scholarly journals Survivors’ Beliefs About the Causes of Sexual Offending: An Australian Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122199877
Author(s):  
Kelly Richards
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Australian Study ◽  
Critical Gap ◽  
Policy Responses

Policies designed to prevent sexual (re)offending are often proposed on behalf of survivors of sexual violence. However, no research has examined survivors’ beliefs about the causes of sexual offending. This is a critical gap, because how individuals understand the causes of sexual offending has long been thought to inform their support for particular policy responses. This article presents findings from the first study to specifically examine survivors’ views about the causes of sexual offending, based on interviews with 33 survivors from Australia. It demonstrates that survivors’ beliefs are highly complex and multifaceted, and destabilizes the uniform survivor of governmental imagination.

Marriage: A Get Out of Jail Free Card?

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-190
Author(s):  
Siane Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Intimate Relationships ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human

Abstract Marital rape is a particularly heinous form of sexual violence that occurs within intimate relationships. However, throughout much of the world, the marriage contract affords legal immunity to marital partners who would otherwise be convicted as sexual offenders. By reviewing the laws of the Commonwealth jurisdictions, this research highlights the necessity for reform in many jurisdictions that continue to allow for marital exemptions to sexual offending. This review identified three main forms of marital exemption, that is the general marital exemption to the primary sexual offence, the creation of spousal-specific sexual offences, and the use of marital exemptions to remove or reduce liability for sexual offences involving minors. The operation of these marital exemptions is then considered in the context of international human rights law and its prohibition on sexual violence within intimate relationships. An analysis of the jurisprudence surrounding Article 2 of CEDAW, Article 19 of the CRC and the prohibition of torture informs the argument that international human rights law requires the prohibition of marital exemptions to sexual offending throughout the Commonwealth nations. Marital exemptions continue to afford sexual offending with impunity across many Commonwealth jurisdictions in breach of the international human rights obligations of those nations and reform should occur in order to uphold the rights of sexual violence survivors.

Background crime conditions and their impact on violent sexual offending

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Алла Семерикова ◽  
Alla Semerikova
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Destructive Processes

The article deals with objective social determinants of sexual violence, special importance is given to the terms of this type of crime. The study was conducted by compiling the sample survey of victims of sexual violence, as well as those serving sentences for violent sex crimes or committed similar crimes in the past. Determined are the conditions of violent sexual crimes, according to the author, it is understood background criminogenic effects that are not related to the criminal activity of the individual manifestations, but nevertheless, at the present stage of development of society are considered immoral and undermining the ethical foundations of society as a whole. In this case, we can not say that they are the cause of violent sexual criminal assault, but play a significant role in the formation of the motivational sphere of life not only encroaching person, but their victims, significantly increasing the level of victimization and, consequently, facilitating the commission in relation to the crime. Among these phenomena are three main ones: alcohol abuse, prostitution and pornography. These background criminogenic phenomena - the formation of a powerful provocateur defects for socialization of the person under whose influence they had a distorted attitude and mentality. The article defines the concept of the norm of sexual behavior of the individual and can be traced to changes in the concept of the person under the influence of normal background criminogenic effects and inclusion of the individual in these extremely destructive processes. The problem of correlation of background criminogenic phenomena between the concept of norms of sexual behavior, as well as provides psychological and social characteristics of background criminogenic phenomena and to determine the degree of their influence on the behavior of the mechanism of victims of sexual violence and encroaching persons.

The role of policy in preventing sexual violence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Wright
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
European Policy ◽  
Repeat Offenders ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Public Notification

This essay focuses on the role of law and policy in sexual assault and offending. Comparing and contrasting U.S., Canadian, and European policy approaches, the review examines how various governments have prioritized their legal approaches to sexual offending prevention and response. These responses have included broad-based conviction-focused schemes, narrowly focused laws centered on high-risk repeat offenders, and prioritization with stranger-based assault. There has been great variance in terms of the emphasis placed on treatment and public notification. The essay analyses how these nations have learned from each other and how their sex offending policies have evolved, if and how they reflect the science of sexual offending and risk, and which demonstrate the most promise for sexual assault reduction with the fewest unintended consequences.

scholarly journals It's The Same Old Story: Rape Representation in New Zealand Newspapers (1975 - 2015)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ange Barton
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Women’S Experiences ◽  
Women's Experiences ◽  
Feminist Perspectives ◽  
The Media

<p>Newspaper reporting of rape, and in particular, representations of women as rape victims, have historically been presented by the media in a misinformed manner, influenced by myths and misconceptions about the dynamics of sexual violence. Previous research has shown media depictions can promote victim-blaming attitudes which affect society’s understanding toward sexual violence, promoting false narratives and rape-supportive beliefs. Victim narratives of sexual victimisation struggle within a ‘culture of silencing’ that prevents the majority of sexual offending from coming to the attention of authorities, and identifying the silencing of women’s experiences of rape has, and continues to be, a key objective for feminist scholars. Newspapers are one medium which has been exclusionary of women's experiences, therefore it is important to look at the role of newspapers on a longitudinal level to investigate whether there have been changes in reporting practices and attitudes. To address this issue, this study draws on feminist perspectives and adopts a quantitative and qualitative methodology utilising newspaper articles as a specific source of inquiry. Articles concerning male-female rape were collected from eight prominent New Zealand newspapers across a 40 year period from 1975 – 2015 with individual years for analysis being 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015. Results from this analysis show minimal inclusion of women’s words regarding newspaper commentary in articles concerning rape. This study also found that across the four decades of analysis, newspapers consistently reported the rape of women by strangers, and sympathetic justice system responses were achieved if the victim was ‘respectable’ and adhered to an ‘appropriate’ version of femininity. The findings from this study illustrate discourses that reflect features of a broader social discourse relating to the responsibility of women to protect themselves from rape. The implications from this research can be utilised to better inform journalists in their reporting practices on sexual violence cases in the New Zealand press, with a hope to challenge the way that newspaper reporters and consumers think about constructing rape, and women as rape victims.</p>

Grounds for concern: an Australian perspective on responses to sexual assault and harassment in university settings

2018 ◽  
pp. 83-104
Author(s):  
Andrea Durbach ◽  
Rosemary Grey
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Harm Prevention ◽  
University Settings ◽  
Responses To Sexual Harassment

This chapter examines the limited attention given to prevention within Australian policy responses to sexual assault and harassment in university settings. It draws on the findings of Change the Course: National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities, released by the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2017. The chapter first describes the historical and political context for the survey, which was initiated in response to the problem of sexual violence in Australian campuses. It then considers the initial steps taken following the release of the survey with the goal of strengthening Australian university responses to sexual harassment and assault. It also discusses recent developments from universities with regard to the problem of sexual violence and some of the key challenges that need to be addressed. Finally, it suggests a long-term approach to address sexual assault and harassment that shifts the focus from risk management to harm prevention.

scholarly journals Dynamic sexual offense risk assessment using the VRS-SO with indeterminate sentenced men

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Olver
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
Sexual Offense ◽  
Violence Risk ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Dynamic Risk ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Dynamic Risk Assessment

Indeterminate detention (ID) is a high stakes sanction reserved for exceptionally high risk-high need (HRHN) persons who are deemed to pose an undue risk to public safety. It is one of the most extreme measures that is routinely taken by justice systems to manage sexual violence risk and prevent sexual and violent recidivism. Naturally, risk assessment is most frequently employed as a mechanism to keep dangerous people in custody; but seldom is risk assessment viewed as a possible ticket out for men with an ID designation who have made substantive risk changes and whose risk can be safely managed in the community. This article features applications of a dynamic sexual violence risk assessment and treatment planning tool, the Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offense version (VRS-SO), with ID individuals and other HRHN men, to assess risk in a dynamic manner to inform risk management efforts and release decisions. VRS-SO data on an ID sample are presented along with clinical illustrations of dynamic risk assessment. Several propositions are made with supporting data from VRS-SO normative research with treated sexual offending samples regarding the use of dynamic tools with ID men and the perils and pitfalls of relying solely on static measures. Ultimately, dynamic risk instruments can be used to track progress and monitor risk change over multiple assessments to inform release and reintegration decisions with ID persons. In this regard, dynamic assessment has the potential to help, rather than hinder, reintegration of ID sentenced persons and can inform safe, fair, and humane decisions.

scholarly journals "I Think She's Learnt Her Lesson": Juror Use of Cultural Misconceptions in Sexual Violence Trials

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 463-486
Author(s):  
Yvette Tinsley ◽  
Claire Baylis ◽  
Warren Young
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Jury Trials ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Culturally Embedded ◽  
Myth Acceptance

The extent to which decision-making in sexual violence jury trials is impacted by culturally embedded misconceptions is not well understood. In this article, we provide an insight into the views of 121 real jurors in 18 sexual violence trials, illustrating that rape myth acceptance scales give an incomplete view of when and how jurors might be influenced by cultural misconceptions. Prompted in part by the behaviour and tactics of counsel, jurors in real trials often expect complainants to fight back and to report sexual offending immediately. They also have expectations of complainants and defendants that derive from misconceptions about "real rape". While our study confirms that jurors are susceptible to cultural misconceptions, it also demonstrates the complexity of assessing the extent of their influence and the difficulties in designing reforms to reduce their use.

Incremental Contributions of Static and Dynamic Sexual Violence Risk Assessment: Integrating Static-99R and VRS-SO Common Language Risk Levels

2020 ◽  
pp. 009385482097440
Author(s):  
Mark E. Olver ◽  
Sharon M. Kelley ◽  
Drew A. Kingston ◽  
Sarah M. Beggs Christofferson ◽  
David Thornton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Violence Risk ◽  
Average Risk ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Violence Risk Assessment ◽  
Treatment Change ◽  
Risk Levels ◽  
Dynamic Risk

We examined the incremental contributions of static and dynamic sexual violence risk assessment in a multisite sample of 1,289 men treated for sexual offending. The study extends validation work that established new risk categories and recidivism estimates for the Violence Risk Scale–Sexual Offense version (VRS-SO), using the risk assessment common language (CL) framework. Different rates of sexual recidivism were observed at different thresholds of static risk (Static-99R) as a function of dynamic risk and treatment change, particularly for men who were actuarially above or well above average risk (Levels IVa and IVb, respectively). A framework integrating CL risk levels for Static-99R and VRS-SO dynamic scores into overall CL risk levels is presented. We discuss implications for dynamic sexual violence risk assessment regarding the language used for risk communication and the importance of dynamic risk instruments in sexual violence evaluations, particularly when credible agents of risk change may be present.

scholarly journals It's The Same Old Story: Rape Representation in New Zealand Newspapers (1975 - 2015)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ange Barton
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Women’S Experiences ◽  
Women's Experiences ◽  
Feminist Perspectives ◽  
The Media

<p>Newspaper reporting of rape, and in particular, representations of women as rape victims, have historically been presented by the media in a misinformed manner, influenced by myths and misconceptions about the dynamics of sexual violence. Previous research has shown media depictions can promote victim-blaming attitudes which affect society’s understanding toward sexual violence, promoting false narratives and rape-supportive beliefs. Victim narratives of sexual victimisation struggle within a ‘culture of silencing’ that prevents the majority of sexual offending from coming to the attention of authorities, and identifying the silencing of women’s experiences of rape has, and continues to be, a key objective for feminist scholars. Newspapers are one medium which has been exclusionary of women's experiences, therefore it is important to look at the role of newspapers on a longitudinal level to investigate whether there have been changes in reporting practices and attitudes. To address this issue, this study draws on feminist perspectives and adopts a quantitative and qualitative methodology utilising newspaper articles as a specific source of inquiry. Articles concerning male-female rape were collected from eight prominent New Zealand newspapers across a 40 year period from 1975 – 2015 with individual years for analysis being 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015. Results from this analysis show minimal inclusion of women’s words regarding newspaper commentary in articles concerning rape. This study also found that across the four decades of analysis, newspapers consistently reported the rape of women by strangers, and sympathetic justice system responses were achieved if the victim was ‘respectable’ and adhered to an ‘appropriate’ version of femininity. The findings from this study illustrate discourses that reflect features of a broader social discourse relating to the responsibility of women to protect themselves from rape. The implications from this research can be utilised to better inform journalists in their reporting practices on sexual violence cases in the New Zealand press, with a hope to challenge the way that newspaper reporters and consumers think about constructing rape, and women as rape victims.</p>

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