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.

A Qualitative Study Of Sexual Assault Survivors' Post-Assault Legal System Experiences.

Following sexual assault, survivors may turn to the civil or criminal justice systems in pursuit of some form of legal justice. Informal support providers (SPs) often play a large role in survivors' post-assault experiences and recovery, including providing support during survivors' decision to pursue legal justice and in navigating the system. Yet, this has not been thoroughly examined in research, particularly through a dyadic lens. Using qualitative dyadic data from 45 survivor-SP matched pairs (i.e., friend, family, or significant other), the current study addresses this gap by looking broadly at survivors' post-assault experiences with the criminal and civil legal systems. Of the 45 pairs in the sample, the current study presents findings from a subsample of 28 survivors and 13 SPs regarding post-assault legal system experiences. Our findings suggest that survivors and SPs consider the perceived strength of their case, perceptions of police, and the possibility of institutional bias when deciding to report the assault to the police. Interviews revealed that reasons for legal system involvement extend beyond pursuance of perpetrator prosecution, such as filing for custody of their children after leaving a domestic violence situation or seeking financial compensation. Many survivors who had interactions with the police and legal system experienced secondary victimization, while a few survivors had positive experiences, despite their expectations. We recommend improved access to survivor advocates and suggest directions for future research stemming from findings.

[Minor Victims of Violent Acts in the Context of the Victim Reparation Law]. / Minderjährige Opfer von Gewalttaten im Verfahren des Opferentschädigungsgesetzes.

Objective: A descriptive analysis of victim compensation applications for children and adolescents as well as sociodemographic and trauma-specific information concerning victims and perpetrators. Method: We did analysis of 100 victim-compensation application files based on a self-developed category system. Results: The files included solely interpersonal trauma, 59 % of which are type II trauma. The most frequent form is sexual violence. The perpetrators stem mostly from children's homes or peripherals. 79 % of the victims received a diagnosis of a mental disorder, most often posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusions: Sexually abused children and adolescents make up the majority of the target population in OEG-related trauma outpatient units. Such outpatient units should therefore offer a specific expertise in treating sexually abused children and adolescents.

The Impact of Judicial Reform on Crime Victimization and Trust in Institutions in Mexico.

This article studies the impact of judicial reform in Mexico. It does so using a survey about crime victimization and perceptions of insecurity (Encuesta Nacional Sobre la Inseguridad [ENSI]) collected in 2005, 2008, and 2009 in 11 Mexican cities, 3 of which implemented the reform in 2007 and 2008. This analysis shows that judicial reform not only reduces victimization but also lowers perceptions of security. Although we find that judicial reform has a negative effect on trust in the local and federal police, judicial reform reduces the probability of being asked by the transit police for a bribe.

World Trade Center Health Program; Amendments to Definitions, Appeals, and Other Requirements. Final rule.

In 2011 and 2012, the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), promulgated regulations designed to govern the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program (Program), including the processes by which eligible responders and survivors may apply for enrollment in the Program, obtain health monitoring and treatment for WTC-related health conditions, and appeal enrollment and treatment decisions, as well as a process to add new conditions to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions (List). After using the regulations for a number of years, the Administrator of the WTC Health Program identified potential improvements to certain existing provisions, including, but not limited to, appeals of enrollment, certification, and treatment decisions, as well as the procedures for the addition of health conditions for WTC Health Program coverage. He also identified the need to add new regulatory provisions, including, but not limited to, standards for the disenrollment of a WTC Health Program member and decertification of a certified WTC-related health condition. A notice of proposed rulemaking was published on August 17, 2016; this action addresses public comments received on that proposed rulemaking, as well as three interim final rules promulgated since 2011, and finalizes the proposed rule and three interim final rules.

Keeping Victims Informed: Service Providers' and Victims' Experiences Using Automated Notification Systems.

Automated victim notification is often touted as an effective and efficient means for providing victims timely and accurate information of their offenders' court events and status changes at reduced burden to the criminal justice system. Today, 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have some form of automated notification system. Researchers surveyed 1,246 service providers and 723 victims to examine their awareness and use of, satisfaction with, and experiences using automated notification systems. Findings indicate that service providers are aware of and use automated notification; however, less than one-quarter of victim respondents were registered for automated notification services. Service providers and victims who use automated notification services report high overall satisfaction; however, they also report challenges in using these systems. Service providers offer several recommendations for improving automated notification systems.

World Trade Center Health Program; amendments to list of WTC-related health conditions; cancer; revision. Interim final rule.

On September 12, 2012, the Administrator of the WTC Health Program (Administrator) published a final rule in the Federal Register adding certain types of cancer to the List of World Trade Center (WTC)-Related Health Conditions (List) in the WTC Health Program regulations; an additional final rule was published on September 19, 2013 adding prostate cancer to the List. Through the process of implementing the addition of cancers to the List and integrating cancer coverage into the WTC Health Program, the Administrator has identified the need to amend the rule to remove the ICD codes and specific cancer sub-sites, clarify the definition of ``childhood cancers,'' revise the definition of ``rare cancers,'' and notify stakeholders that the Administrator is revising WTC Health Program policy related to coverage of cancers of the brain and the pancreas. No types of cancer covered by the WTC Health Program will be removed by this action; four types of cancer--malignant neoplasms of the brain, the cervix uteri, the pancreas, and the testis--are newly eligible for certification as WTC-related health conditions as a result of this action.

Regulations implementing the Byrd Amendments to the Black Lung Benefits Act: determining coal miners' and survivors' entitlement to benefits. Final rule.

This final rule revises the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA or Act) regulations to implement amendments made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA amended the BLBA in two ways. First, it revived a rebuttable presumption of total disability or death due to pneumoconiosis for certain claims. Second, it reinstituted automatic entitlement to benefits for certain eligible survivors of coal miners whose lifetime benefit claims were awarded because they were totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis. These regulations clarify how the statutory presumption may be invoked and rebutted and the application and scope of the survivor-entitlement provision. The rule also eliminates several unnecessary or obsolete provisions.

A review of intimate partner violence for case managers.

This article provides case managers with updated information on intimate partner violence. Case managers provide an important role in the identification, treatment, and prevention of intimate partner violence. Current federal laws provide direction and funding for a complex network of services for survivors. Effective identification involves screening and assessing risk of harm, severity of violence, and the survivor's readiness for change. Care planning involves working with the survivor and their families to build protective skills, make a safety plan, and build their life independent of violence.

Modeling the effects of victim behavior and moral character on prosecutors' charging decisions in sexual assault cases.

Prior research, modeling the effects of the victim's behavior and character on prosecutors' charging decisions, has used either a dichotomous variable that reflects the presence of any risky behavior or moral character issues or an additive index that captures the number of related items in a case file. We suggest that these measures do not adequately identify the specific issues that prosecutors take into consideration when making charging decisions. Using data on 666 sexual assault cases that resulted in arrest in three urban jurisdictions and a multivariate modeling strategy, we examine specific risk-taking behaviors and issues related to the victim's moral character in an effort to determine if certain behaviors and characteristics have a more substantial effect on charging decisions than others. We also examine the extent to which the effects of these blame and believability factors vary based on the nature of the cases. Our results reveal that although charging decisions in stranger cases are largely determined by legally relevant factors, these decisions in nonstranger cases are affected by several legally irrelevant victim characteristics: whether the victim had a prior criminal record, whether the victim had been drinking alcohol prior to the assault, and whether the victim invited the suspect to her residence. Further analysis, however, revealed that only the victim's prior record had a differential effect on charging decisions in cases involving strangers and nonstrangers and in aggravated and simple rape cases. Our results suggest that the focal concerns that guide prosecutors' charging decisions incorporate specific victim behaviors and background characteristics.

Police interviews of sexual assault reporters: do attitudes matter?

Sexual assault is underreported in the United States. Survivors are often reluctant to make police reports for various reasons; one is fear of revictimization by criminal justice professionals. Conversely, police officers often lack skills for interviewing crime victims. Posttraumatic stress reactions among victims can exacerbate the problem. Although some victims prefer female interviewers, it is not known whether they are more skilled. A sample of 429 police officers completed a written survey testing their rape myth acceptance and knowledge of how to interview rape reporters. A significant relationship between rape myth acceptance and interviewing skill was discovered. Although officer gender was related to interviewing skill, the effect was mediated by rape myth acceptance. Specific officer behaviors related to high rape myth acceptance were identified. Implications for selection of police to conduct victim interviews were discussed.

"God must have been sleeping": faith as an obstacle and a resource for Rwandan genocide survivors in the United States.

In 1994, 1 million Rwandans were violently killed in only 100 days. Devastating for some Rwandan survivors was the significant role that some Catholic parishes and leaders took in ignoring, facilitating, and even perpetuating the genocide. This article seeks to understand how Rwandan genocide survivors draw on religion as they negotiate their postgenocide identities in the United States and comprehend their current faiths, beliefs, and practices. Based on qualitative interviews with Rwandan survivors now located within the United States, I argue that the experiences of religiosity postgenocide serve as both an obstacle and a resource in postgenocide life, creating significant individual and local ramifications for community engagement, reconciliation, and trauma recovery.

Prospective evaluation of legal difficulties and quality of life in adult survivors of childhood cancer.

BACKGROUND: Adult survivors of childhood cancer (ASCC), especially those of the central nervous system (CNS), have increased risks of educational and social difficulties. It is therefore hypothesized they are more likely to encounter legal difficulties (LDs), such as workplace discrimination and disability insurance denials, which may negatively affect their quality of life (QoL). PROCEDURE: We developed a survey to collect information on patients' legal needs. QoL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT). RESULTS: We prospectively approached 112 ASCC, 111 (99.1%) of whom completed the survey. The median age of respondents was 7 years at diagnosis and 31 years at survey completion. CNS tumors were the most common malignancy (32.4%). LDs were common overall (40.7%), though more prevalent in patients with CNS versus non-CNS tumors (58.6% vs. 32.3%; P = 0.023). The most prevalent LD was workplace discrimination (58.3%). On multivariate analysis, CNS tumor was the only variable significantly associated with LDs (OR = 4.49, P = 0.041). Individuals with LDs had lower QoL scores compared to those without LDs (79.96 versus 91.83 on the FACT; P = 0.005). On multivariate analysis, individuals with LDs had lower QoL scores (14.95 points lower on the FACT), which is both clinically and statistically significant (P = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: Legal difficulties are common in adult survivors of childhood cancer, especially those with brain tumors. Furthermore, individuals with legal difficulties have worse quality of life. Research is needed to develop effective and accessible legal resource programs.

TRICARE; changes included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010; expansion of survivor eligibility under the TRICARE Dental Program. Final rule.

The Department is publishing this final rule to implement the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (NDAA for FY10), as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (NDAA for FY11). Specifically, that legislation expands the survivor eligibility under the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP). The 2011 amendment to the legislation entitles the surviving spouse and child(ren) continuation of eligibility for the TDP regardless of whether they were previously enrolled in the TDP. Prior enrollment in the TDP had been a requirement of the 2010 legislation for both the spouse and children. The period of continued eligibility for a spouse will be 3 years beginning on the date of the member's death. The legislation entitles a child to continuation of eligibility for the TDP for the longer of three years or until age 21 (or 23 for most full-time students). Survivors, who meet the new eligibility requirements, will obtain TDP eligibility as of the publishing of the final rule in the Federal Register. Retroactive payment of premiums or claims paid for dental treatment during the time of loss of TDP eligibility will not be reimbursed to surviving dependents.

We fall down: the African American experience of coping with the homicide of a loved one.

Rates of homicide among African Americans are much higher than those of other racial or ethnic groups. Research has demonstrated that homicide can be psychologically debilitating for surviving family members. Yet, exploring the experiences of homicide victims' surviving loved ones has received little attention. This study examined the coping strategies of African American survivors of homicide. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 8 African American family members (ages 18-82) of homicide victims. Survivors were recruited from the Massachusetts Office of Victim Services and from homicide survivor support, school, and community groups throughout the New England area. Interviews were conducted using open-ended questions derived from coping, support network, grief, and bereavement literatures. Results indicate that the primary coping strategies utilized by African American survivors of homicide victims are spiritual coping and meaning making, maintaining a connection to the deceased, collective coping and caring for others, and concealment. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Examining the long-term racial disparities in health and economic conditions among Hurricane Katrina survivors: policy implications for Gulf Coast recovery.

This study examines disparities in the long-term health, emotional well-being, and economic consequences of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. Researchers analyzed the responses of 216 Black and 508 White Hurricane Katrina survivors who participated in the ABC News Hurricane Katrina Anniversary Poll in 2006. Self-reported data of the long-term negative impact of the hurricane on personal health, emotional well-being, and finances were regressed on race, income, and measures of loss, injury, family mortality, anxiety, and confidence in the government. Descriptive analyses, stepwise logistic regression, and analyses of variance revealed that Black hurricane survivors more frequently reported hurricane-related problems with personal health, emotional well-being, and finances. In addition, Blacks were more likely than Whites to report the loss of friends, relatives, and personal property.

The League of Nations' rescue of Armenian genocide survivors and the making of modern humanitarianism, 1920-1927.

The essay centers of the efforts by the League of Nations to rescue women and children survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. This rescue -- a seemingly unambiguous good -- was at once a constitutive act in drawing the boundaries of the international community, a key moment in the definition of humanitarianism, and a site of resistance to the colonial presence in the post-Ottoman Eastern Mediterranean. Drawing from a wide range of source materials in a number of languages, including Turkish, Armenian, and Arabic, the essay brings the intellectual and social context of humanitarianism in initiating societies together with the lived experience of humanitarianism in the places where the act took form. In so doing, it draws our attention to the proper place of the Eastern mediterranean, and its women and children, in the global history of humanitarianism. The prevailing narrative of the history of human rights places much of its emphasis on the post-World War II era, the international reaction to the Holocaust, and the founding of the United Nations. yet contemporary human rights thinking also took place within practices of humanitarianism in the interwar period, and is necessarily inseparable from the histories of refugees, colonialism, and the non-West.

Human trafficking: The relationship between government efforts & survivor punishment.

Human trafficking is a global public health and human rights issue, although it remains unknown how governmental-level systems impact survivors of human trafficking. Survivor punishment (where federal or local officials arrest, fine, imprison, deport, or otherwise punish survivors) is evident even with global promotion of survivor-centred approaches to human trafficking. This study serves as an initial investigation of how government involvement in survivor services and prevention progress are related to survivor punishment. This cross-national study utilised the 2011 Human Trafficking Indicators. Although this dataset heavily relies on the U.S. TIP reports, our analyses are guided by a human rights framework that recognises the importance of prevention and partnerships in mitigating the vulnerability of survivors. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to determine factors associated with survivor punishment. Findings indicate that countries categorised by the U.S. as showing substantial prevention progress have a lower likelihood of survivor punishment (OR = 0.30; 95% CI [0.15, 0.62]). Government survivor service offering was not significantly associated with punishment (OR = 0.65; 95% CI [0.33, 1.28]). Findings call for the development of global measures resulting from international partnerships to characterise stocks and flows of human trafficking, as well as the quality and effectiveness of governmental efforts and partnerships.

Featured counter trafficking program: The law enforcement first responder protocol.

This invited article is one of several comprising part of a special issue of Child Abuse and Neglect focused on child trafficking and health. The purpose of each invited article is to describe a specific program serving trafficking children. Featuring these programs is intended to raise awareness of innovative counter-trafficking strategies emerging worldwide and facilitate collaboration on program development and outcomes research. This article describes the Law Enforcement First Responder Protocol, which trained law enforcement to recognize youth engaged in sex work as survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, rather than as "prostitutes", and to connect these survivors immediately with social services, advocates, timely medical care and ongoing follow-up.