Barriers to safety* for victims of domestic homicide

ABSTRACT

Research on domestic homicide has focused on risk factors presented by perpetrators such as prior violence, threats to kill, stalking, access to weapons, mental health concerns, controlling behaviour and separation. However, there has been less focus on the barriers that victims face regarding finding support, increasing personal safety and decreasing violence and risk of homicide. The present study explored 20 potential barriers that female domestic homicide victims faced using 183 cases occurring between 2002 and 2012 from the Ontario (Canada) Domestic Violence Death Review Committee to examine the presence and frequency of these barriers within the sample. Using two-step cluster analysis, different profiles of barriers were identified that centred on victims’ fear, social isolation and mental health. The study is limited in being a post hoc analysis of homicides and no causal links can be made. The implications of this finding are discussed in the context of risk assessment, risk management and safety planning.     

Meritocracy,Elitism and Inequality

The appeal of meritocracy is plain to see, because it appears to promote equality of opportunity. However, in this paper we argue that meritocracy is also a deeply elitist project. Firstly, we place Michael Young in context to show how his critique of meritocracy should be understood as a socialist vision to ameliorate class divides. Secondly, we show how economic inequality in the UK has not generated systematic resistance: in fact, inequality and belief in meritocracy have gone hand in hand. Thirdly, we argue that people see their own lives as meritocratic rather than ascribed, and that such values are deeply embedded in popular life. We offer two explanations for how such views have come about, and show how they have helped construct a more unequal society.     

Piquerism in homicide: A knife wound analysis of a sexually motivated serial killer

As part of a wider research project into paraphilic disorders and homicide, a case is presented of a piquerist who achieved sexual satisfaction through the infliction of stabbing wounds. Against a background of sexual domination with willing and unwilling sexual partners, the offender stabbed four men to death. A study of the resulting autopsy reports, in association with the offender's testimony and crime scene documentation, was undertaken to discern a piquerist crime scene signature. An excessive number of stabbing wounds, the targeting of sexual areas, and a variation in wound size and depth were found to be evidence of piquerism. Although there was opportunity to commit a sexual assault upon victims, the preference was to penetrate them with a knife. It is contended that, even without any evidence of sexual assault at a crime scene, a knife wound analysis can reveal a sexual motivation in some cases of homicide.     

国际碳交易机制下中国低碳投资风险探讨

跨国低碳投资已经形成了相当的规模,随着世界经济向低碳经济转变,其潜力将不可限量,我国低碳投资也方兴未艾。本文在总结和介绍目前国际碳交易市场机制下低碳投资的趋势与投资模式的基础上,重点分析了我国低碳投资现金流模型与投资风险管理。     

False allegation of child abduction

Cases in which a child has been falsely reported as missing or abducted can be extremely challenging to the law enforcement agencies responsible for their investigation. In the absence of a witnessed abduction or an obvious crime scene, it is difficult to determine whether a child has actually been abducted or has become a victim of a homicide and a false allegation. The purpose of this study was to examine falsely alleged kidnapping cases and identify successful investigative strategies. Sixty-one adjudicated false allegation cases involving 66 victims were analyzed. The mean age of the victim was 5 years. Victims came from generally unstable, high-risk family situations and were killed primarily by biological parents. Victims were killed because they were unwanted or viewed as an obstacle to a desired goal, or they were victims of abuse or maltreatment that ended in fatality.     

Different Mechanisms of Decapitation: Three Classic and One Unique Case History

Abstract: Three classic cases and one exceptional case are reported. The unique case of decapitation took place in a traffic accident, while the others were seen after homicide, vehicle‐assisted suicide, and after long‐jump hanging. Thorough scene examinations were performed, and photographs from the scene were available in all cases. Through the autopsy of each case, the mechanism for the decapitation in each case was revealed. The severance lines were through the neck and the cervical vertebral column, except for in the motor vehicle accident case, where the base of skull was fractured. This case was also unusual as the mechanism was blunt force. In the homicide case, the mechanism was the use of a knife combined with a saw, while in the two last cases, a ligature made the cut through the neck. The different mechanisms in these decapitations are suggested.     

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN U.S. METROPOLITAN AREAS: CHANGES IN WOMEN'S STATUS AND RISK, 1980–2004*

This article examines the impact of women's status on rates of violence against women using longitudinal data from the National Crime Survey and National Crime Victimization Survey for 40 U.S. metropolitan areas for the period 1980 to 2004. Drawing on feminist and routine activities perspectives, we specify hypotheses about the association between women's status and violent victimization, some of which predict different effects depending on whether the offender is a stranger, intimate, or known (nonintimate) other. Consistent with feminist and other perspectives, we find that absolute increases in women's labor force participation, income, and education are associated with decreases in intimate partner violence. Our findings also provide limited support for the backlash hypothesis by showing that increases in female labor participation relative to men are associated with increases in intimate partner violence but not with increases in violence by others. Consistent with routine activities theory, the data also indicate that absolute increases in female labor force participation are associated with increases in victimization by strangers and by known others. Furthermore, we find that absolute increases in female voter participation are associated with decreases in violence for all victim–offender relationship categories. The findings thus show that changes in the status of women have both positive and negative associations with violence victimization, and that comparative analyses of different types of violence are necessary for clarifying the sources of violence against women.     

凯洛案后美国土地征收立法新动向

凯洛案后美国联邦和州层面的新立法对于土地征收权的动用施加更多限制的同时,也规定了很多例外的情形,对于“公共使用”涵义的解读要想回归到狭义的、语义学上的原点几乎是不可能的,为了特定的经济发展目的而动用土地征收权还是有相当市场的。如果将新立法中体现的优先权制度、额外补偿制度、综合规划制度、公益与私益权衡制度与特定的经济发展目的结合起来考量的话,土地征收权动用范围的适度扩大就多了更多的合理性基础。     

Fingering a Murderer: A Successful Anthropological and Radiological Collaboration*

Abstract: We illustrate an interdisciplinary approach to identify a victim in a case with complex taphonomic and procedural issues. Burning, fragmentation, species commingling, and examination by multiple experts required anthropological preparation and analysis combined with radiographic adaptations to image and match trabecular patterns in unusually small, burned specimens. A missing person was last seen in the company of a reclusive female on a remote rural property. A warranted search found several burn sites containing human and animal bones. Fragment preparation, analysis, and development of a biological profile by anthropologists enabled examination by the odontologist, molecular biologist, and radiologist, and justified use of antemortem radiographs from one potential victim. Visual and radiological comparison resulted in a positive (later confirmed) identification of the victim by radiological matches of three carpal phalanges. Although some dimensional changes are expected with burning, morphological details were preserved, aided by selection of relatively intact, small bones for comparison.