSA had always been accessible (continuous CSA memory group; n=119), and controls who said they had no CSA experiences (n=83). In a second sample individuals reporting recovered (n=45) or continuous (n=45) CSA memories completed the Morel Emotional Numbing Test (MENT). Our aim was to compare these groups with regard to their tendency to overreport symptoms. The results indicate that people with recovered memories do not score higher on the SIMS and the MENT than other CSA survivors suggesting that symptom overreporting is not typical for people reporting recovered memories.     

A Comparison of the Sexual Behaviors and Attitudes of Adolescent Girls with Older Vs. Similar-Aged Boyfriends

Sexual behaviors and attitudes of female adolescents were studied as a function of age of boyfriend. Boyfriend's age was dichotomized: similar-aged was defined as within 2 years of the girls' age; older aged was 3 or more years older than the girl. A school-based, ethnically diverse sample of 9th-grade girls (N = 146) who had been in a serious romantic relationship was surveyed on 5 dimensions of sexual attitudes, 2 classes of sexual motives, 7 normative sexual behaviors, and 3 types of risky sexual practices. Results showed that in terms of behavior, girls with older boyfriends were more likely than girls with similar-aged boyfriends to engage in all forms of sexual intimacy, to have sex under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and to experience sexual coercion. In terms of sexual attitudes, girls with older boyfriends were more likely to endorse beliefs that guys are sexually driven, that sex just happens and is spontaneous, and that sex is related to maturity. These results are discussed in terms of a potential power differential that emerges when girls date older boys.     

When Does Quality Count?: Perceptions of Hearsay Testimony About Child Sexual Abuse Interviews

This study assessed how the quality of a sexual abuse investigative interview with a child and the age of the child influence jurors reactions to either the original interview with the child or to testimony by an adult hearsay witness (the interviewer). Participants (N = 360) were randomly assigned to 1 of 12 conditions in a 2 (type of testimony:hearsay testimony vs. child interview) × (interview quality: poor, typical, or good) × (age of the child: 4 years old vs. 10 years old) factorial design. Participants reached individual verdicts, answered a series of questions, and then deliberated in a group with five other participants. As predicted, jurors in the child interview conditions were more likely to find the defendant guilty if they read the good interview than if they read either the poor or the typical interview, but in the hearsay conditions verdicts did not significantly differ by interview quality. These findings suggest that there is a significant loss of information when the testimony of a hearsay witness is used in place of the actual interview with the child, and call into question the appropriateness of admitting hearsay testimony by interviewers.     

Explaining Sexual Harassment Judgments: Looking Beyond Gender of the Rater

Law and Human Behavior - In two decades of research on sexual harassment, one finding that appears repeatedly is that gender of the rater influences judgments about sexual harassment such that...     

遏制性骚扰的法律对策研究

随着司法实践中不断出现有关性骚扰的诉讼,立法惩治性骚扰的呼声越来越高。文章在借鉴其他国家反性骚扰立法的基础上,提出制定反性骚扰专项立法的建议,并主张性骚扰定义宽泛化、强调对性骚扰重在预防;建议在一些法律的修订或者制定时增加反性骚扰的条款。文章还对专项立法出台前如何适用现有法律遏制性骚扰提出了一些建议。     

从《安徽省实施〈中华人民共和国妇女权益保障法〉办法》修订探讨有关性骚扰条款的起草

文章介绍了《安徽省实施〈中华人民共和国妇女权益保障法〉办法》有关性骚扰条款起草的背景、过程、内容以及理论和实践依据,提出了建立专门性骚扰防治机构的立法建议。     

职场性骚扰法律制度中的雇主责任

“性骚扰”作为一个舶来品如何在中国法律制度中被良性借鉴,需要对其发源地美国的性骚扰法律制度进行全面理解。而雇主责任是其性骚扰法律制度中的最大亮点:在职场这样一个特定环境下雇主有维护安宁的劳动环境的义务,违反这个义务则需要对受害人因此遭受的损害承担补偿甚至惩罚性赔偿的责任。因此,引进雇主责任是中国性骚扰救济制度的核心。     

家政服务员性骚扰问题的职业特点

文章基于打工妹之家的维权经历和调研结果,分析了家政服务员性骚扰问题的职业特点。其特点表现为:与其他行业从业人员相比,家政服务员更容易遭受性骚扰,且受害者都是女性;此类性骚扰容易导致犯罪而且取证更难。因此,改变家庭服务员遭受性骚扰的状况,需要加强法律保障和行业管理,建立多部门多系统的联合预防和救济机制。