OFFENDER–VICTIM INTERACTION AND CRIME EVENT OUTCOMES: MODUS OPERANDI AND VICTIM EFFECTS ON THE RISK OF INTRUSIVE SEXUAL OFFENSES AGAINST CHILDREN*

Criminological research has shown the relevance of examining offender–victim interaction and related factors to understand crime event outcomes. In sexual offenses against children, an obvious lack of knowledge exists regarding this issue. From a criminological perspective, we seek to improve our understanding of the offender–victim interaction in sexual offenses against children and, in particular, what factors might increase the risk of a more intrusive offense. We argue that modus operandi strategies play a central role in crime event outcomes and examine this hypothesis with data obtained from a semistructured interview conducted with offenders. As expected, modus operandi was found to have a strong effect on crime event outcomes, especially victim participation during sexual episodes. Victim effects also emerged from the analyses. Specifically, a strong interaction effect between age and gender of the victim was found for victim participation, which suggests that as the victim gets older, offenders are more likely to make their victim participate in sexual episodes when abusing a male victim but are less likely to do so when abusing a female victim.     

WHEN IT HAPPENS IN A FAMILY: AIDING PARENTS OF SUBSTANCE‐ABUSING ADOLESCENTS*

This article first summarizes key data on the scope of teen substance abuse and the lack of teen access to needed treatment services. It then describes how and why attorneys may be helpful to parents who discover their teen's drug or alcohol problem and seek advice and counsel about the legal implications of various actions that can or may be taken. The article explores such issues as parents finding illegal drugs in the house or on their teen's person, various modalities of treatment and how family members are involved, how parents might secure residential evaluations for their youth without the necessity of juvenile court involvement (and why this is important), concerns about placing youth in unlicensed residential treatment facilities, health insurance coverage issues, home drug testing, and how past American Bar Association (ABA) policy on youth drug and alcohol abuse is being followed up with a new ABA project to aid parents of substance‐abusing teenagers and their families.     

行政裁量的软法规制

行政裁量是行政机关进行行政立法、行政决策和实施具体行政行为时最经常运用的方式,它贯穿于几乎所有行政行为的运作过程。行政裁量是防止行政执法人员机械执法,实现个案实质公正的必不可少的法律保障,但是,行政裁量如果被滥用,它又可能成为行政执法人员谋私和侵犯行政相对人权益或社会公共利益的最便利的手段和工具。应充分运用软法指导裁量、促进裁量和制约裁量,通过软法机制规制和保障行政裁量权的正当行使,以防止行政机关及其工作人员滥用行政裁量权,尽可能保证行政裁量权为善而避免其为恶。     

WHAT WE KNOW NOW: FINDINGS FROM DEPENDENCY MEDIATION RESEARCH

After approximately 15 years of research on court-based dependency mediation programs, answers have emerged for many, but not all, of the questions that surround dependency mediation. This article explores what has been learned about court-based dependency mediation through research and what new and persisting questions remain. The article reviews empirical studies of child protection mediation. The topics considered include what we have learned about the organization and structure of mediation programs, what have we learned about settlement in mediation, and whether there are benefits to mediation beyond the mere fact that settlements are reached.     

论注册商标的合理使用

随着市场经济的发展,法律对商标权的保护日益增强,但是这种保护的程度并非绝对的、不受任何限制的。因为任何权利都是有界限的,没有限制的权利就会被滥用,从而威胁公共利益。应确立商标合理使用制度,加强对商标滥用制裁,限制商标人的权利,维护他人正当合理使用“注册商标”的利益。     

一个半公正的司法解释--兼与苏力教授对话

对幼女的年龄的明知是奸淫幼女成罪的必要要件 ,此乃刑法关于奸淫幼女的规定的本意。司法解释只有遵循这一本意才具有合法性。最高人民法院关于奸淫幼女的批复要求以对幼女的年龄的明知作为奸淫幼女的入罪条件 ,符合立法原意 ,因而具有公正的成分。将奸淫幼女解释为严格责任罪 ,既不符合立法精神 ,也有悖法理。但是 ,最高法院的批复在将对幼女的年龄的明知作为绝对的入罪条件的同时没有将幼女的年龄的不明知作为绝对的出罪条件 ,因而又不是完全公正的。     

Introduction: contact and domestic abuse

ABSTRACT

This article introduces the special issue of the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law on contact disputes and allegations of domestic abuse. It first describes the aims and findings of the International Symposium on Contact Disputes and Allegations of Domestic Violence – Identifying Best Practices at which the papers in the special issue were originally presented. It then outlines the position in England and Wales regarding allegations of domestic abuse in child arrangements cases, highlighting the difference between the ‘law in the books’ and the ‘law in action’. Thirdly, it discusses the research evidence on another prominent international approach to domestic abuse allegations – legislative presumptions against custody or unsupervised visitation/contact for abusive parents. The experience of presumptions in the USA and New Zealand suggests that a similar gap between ‘law in the books’ and ‘law in action’ exists, together with potential problems of legislative drafting. Finally, the article outlines the contributions of the other papers in the special issue to our understanding of international approaches to ensuring safety for children and resident parents in family proceedings where allegations of domestic abuse are raised.     

Conclusion: international best practices

ABSTRACT

Three approaches presented at the International Symposium on Contact Disputes and Allegations of Domestic Violence – Identifying Best Practices offered the possibility of overcoming the limitations identified in the preceding papers in this special issue. A human rights framework, trauma-informed practice and integrated services taking a whole-of-family approach can all help to achieve cultural change in contact proceedings and to ensure the availability of the resources needed to address the issue of domestic abuse holistically. Four Australian initiatives are described as examples of trauma-informed practice and integrated services: Legally Assisted Family Dispute Resolution (LAFDR), the Family Safety Model (FSM), the Family Violence Courts Division of the Victorian Magistrates Court (FVCD), and the Family Advocacy and Support Service (FASS). FSM and LAFDR are out-of-court initiatives which aim to address a family’s abuse-related needs before they get to a court. The FVCD and FASS pick up families whose cases have entered the court system, and at that stage attempt to offer a wrap-around service which addresses both legal and non-legal needs. Lastly, the article describes the European human rights framework, which is designed to operate in cases which are ultimately adjudicated by a court.     

The construction of allegedly abused children’s narratives in Scottish criminal courts

This study investigated lawyers’ use of social narratives surrounding child sexual abuse when questioning 66 5- to 17-year-old alleged victims in Scottish criminal courts using a mixed-methods approach. Thematic analysis found that the use of beliefs and stereotypes varied depending upon the lawyers’ role (defense/prosecution), children’s age, and the alleged victim-defendant relationship. These findings were investigated further using narrative analysis, which showed that, with increasing age and decreasing familiarity with defendants, narratives increasingly focused on the characteristics and actions of the victims rather than the defendants. Older children contributed more to narratives than younger children, but their contributions were only incorporated into the prosecutors’ narratives. Defense lawyers adopted more victim-blaming tactics as the narratives developed. Findings suggest that the criminal justice system, practitioners, and researchers must do more to recognize and guard against the reinforcement of stereotypes that may influence public rhetoric and jury decision-making.     

Exploring the social and emotional context of childhood animal cruelty and its potential link to adult human violence

ABSTRACT

Those who commit acts of animal cruelty may do so differently based upon how they individually experience such acts. These experiences may impact the link that exists between childhood animal abuse and later interpersonal violence. Limited research exists that examines how social and emotional factors such as being upset after committing animal cruelty may impact the progression from early acts of animal cruelty to later acts of adult violence against humans. Based on responses from 180 prison inmates in a Southern state, the current study examined the effects of onset and frequency of animal cruelty, covertness of animal cruelty, the commission of animal cruelty alone or in a group, and being upset after committing animal cruelty. Inmates who committed recurrent acts of childhood animal cruelty were more likely to commit recurrent acts of adult interpersonal violence.