Trafficking of Ethiopian women to Europe – making choices,taking risks,and implications

ABSTRACT

This piece focuses on the Ethiopian women victims of trafficking – the agency of these women in the whole trafficking process, and issues of choice – ‘trying a chance’, or just taking a risk to get out of poverty or difficult social circumstances, considering that they are lured, tricked, coerced, or even forced into the hands of traffickers by a wide range of circumstances and people, including family and friends. Traffickers target girls with economic, social, and family problems. Most of the trafficking of women and girls from Ethiopia is carried out through the use of service ‘agencies’ and human smugglers who facilitate the process of migration through a number of routes. Many of those who use the ‘desert route’ often begin from Sudan to North Africa from where they cross to Europe. The data for this contribution were generated in a study – ‘Captured in Flight: Experiences of violence among African women in Sweden’ – funded by the Swedish crime prevention agency (Brottsoffermyndgheten). The research for the project has been carried out in Sweden, but the women whose case studies are presented here have been in the Middle East, Turkey, Italy, Finland, and Greece before coming to Sweden.     

Legal Conceptions of Harm Related to Sexual Images Online in the United States and Canada

This article examines the history of legal discussion of the harms of child pornography possession and viewing in the United States and Canada, with special attention to the evolving conception of direct harms to children and youth pictured in these images. The article further addresses ongoing uncertainty about harms associated with images that do not record an instance of sexual abuse, but where the harm arises solely from non-consensual distribution of nude and/or sexual images. Achieving greater understanding and recognition of both the similarities and differences between the harms that arise from the “permanent record of abuse” and from ongoing circulation and use of images beyond the subject's control are necessary in order to equip both clinical and legal practitioners with the knowledge they need in order to provide appropriate support for victims of the varied forms of sexual abuse related to sexual image online.     

Victim compensation for acts of terrorism and the limits of the state

Little academic attention has been directed towards the victims of terrorism. This article begins to do so by interrogating how victims get compensated, and for how much, in North America and Western Europe. This article examines compensation from three vantage points. First, attention is directed to the variety of state programmes that have been mobilised over the last several decades to build individual and state resilience. I will suggest, however, that many of these programmes fall short, as they fail to meet victim needs. Indeed, as I subsequently illustrate, public and private philanthropy are playing an increasingly important role in providing victim support, sometimes superseding state contributions. Yet while they speak to an affective response that emerges out of and reinforces community building, they are also highly uneven and can entrench existing social inequalities. I then turn to examine the turn to the courts as a means both for recouping further compensation and for achieving some kind of accountability. Notably, the drive to provide victims with other mechanisms for compensation has led to new legislative mechanisms that are reshaping geopolitics by reworking the principle of sovereign immunity. Together, these examples of compensation trouble simplistic characterisations of victimhood while also illustrating how both victims and terrorism are being made governable, often with chilling consequences. They also expose the limits of the state and of state sovereignty.     

Does Recent Victimization Impact Confidence in the Criminal Justice System?

This study assesses whether recent victimization influences one’s confidence in the criminal justice system. Specifically, the study tests whether the predictors of confidence in major types of actors in the justice system are different for victims and nonvictims. British Crime Survey (BCS) data are analyzed using a series of structural equation models with multiple group methods. Overall, the findings support the idea that there is little difference between victims and nonvictims in how views of legal actors predict overall confidence. Additionally, prosecutors are slightly more influential on system confidence, regardless of victimization experience. Policy implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Ethnic origin of the victim as an aggravating factor in sentencing sexual offenders

This article examines R v Jamal Muhammed Raheem Ul Nasir, a Court of Appeal case where leave to appeal against a seven-year custodial sentence for sexual offences against children was refused. The appellant argued that his sentence length was excessive because the judge viewed the female victims’ ethnic and religious origin as an aggravating factor. In light of a number of charities’ condemning the judgment, this article evaluates whether the Court of Appeal made the correct decision, particularly in the wider context of sentencing principles. It also considers whether causing shame to a victim and her family can be regarded as an aggravating factor when sentencing sexual offences, and discusses the circumstances where the victim’s ethnic origin should be taken into account.     

收买被拐卖的妇女、儿童罪若干疑难问题探析

行为人产生出卖目的的时间对于收买被拐卖妇女、儿童罪转化犯的认定具有重要作用.刑法对本罪除罪事由的规定具有合理性,同时,基于收买对象是妇女还是儿童的差异,对本罪除罪事由也应作不同理解.被害人承诺在符合一定条件的情况下,可以免除收买人的刑事责任.在罪数形态上,收买者同时实施了教唆、帮助拐卖行为的,构成牵连犯,应从一重处断;在构成本罪转化犯的情况下,行为人又实施了非法拘禁、虐待、强奸等行为的,不能实行数罪并罚,应以拐卖妇女、儿童罪一罪论处.     

Human Trafficking and Slavery in Australia: Pathways,Tactics, and Subtle Elements of Enslavement

Human trafficking and slavery are heinous crimes that occur in all regions of the world. Victims are frequently trafficked or enslaved using tactics involving force, threats, or coercion. Perceptions of human trafficking and slavery often involve images of slaves, bound and shackled, kidnapped, and raped. Anecdotal evidence from Australia suggests that victims of human trafficking and slavery in Australia do not fit this stereotypical image. This article sets out to explore the more subtle elements of human trafficking and slavery in Australia through a review of human trafficking and slavery court case reports. The article presents summaries of case reports for the period 2004–2014 and identifies tactics of enslavement and pathways into slavery. The article also considers the implications—for identifying victims and combating human trafficking—of the more subtle methods of enslavement that occur in Australia.     

An overview of the literature on antecedents,perceptions and behavioural consequences of sexual harassment

Abstract

The detrimental effects of sexual harassment have been documented in the literature over the past 35 years, and recognized as a serious problem for all working women. In this paper, we review the existing research surrounding the phenomenon of sexual harassment, focusing upon the factors that may facilitate its occurrence. We also provide an overview of the differences in perceptions of what constitutes sexual harassment according to gender, organisational power and context. The negative impact of sexual harassment on its victims is also reviewed. Finally, the relatively new research on victims' responses to sexual harassment experiences and the link between this work and the stress and coping literature is recognized. Several suggestions are made for future research, policy making and treatment avenues.     

Comparing Middle School Teachers' and Students' Views on Bullying and Anti-Bullying Interventions

Abstract

This study compares middle school students' and teachers' perceptions regarding the effectiveness of intervention and prevention strategies commonly used by children, teachers, and nonteaching staff to address bullying among students as identified in the research literature. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The results indicate that teachers are more likely to perceive bullying intervention and prevention strategies as effective than are students, and to perceive teachers as offering assistance to student victims. Both teachers and students appear to believe that teachers need to teach students assertiveness techniques to confront perpetrators. However, both students and teachers generally did not see as helpful some of the common educational techniques utilized by most bullying prevention programs, including role-playing and literature.     

犯罪被害人的经济救济

在打击犯罪和保障人权的双重要求下,犯罪人成为传统刑事政策关注的重点,对犯罪被害人的救济尤其是经济方面的救济被忽略。随着现代刑事政策的发展,人们意识到犯罪被害人地位的提高、权利范围的扩展等也应相应的纳入到刑事政策的视野中,加强对犯罪被害人的经济救济就是其核心内容。以现代刑事政策为出发点,应着力提倡三种主要的犯罪被害人救济方式:犯罪人赔偿、国家补偿以及恢复性司法模式下对犯罪被害人的经济救济,说明对犯罪被害人实行有效的经济救济是一种理想和有效的刑事政策。