Dating Violence Among Chinese College Students: Unaided Victims and Legal Lacunae.

This research draws on literature review and case analyses revealed that the main reasons for Chinese dating violence's high prevalence are the long-term influence of patriarchy and gender culture and low recognition and awareness of the issue among students. Current Anti-domestic Violence Act does not apply to dating violence rendering victims devoid of preventive skills or relief recourse critiqued. Research exploring the lack of education on intimate partner violence in colleges has made students oblivious to the risks. Finally, the review provides detailed recommendations on expanding the practical scope of the Anti-domestic Violence Act to include dating violence and provide judges with clarification on the relevant elements of a dating relationship and cooperation of the legal system and education system in preventing dating violence.

Quantifying Criminal Sexual Acts: The Illegal Sexual Exploitation Module of the Revised Sexual Experiences Survey-Victimization (SES-V) Measure.

Since the initial development of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) four decades ago, the SES has been designed to measure a range of forms of sexual exploitation, including acts that are coercive but not legally sanctioned as well as acts that legally qualify as crimes. That feature was retained in the revised Sexual Experiences Survey-Victimization (SES-V) measure. This article reviews the theoretical and empirical literature that guided the development of the Illegal Sexual Exploitation module of the SES-V, which measures experiences of nonconsensual exploitation resulting in sexual contact and which is designed to correspond to legal definitions across multiple jurisdictions. This article addresses research and applied contexts in which the distinction between legal and illegal sexual exploitation is important and the challenges and limitations involved in writing survey items that correspond to legal definitions. It also discusses revisions made to the items that make up the Illegal Sexual Exploitation module of the SES-V as compared to the illegal items in prior versions of the SES, including a new operationalization of non-consent and an expansion of the sexual acts and exploitative tactics that are included. Finally, the article discusses directions for future research on the Illegal Sexual Exploitation module of the SES-V.

[Trauma and memory-A contribution to the current debate in law and psychotherapy]. / Trauma und Erinnerung ­ ein Beitrag zur aktuellen Debatte in Recht und Psychotherapie.

The recall of memories of past events, experiences and emotions is a complex process. When experiencing traumatic events, as is the case with sexual violence, a host of additional complexities and difficulties arise. This becomes especially important in court cases which rely mostly or exclusively on the testimony of the victim, where the problem of the fallibility of memory takes center stage. Some research studies emphasize the possibility of inducing, altering or suppressing memories, especially in the context of psychotherapy. This has led to the unfortunate reality that the testimony of victims who have undergone psychotherapy is often considered to be unreliable. This in turn can lead to the impression that a decision has to be made between treatment of the adverse effects of traumatic events and maximizing the chances for a conviction of the perpetrator in court. This article introduces some central concepts of our current understanding of memory and gives an overview of the relevant scientific literature and debate. Following this, it examines the dilemma as it pertains to the different groups of all involved parties (i.e., victims, members of the judiciary and psychotherapists). Lastly, it proposes a framework of how to approach a solution to this problem by focusing on research in critical areas, expansion of therapy guidelines and documentation procedures as well as communication of these efforts to all parties involved.

[Medicolegal assessment of human trafficking victims. Descriptive study of a series of forensic cases in Catalonia (Spain)]. / Valoración médico-legal de las víctimas de trata de seres humanos. Estudio descriptivo de una serie de casos forenses en Cataluña (España).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Human trafficking or contemporary slavery is the recruitment and transfer of people by force or deception for sexual, labour or other types of exploitation. Although the violence, abuse and deprivation that trafficking entails are a threat to the health of its victims, in Spain the clinical or forensic data available in this regard is scarce. At the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia (IMLCFC), a unit specialized in the forensic assessment of these victims was created. The objective of this work was to describe a series of forensic cases of trafficking victims. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Retrospective study of victims in judicial cases opened for an alleged crime of human trafficking registered in the IMLCFC until 06/30/2023. RESULTS: 57 different victims were registered. The majority were women (71.9%). The average age was 30.5 years (s.d. 10.31). All the victims were foreigners, mostly from Latin America (45.5%). The exploitation was mainly sexual (61.4%). There were some sociodemographic differences and in the conditions and consequences of trafficking between victims of sexual exploitation and the rest. Mental health problems were very common in all victims at the time of the assessment (87.5%). CONCLUSIONS: The consequences of trafficking on health, especially mental health, are notable and the forensic assessment of victims is valuable in judicial proceedings. It is necessary to deepen our knowledge of the phenomenon in our environment.

The nature and extent of youth sextortion: Legal implications and directions for future research.

Sextortion, the threatened dissemination of explicit, intimate, or embarrassing images of a sexual nature without consent, is an understudied problem. Despite a recent increase in reported incidents among adolescents in the United States, little is known about the nature and extent of sextortion among this population. The current research explores sextortion behaviors among a national sample of 4972 middle and high school students (mean age = 14.5) for the purpose of illuminating how many youth are targeted, and understanding various characteristics of the incident (including who was involved, what offenders wanted, what offenders did, and who targets told). About 5% of youth reported that they were victims of sextortion, primarily by people they knew. Many of those targeted did not disclose the incident to adults. Implications for future research and the law are discussed.

Judicial Actors' Understanding of the Mental Health Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence: A Scoping Review.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health issue that has grave physical and mental health consequences for millions of women. The judicial system plays a critical role in responding to IPV principally through the criminal justice system, family law, and/or child welfare jurisdictions. However, victims/survivors who interact with the legal system report negative experiences. An under-researched area of scholarship is the degree to which judicial actors understand the mental health impacts of IPV on victims/survivors and how they apply that knowledge in practice. This scoping review aimed to identify and synthesize existing scholarship on judicial actors' understanding of the mental health impacts of IPV on women survivors. We searched 10 databases (Medline, Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Westlaw, HeinOnline, the Cochrane Library, and the Joanna Briggs Library databases) for studies published between 2000 and 2023. A total of 27 studies were included in the review. We identified five main themes, including: awareness of survivors' experiences, gap in judicial actors' knowledge, understanding of perpetrator tactics and risk factors, disclosing mental health problems, training, and guidance. The review highlights significant gaps in judicial actors' understanding of this issue and recommends strategies to increase the awareness and understanding of IPV among judicial actors. The findings can be used to justify future research to better understand the training and development needs of judicial actors to improve their level of awareness of the dynamics and impact of IPV and to make policy and practice recommendations to build the capacity of the judicial workforce.

Men after the sexual assault: The journey from medical service to court.

BACKGROUND: There may be significant physical and psychological consequences and impacts for males who experience sexual assault as adults, however, published literature in this context is sparse, specifically for the investigative outcomes in the criminal legal process. METHOD: This clinical audit tracked 138 adult males who presented for forensic and medical sexual assault care from initial presentation to ACT Police investigation and court outcome from 2004 to 2022. RESULTS: There were 103/138 (74.6%) males who attended for medical and forensic care within 72 h of the reported assault. Pre-existing mental health conditions were self-reported in 59/138 (42.7%) males. Nearly half of males 67/138 (48.5%) had a medical evidence kit collected. Males presenting for medical care 44/138 (31.2%) went on to report to ACT Policing, 36/44 (81.2%) of cases did not proceed to court. The most common clearance type was inadequate evidence to proceed (17/44, 38.6%). In 8/44 (18.2%) of adult male cases who subsequently reported to ACT Police, the investigation resulted in entry to the judicial process with a suspect charged with a sexual offence. Five of those cases resulting in a conviction. CONCLUSIONS: Many adult male patients presented within timeframes that enabled the provision of time critical medical care and provided an opportunity for forensic medical evidence collection. Many adult males 59 (42.7%) self-reported pre-existing mental health conditions upon initial presentation. Attrition occurred throughout the patient journey with many males not reporting to police and thus not presenting in the legal process. This further emphasises the need for independent sexual violence patient advisors to support adult male victims through the medical and criminal justice process.

Building A Comprehensive, Longitudinal Dataset to Advance Research on the Efficacy of State-Level Anti-bullying Legislation: 1999 to 2017.

Bullying is one of the most common forms of youth violence and is associated with myriad adverse consequences over the life course. There has been increasing interest in examining whether anti-bullying legislation is effective in preventing bullying victimization and its negative effects. However, a lack of data structures that comprehensively and longitudinally assess anti-bullying legislation and its provisions has hampered this effort. We provide 18 years of data (1999-2017) on anti-bullying legislation and amendments across 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, which we are making publicly available at LawAtlas.org. This article describes how the legal content analysis was conducted, provides information on the reliability of the coding, and details provisions of the legislation that were coded, such as funding provisions and enumerated groups (a total of 122 individual codes are provided). Over 90% of states had at least one amendment to their legislation during this 18-year period (range: 0-22; Mean = 6.1), highlighting both the evolving content of anti-bullying statutes and the importance of tracking these changes with longitudinal data. Additionally, we offer illustrative examples of the kinds of research questions that might be pursued with these new data. For instance, using survival analyses, we show that a variety of state characteristics (e.g., political leaning of state legislatures) predict time to adoption of key provisions of anti-bullying legislation (e.g., the comprehensiveness of legal provisions). Finally, we end with a discussion of how the dataset might be used in future research on the efficacy of anti-bullying legislation.

Regulating Assault Weapons and Large-Capacity Magazines for Ammunition.

This Viewpoint discusses the history and current status of assault weapons bans in the US, provides evidence of the potential effectiveness of a US ban and information regarding the Australian ban, and explores potential next steps.

Coding of Sexual Assault by Emergency Physicians: A Nationally Representative Study.

INTRODUCTION: Sexual assault is a public health problem that affects many Americans and has multiple long-lasting effects on victims. Medical evaluation after sexual assault frequently occurs in the emergency department, and documentation of the visit plays a significant role in decisions regarding prosecution and outcomes of legal cases against perpetrators. The American College of Emergency Physicians recommends coding such visits as sexual assault rather than adding modifiers such as "alleged." METHODS: This study reviews factors associated with coding of visits as sexual assault compared to suspected sexual assault using the 2016 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. RESULTS: Younger age, female gender, a larger number of procedure codes, urban hospital location, and lack of concurrent alcohol use are associated with coding for confirmed sexual assault. CONCLUSION: Implications of this coding are discussed.

The Real Threat of Deepfake Pornography: A Review of Canadian Policy.

Deepfakes may refer to algorithmically synthesized material wherein the face of a person is superimposed onto another body. To date, most deepfakes found online are pornographic, with the people depicted in them rarely consenting to their creation and publicization. Deepfakes leave anyone with an online presence vulnerable to victimization. As a testament to policy often being reactionary to antisocial behavior, current Canadian legislation offers no clear recourse to those who are victimized by deepfake pornography. We aim to provide a critical review of the legal mechanisms and remedies in place, including criminal charges, defamation, copyright infringement laws, and injunctive relief that could be applied in deepfake pornography cases. To combat deepfake pornography, we suggest current laws to be expanded to include language specific to falsely created pornography without the explicit consent of all depicted persons. We also discuss the extent to which host websites are responsible for vetting the uploaded content on their platforms. Finally, we present a call for action on a societal and research level to deal with deepfakes and better support victims of deepfake pornography.

Perceived Types, Causes, and Consequences of Financial Exploitation: Narratives From Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to investigate the perception of financial exploitation and its causes and consequences by older adults who have firsthand experience of being exploited. METHOD: Thirty-one cognitively healthy older adult participants aged 50 or older were drawn from the Finance, Cognition, and Health in Elders Study. In-depth, one-on-one interviews were conducted. Interview transcripts were analyzed using an iterative, data-driven, thematic coding scheme and emergent themes were summarized. RESULTS: Categories of financial exploitation included (a) investment fraud, (b) wage theft/money owed, (c) consumer fraud, (d) imposter schemes, and (e) manipulation by a trusted person. Themes emerged around perceived causes: (a) element of trust, (b) promise of financial security, (c) lack of experience or awareness, (d) decision-making, and (e) interpersonal dynamics. Perceived consequences included negative and positive impacts around (a) finances, (b) financial/consumer behaviors (c) relationships and trust, (d) emotional impact, and (e) future outlook. DISCUSSION: These narratives provide important insights into perceived financial exploitation experiences.

Beyond roofies: Drug- and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault.

ABSTRACT: Substance use in victims of sexual assault, whether voluntary or involuntary, changes the aftermath and recovery process significantly, affecting the way memories are processed and recalled, the chances of developing significant mental health complications, and the disclosure reactions that the survivor receives. Clinicians must understand these differences in order to provide the best possible care to survivors. This article provides an overview of these topics, detailing some of the nuances of interviewing, testing, and the physiology of memory formation and how that affects the outcomes of prosecution in these crimes.

Cyberbullying and cybervictimization: Does gender matter?

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate gender effects on college students' judgements about a hypothetical episode of cyberbullying on Facebook that resulted in the suicide of a cybervictim. A total of 176 undergraduate students at a midsize public university in the Northeast served as participants. Four one-page versions of a hypothetical trial transcript detailing a cyberbullying case were utilized. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: male cyberbully/male cybervictim, male cyberbully/female cybervictim, female cyberbully/male cybervictim, and female cyberbully/female cybervictim. After reading one of the trial transcripts, participants rated eight variables, including criminal guilt and intent of the cyberbully, responsibility of entities involved, and appropriate punishment for the cyberbully. Results revealed significant differences in judgments based on the gender of the cyberbully, cybervictim, and participant.

Depoimento especial, testemunho judicial, diretrizes internacionais: dissonâncias / Special testimony, judicial testimony, international guidelines: dissonances / Declaración especial, testimonio judicial, directrices internacionales: disonancias

Resumo O depoimento especial de crianças e adolescentes e a Lei 13.431/2017 questionam a interface entre a psicologia e a justiça. Essa lei tem em suas fontes a Resolução 20/2005, do Conselho Econômico e Social das Nações Unidas, que traça diretrizes para a justiça em casos de crianças vítimas ou testemunhas de crime. Realizou-se pesquisa qualitativa, baseada em levantamento bibliográfico e documental, tendo por eixo as legislações mencionadas e os procedimentos e papéis profissionais nelas previstos. Avalia-se a dissonância entre os dois documentos e suas consequências, bem como as definições de vitimização secundária, revitimização, pessoa de apoio e intermediário, não adotadas na Lei 13.431/2017. Algumas práticas estrangeiras alinhadas à Resolução 20/2005 são descritas e comentadas, mostrando diferenças significativas em relação ao que é realizado no Brasil. Conclui-se que uma dessas diferenças entre um e outro documento é o aspecto da proteção, que perde sua força e revela o limite do funcionamento do judiciário no acolhimento daquele que demanda cuidado.(AU)

Abstract The special testimony of children and adolescents and the Law 13431/17 question the interface between psychology and justice. This law results from the Resolution 20/2005 of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, which outlines guidelines for justice in matters involving child victims or witnesses of crime. Considering the aforementioned legislation and their provisions for procedures and professional roles, a qualitative research based on bibliographic and documentary surveys was conducted to evaluate the dissonances between the two documents and their consequences, as well as the definitions of secondary victimization, revictimization, support person, and mediator - not provided in the Law 13431/17. This paper describes and comments some foreign practices aligned with the Resolution 20/2005, showing significant differences with the practices employed in the Brazilian scenario. The results indicate that the protection aspect loses its strength between one document and the other, revealing the limit of the judiciary functioning in hosting those who demand care.(AU)

Resumen La declaración especial de niños y adolescentes y la Ley 13.431/2017 cuestionan la relación entre psicología y justicia. Esta ley tiene en sus fuentes la Resolución 20/2005, del Consejo Económico y Social de las Naciones Unidas, relativa a directrices sobre la justicia para los niños víctimas o testigos de delitos. Se realizó una investigación cualitativa, basada en levantamiento bibliográfico y documental, cuyos ejes fueron las mencionadas legislaciones y los procedimientos y roles profesionales previstos en ellas. Se evalúa la disonancia entre los dos documentos y sus consecuencias, así como las definiciones de victimización secundaria, re-victimización, persona de apoyo e intermediario, no adoptadas en la Ley 13.431/2017. Algunas prácticas extranjeras acorde a la Resolución 20/2005 se describen y comentan, subrayando diferencias significativas con lo que se realiza en Brasil. Se concluye que una de estas diferencias es la protección que pierde su fuerza y evidencia el límite del funcionamiento del sistema judicial en la protección de quien demanda cuidado.(AU)

Before Saying "I Do": Legal and Policy Considerations for Facilitating Clarity on Human Trafficking and the Protection of Children in Albania.

Data available on victims of human trafficking in Albania does not appear to point to a significant problem of human trafficking in the country. For example, from the years 2016 to 2018, 61 persons were officially determined to be victims of human trafficking, in a context where the average population for that period was 2,871,978 persons. However, beneath this representation of an ostensible average level of trafficking in Albania are signs which seem to be suggestive of a more serious problem in the country. Reports, for example, indicate that authorities have sometimes associated trafficking with a transnational element, while challenges have continued to be posed to the identification of those involved in forced begging, particularly unaccompanied children, street children, and children crossing borders. In addition to highlighting and assessing evident challenges that exist in the identification of real and potential victims of trafficking and the gaps that exist in the protection of children and vulnerable groups in law and in practice, this report provides clarity on the meaning of human trafficking and what could be done to provide a clearer picture of victims of trafficking in Albania. As Albania is being considered for accession negotiations in respect of entry into the European Union, the time is opportune to address challenges and gaps to the prevention and response to trafficking particularly given the European Commission's concerns on human trafficking and child trafficking in Albania.

DNA evidence in sexual assault cases in Pakistan.

Sexual assault is becoming a global epidemic, affecting close to a billion women throughout the world. This paper explores the challenges in the admissibility of DNA evidence in rape cases in Pakistan. Delays in the medical examination of victims, and improper collection and packaging of evidentiary material, compromise the probative biological evidence. In the last few years, existing laws have been amended to increase the utility of DNA evidence during criminal trials. However, various issues - for example lack of proper knowledge of DNA evidence by lawyers and judicial officers, inadequacies in existing laws and conflicting decisions of apex courts - can affect the admissibility of DNA evidence during criminal trials.

Gross Negligence Manslaughter in Healthcare: Time for a Restorative Justice Approach?

This article explores the merits of employing a restorative justice approach in cases of gross negligence manslaughter involving healthcare professionals, in line with the recent policy turn towards developing a just culture in addressing episodes of healthcare malpractice within the National Health Service in England. It is argued that redress for victims and rehabilitation of offenders should operate as key values, underpinning the adoption of a restorative justice approach in such cases. It would also be vital that a structured pathway was designed that established suitable protocols and safeguards for both victims and offenders taking account of problematic issues such as the informality of the process, power asymmetries between parties, and the context in which the offence took place. Taking all such matters into account, we propose that consideration be given to establishing a pilot involving the use of restorative justice in cases of gross negligence manslaughter involving healthcare professionals, which would be subject to judicial and stakeholder oversight to ensure transparency and accountability, which in turn could inform future policy options.

Human Trafficking of Children.

Human trafficking has been increasingly recognized worldwide as a major public health problem. It is a crime based on exploitation of the most vulnerable and marginalized people of any community and is a violation of human rights. Children, especially immigrant and refugee children, are at risk of victimization and may experience considerable physical and mental health consequences. Adding these problems to pre-existing vulnerabilities and adversities makes human trafficking a complex health issue that needs to be addressed by a multidisciplinary team that includes health care providers. This article aims to provide an overview of human trafficking and the red flags that may alert the pediatrician to the possibility of exploitation, with a special focus on immigrant and refugee children. It describes a trauma-informed, rights-based approach and discusses ways in which pediatricians can contribute to a multidisciplinary response to human trafficking. [Pediatr Ann. 2020;49(5):e209-e214.].

Prosecutor Preference for Forensic Nurse Testimony: Outcome of Expanding a Forensic Program.

INTRODUCTION: The objective was to evaluate the impact of using forensic nurse examiners for patients with trauma on prosecutors' preference for testimony in criminal court. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of a database of 562 subpoenas received from January 2012 to December 2017 was conducted for patients with trauma seen in a level 1 trauma center with a comprehensive forensic nursing program. RESULTS: The prosecutors' preferences in 453 of the 562 subpoenas received by the Forensic Nurse Examiners program involving a patient with trauma were analyzed. The prosecutors preferred the use of the forensic nurse examiner alone in 441 of the 453 cases (97.4%), with a decrease (100% to 2.7%) in preference for physicians testifying in criminal court after the expansion of our forensic nursing program compared with previous years before the program expansion. DISCUSSION: The quality of the expanded Forensic Nurse Examiner program was validated by an increased prosecutor preference for forensic nurse examiner testimony in criminal court as the program matured over the years.