Sex Differences in Violent Death During Incarceration and Legal Intervention.

INTRODUCTION: This study clarifies the differences in death during incarceration and legal intervention between males and females, delineating the differences in demographic features and the circumstances of the violent death including location, injury pattern, and perpetrator. METHODS: The data used are from the National Violent Death Reporting System database from 2003 to 2019. All victims were either in custody, in the process of custody, or in prison. Sex was coded as female or male and as assigned at birth. All analyses were conducted using SAS 9.4 software using chi-square tests, with an alpha of 0.05 to test significant differences in the circumstances of mortality and demographic characteristics for each group. RESULTS: Our findings show that suicide was the most common cause of death during incarceration for both females and males (89.8% versus 77.4%; P < 0.001). Homicide was less common in females (1.6% versus 14.8%; P < 0.001) and legal intervention only occurred in males (2.2%; P < 0.001). Male victims were more likely to be of non-White race/ethnicity compared to females, while females were more likely to be experiencing homelessness, have documented mental illness, and comorbid substance abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Victim sex is significantly associated with circumstances of violent death among the incarcerated and highlights the need for appropriate mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Perfil dos sobreviventes de violência sexual e factores associados ao abandono de seguimento de cuidados pós violência, nos centros integrados de atendimento do hospital geral josé macamo e hospital geral de mavalane entre 2019 e 2020 / Profile of survivors of sexual violence and factors associated with abandonment of follow-up of post-violence care, in the Integrated care centers of the José macamo general hospital and mavalane general hospital between 2019 and 2020

Introdução: A violência sexual afecta vários segmentos da sociedade e é um problema de saúde pública, que prejudica a saúde e o bem-estar de milhões de indivíduos no mundo. O seguimento pós violência sexual tem sido um dos maiores desafios enfrentados pelos profissionais de saúde, pois requer um cuidado, que não depende só do profissional, mas também dos sobreviventes. O estudo visa analisar o perfil dos sobreviventes de violência sexual e os factores associados ao abandono de cuidados pós violência sexual, no Hospital Geral José Macamo (HGJM) e Hospital Geral de Mavalane (HGM) entre 2019 e 2020. Métodos: Foi conduzido um estudo retrospectivo transversal, com uma abordagem quantitativa, no período entre Janeiro de 2019 à Dezembro 2020. Foram utilizados dados secundários colectados nas fichas de notificação e processos dos sobreviventes de violência sexual, atendidos nos Centros de Atendimento Integrado dos HGM e HGJM. Foram avaliados os casos de abandono e não abandono aos cuidados pós violência sexual com idade compreendida dos 2-56 anos. Para análise foi usado o pacote estatístico Stata 16.1, tendo se realizado análises de regressão logística e teste qui-quadrado. Resultados: No total foram revistas 318 fichas de notificação de sobreviventes de violência sexual, onde a maioria eram do sexo feminino 98% (313/318), com idades entre 2 a 56 anos, e mediana de idade de 15 anos (DP±8.3). Maior parte deles eram solteiros 97% (308/318) e residentes no distrito municipal Kamubukuane em 36% (114/318). Cerca de 55% (174/318) deles conheciam o seu agressor e a maior parte das agressões em 46% (147/318), ocorreram na casa do agressor…

Introduction: Sexual violence affects various segments of the society and it is a public health problem, which harms the health and well-being of millions of people in the world. Post sexual violence follow-up has been one of the biggest challenges faced by health professionals, as it requires care, which does not depend only on the professional, but also on the survivors. The study aims to analazy the profile of sexual violence survivors and factors associated with abandonment of post sexual violence care, at Jose Macamo General Hospital (JMGH) and Mavalane General Hospital (MGH) between 2019 and 2020. Methodology: A retrospective cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach was conducted in the period from January 2019 to December 2020. Secondary data collected from the notification forms and files of survivors of sexual violence, assisted at the Integrated Care Centres of HGM and HGJM, were used. Abandonment and non-abandonment cases to post sexual violence care aged 2-56 years were assessed. The statistical package Stata 16.1 was used for analysis, and logistic regression analysis and chi square test were performed. Results: A total of 318 notification forms of sexual violence survivors were reviewed, where majority were female 98% (313/318), aged between 2-56 years, and average age of 17 years (SD±8.3). Most of them were single 97% (308/318) and residing in Kamubukuane municipal district 36% (114/318). About 55% (174/318) of them knew their abuser and most of the assaults 46% (147/318) occurred at the abuser's home…

The Supreme Court Expands Second Amendment Rights as the Nation Experiences Historic Levels of Firearms Violence.

This Viewpoint discusses the recent Supreme Court decision declaring a broad right to carry firearms in public and offers a public health strategy for firearms safety laws.

Analysis of "Stand Your Ground" Self-defense Laws and Statewide Rates of Homicides and Firearm Homicides.

Importance: Most US states have amended self-defense laws to enhance legal immunities for individuals using deadly force in public. Despite concerns that "stand your ground" (SYG) laws unnecessarily encourage the use of deadly violence, their impact on violent deaths and how this varies across states and demographic groups remains unclear. Objective: To evaluate the association of SYG laws with homicide and firearm homicide, nationally and by state, while considering variation by the race, age, and sex of individuals who died by homicide. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used a controlled, multiple-baseline and -location interrupted time series design, using natural variation in the timings and locations of SYG laws to assess associations. Changes in homicide and firearm homicide were modeled using Poisson regression analyses within a generalized additive model framework. Analyses included all US states that enacted SYG laws between 2000 and 2016 and states that did not have SYG laws enacted during the full study period, 1999 to 2017. Data were analyzed from November 2019 to December 2020. Exposures: SYG self-defense laws enacted by statute between January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were statewide monthly rates of homicide and firearm-related homicide (per 100 000 persons) from January 1, 1999, to December 31, 2017, grouped by characteristics (ie, race, age, sex) of individuals who died by homicide. Results: Forty-one states were analyzed, including 23 states that enacted SYG laws during the study period and 18 states that did not have SYG laws, with 248 358 homicides (43.7% individuals aged 20-34 years; 77.9% men and 22.1% women), including 170 659 firearm homicides. SYG laws were associated with a mean national increase of 7.8% in monthly homicide rates (incidence rate ratio [IRR],1.08; 95% CI, 1.04-1.12; P < .001) and 8.0% in monthly firearm homicide rates (IRR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.03-1.13; P = .002). SYG laws were not associated with changes in the negative controls of suicide (IRR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.98-1.01) or firearm suicide (IRR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.98-1.02). Increases in violent deaths varied across states, with the largest increases (16.2% to 33.5%) clustering in the South (eg, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana). There were no differential associations of SYG laws by demographic group. Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that adoption of SYG laws across the US was associated with increases in violent deaths, deaths that could potentially have been avoided.

Why we dehumanize illegal immigrants: A US mixed-methods study.

Dehumanization is a topic of significant interest for academia and society at large. Empirical studies often have people rate the evolved nature of outgroups and prior work suggests immigrants are common victims of less-than-human treatment. Despite existing work that suggests who dehumanizes particular outgroups and who is often dehumanized, the extant literature knows less about why people dehumanize outgroups such as immigrants. The current work takes up this opportunity by examining why people dehumanize immigrants said to be illegal and how measurement format affects dehumanization ratings. Participants (N = 672) dehumanized such immigrants more if their ratings were made on a slider versus clicking images of hominids, an effect most pronounced for Republicans. Dehumanization was negatively associated with warmth toward illegal immigrants and the perceived unhappiness felt by illegal immigrants from U.S. immigration policies. Finally, most dehumanization is not entirely blatant but instead, captured by virtuous violence and affect as well, suggesting the many ways that dehumanization can manifest as predicted by theory. This work offers a mechanistic account for why people dehumanize immigrants and addresses how survey measurement artifacts (e.g., clicking on images of hominids vs. using a slider) affect dehumanization rates. We discuss how these data extend dehumanization theory and inform empirical research.

Violência em crianças, estudo de casos hospitalizados e seguidos nos serviços de Urgência de Pediatria e Medicina Legal no Hospital Central de Maputo em 2019 / Violence in children, a study of cases hospitalized and followed up in the pediatrics and forensic medicine emergency services at maputo central hospital in 2019

Introdução: Em Moçambique, anualmente, milhares de crianças são vítimas de violência, incluindo as suas formas mais extremas, como a violência física e sexual, o que compromete a saúde física e psicológica destas crianças. Objectivo: Analisar a violência nas crianças, em relação às características demográficas (da criança e do perpetrador), bem como descrever os aspectos clínicos da violência. Métodos: É um estudo transversal e retrospectivo, baseado em registos hospitalares dos serviços da Urgência de Pediatria e da Medicina Legal do Hospital Central de Maputo. Para a recolha de dados utilizámos o Formulário de Relatório de Casos Notificados. Foi utilizado o programa Excel® e testes de qui-quadrado para a análise dos resultados. Resultados: Identificámos um total de 329 casos de lesões relacionadas com a violência que afectaram crianças no Hospital Central de Maputo em 2019, dos quais 143 (43,5%) foram registados na Urgência de Pediatria e 186 (56,5%) na Medicina Legal. A violência sexual foi a forma de violência mais frequente (58% no total). Em ambos os serviços, as vítimas foram maioritariamente meninas do que meninos. As crianças mais velhas (11-14 anos) foram mais observadas na Medicina Legal (47,3% em comparação com 30,1% da Urgência de Pediatria) e as mais novas (0-5), na Urgência de Pediatria (37,1% em comparação com 28,6% a Medicina Legal). A violência sexual foi mais frequente entre as meninas em ambos os serviços, por outro lado, os meninos sofreram mais violência física. Os homens foram os principais perpetradores (81,8% no total) e a maioria deles eram conhecidos da família ou da vítima. As meninas sofreram lesões mais graves, exigindo cuidados médicos intensivos (12,0% em comparação a e 4,5% dos meninos). Em contrapartida, os meninos tiveram mais consultas médicas com alta imediata. As meninas tiveram de longe mais lesões genitais (66,4%) enquanto que os meninos tiveram mais lesões em todas as outras partes do corpo (cabeça, membros superiores, tórax e abdómen, membros inferiores e anal). Conclusões: A violência sexual foi a forma mais frequente de violência nos dois serviços. As meninas foram as vítimas de violência mais frequentemente descritas, tanto nos dois serviços como para a violência sexual em todas idades. Por outro lado, a violência física foi mais frequente entre os meninos. Os homens foram os principais perpetradores de violência especialmente da violência sexual, sendo estes, frequentemente conhecidos da família da vítima ou da própria vítima, é em vários casos um familiar. A casa da vítima ou do perpetrador é onde ocorreu a maioria dos eventos violentos. As crianças apresentaram várias lesões em consequência da violência sofrida, mas nem todos casos foram considerados graves. As meninas apresentaram lesões mais graves que exigiram cuidados médicos intensivos ou até cirurgia e os rapazes mais consultas médicas com alta imediata.

Introduction: In Mozambique, yearly, thousands of children are victims of violence, including its most extreme forms, such as physical and sexual violence, which hinders their healthy development. Objective: To analyze violence in children, in relation to demographic characteristics (child and perpetrator) as well as to describe the clinical aspects of violence-related injury. Methods: This study is cross-sectional and retrospective. Based on hospital records from the two services of Maputo Central Hospital, namely Pediatric Emergency and Forensic Medicine. For data collection we used a standardized Case Report Form. Excel® program and chi-square tests were used to analyze the results. Results: We identified a total of 329 cases of violence-related injuries affecting children at Maputo Central Hospital in 2019, of which 143 (43.5%) were registered at Pediatric Emergency and 186 (56.5%) at Forensic Medicine. Sexual violence was most common (58% in total). In both services, the victims were more frequently girls than boys. Also, older children (11-14 years) were more often seen at Forensic Medicine (47.3% compared with 30.1% at Pediatric Emergency) and younger ones (0-5), at Pediatric Emergency (37.1% compared with 28.6% at Forensic Medicine). Sexual violence was by far the most frequent among girls in both services, by contrast, boys suffered more physical violence. Males were the most common perpetrators (81.8%) and most of them were known to the family or the victim in both services. Girls also had more severe injuries, requiring intensive medical care than boys (12.0% and 4.5% respectively). By contrast, boys had more medical consultation with immediate discharge. Girls had by far more genital injuries (66.4%) while boys had more injuries in all other body parts (head, upper limbs, thorax and abdomen, lower limbs and anal). Conclusions: Sexual violence was the most common form of violence afflicting the children, most often girls, presenting at the two services. Sexual violence was most common among girls at all ages and physical violence, among boys. Men were identified as the main perpetrator, especially of sexual violence. The perpetrators were also very frequently known to the family of the victim, in several instances a relative. The victim's or perpetrator's home, is where most of the violent events take place. Multiple injuries were sustained but not all were severe. Girls had more severe injuries requiring intensive medical care and surgery, and boys, more medical consultations with immediate discharge.

Erasing violence: lesbian women asylum applicants in the United States.

Despite growing recognition of sexual orientation- and gender identity-based violence, scholars continue to identify barriers for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals seeking asylum protection. Lesbian women asylum applicants, in particular, encounter a system that is unsure how to classify their cases and that generally questions the credibility of women's experiences. In this way, lesbian women applicants are among the most vulnerable populations of asylum claimants, particularly in the U.S. context. In this research note, I examine U.S. appellate level Circuit Court cases initiated by lesbian women asylum applicants. I expand existing literature to include an examination of how the violence faced by lesbian women is interpreted and ultimately erased as Circuit Courts grapple with legal interpretations of persecution. Specifically, I find three mechanisms of erasure: ruling that the violence experienced was unextreme, finding that the applicants' accounts of violence were unsubstantiated, or arguing that the violence experienced was unrelated to the applicants' sexual orientation. When placed in historical context, these patterns are troubling. Unlike previous decades that have witnessed overt homophobia, racism, and ethnocentrism in the immigration system, these cases indicate a more subtle form of exclusion-finding technicalities in case law and formal legal definitions as grounds for denial.

Seeking Justice: How VAWA Reduced the Stronghold Over American Indian and Alaska Native Women.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), originally passed in 1994, was successfully reauthorized in 2000, 2005, and 2013. Over time, VAWA altered the environment for many victims who had previously suffered in silence. This article focuses on how VAWA impacted American Indian (AI) and Alaska Native (AN) victims of dating and domestic violence. AI and AN women experience these crimes at a rate higher than the national average, yet they are often denied justice due to the interplay of federal and state laws and tribal sovereignty. VAWA affirmed tribes' sovereign authority to exercise criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit crimes against AI and AN victims on tribal lands. This article also discusses future steps to enhance justice reforms.

Risk of COVID-19-related bullying, harassment and stigma among healthcare workers: an analytical cross-sectional global study.

OBJECTIVES: Essential healthcare workers (HCW) uniquely serve as both COVID-19 healers and, potentially, as carriers of SARS-CoV-2. We assessed COVID-19-related stigma and bullying against HCW controlling for social, psychological, medical and community variables. DESIGN: We nested an analytical cross-sectional study of COVID-19-related stigma and bullying among HCW within a larger mixed-methods effort assessing COVID-19-related lived experience and impact. Adjusted OR (aOR) and 95% CIs evaluated the association between working in healthcare settings and experience of COVID-19-related bullying and stigma, controlling for confounders. Thematic qualitative analysis provided insight into lived experience of COVID-19-related bullying. SETTING: We recruited potential participants in four languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian) through Amazon Mechanical Turk's online workforce and Facebook. PARTICIPANTS: Our sample included 7411 people from 173 countries who were aged 18 years or over. FINDINGS: HCW significantly experienced more COVID-19-related bullying after controlling for the confounding effects of job-related, personal, geographic and sociocultural variables (aOR: 1.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0). HCW more frequently believed that people gossip about others with COVID-19 (OR: 2.2; 95% CI 1.9 to 2.6) and that people with COVID-19 lose respect in the community (OR: 2.3; 95% CI 2.0 to 2.7), both which elevate bullying risk (OR: 2.7; 95% CI 2.3 to 3.2, and OR: 3.5; 95% CI 2.9 to 4.2, respectively). The lived experience of COVID-19-related bullying relates frequently to public identities as HCW traverse through the community, intersecting with other domains (eg, police, racism, violence). INTERPRETATION: After controlling for a range of confounding factors, HCW are significantly more likely to experience COVID-19-related stigma and bullying, often in the intersectional context of racism, violence and police involvement in community settings.

Gender differences in the prosecution of police assault: Evidence from a natural experiment in Sweden.

States often seek to regulate the use of police force though citizen complaint systems. This paper examines these systems, specifically, whether patterns of bias found in other juridical contexts are mirrored in the adjudication of police assault. The analysis focuses on prosecutors as the first instance of adjudication who determine whether to move forward with investigation, effectively deciding the majority of cases. We ask whether prosecutor sex is associated with the probability that a police assault claim will be investigated. We leverage a natural experiment in Sweden where prosecutors are assigned through a modified lottery system, effectively randomizing appointment. Our findings suggest that prosecutor gender plays a role in judicial outcomes: women prosecutors are 16 percentage points more likely to investigate claims of police assault than their male counterparts. These findings have implications for scholars interested in state human rights abuses, democratic institutions, and judicial inequality.

Lay theories of peace and their influence on policy preference during violent conflict.

We often talk about peace as if the concept is self-explanatory. Yet people can have various theories about what peace "is." In this study, we examine the lay theories of peace of citizens embroiled in a prolonged ethnonational conflict. We show that lay theories of peace 1) depend on whether one belongs to the high-power or low-power party and 2) explain citizens' fundamental approaches to conflict resolution. Specifically, we explore the link between power asymmetry, lay theories of peace, and preference for conflict resolution strategies within large-scale samples of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and Jewish residents of Israel. Results reveal that members of the high-power group (in this case Jewish-Israelis) are more likely to associate peace with harmonious relationships (termed "positive peace") than with the attainment of justice (termed "structural peace"), while members of the low-power group (in this case Palestinians) exhibit an opposite pattern. Yet both groups firmly and equally interpret peace as the termination of war and bloodshed (termed "negative peace"). Importantly, across societies, associating peace with negative peace more than with positive or structural peace predicts citizens' desire for a solution that entails the partition of land (the Two-State Solution) whereas associating peace with structural or positive peace more than with negative peace predicts citizens' desire to solve the conflict by sharing the land (the One-State Solution). This study demonstrates the theoretical and policy-relevant utility of studying how those most affected by war understand the concept of peace.

Judicial perspectives on mental health courts: The role of psychiatric disorder and violence risk.

OBJECTIVE: The extent to which psychiatric diagnosis, treatment compliance, and violence risk influenced judges perceived benefits of Mental Health Court ("MHC") for defendants with psychiatric disorders was examined. METHOD: 81 judges completed one vignette in which psychiatric diagnosis (Schizophrenia, Major Depressive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), treatment compliance (yes/no), and violence risk (high/low) were randomized. The online survey was distributed via email and following the vignette, judges answered a question about the appropriateness of MHC. RESULTS: Judges assessed defendants with severe psychiatric disorders (Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder) - compared to defendants with PTSD - as more likely to benefit from MHCs. If deemed at low treatment compliance and/or high violence risk, judges were unlikely to appraise MHCs as beneficial, regardless of psychiatric diagnosis. IMPLICATIONS: Judges appear to consider relevant factors when determining whether MHC will benefit defendants with psychiatric disorders; however, future research should include more variables (e.g., addictions, history of violence) to examine the combined influence on judges' perception of MHC suitability.

Valoración técnica de la pertinencia sobre la toma de declaración a niños, niñas y adolescentes en el proceso penal / Technical appraisal of belonging about children and adolescents declaring in criminal proceedings / Valoració tècnica de la pertinença sobre la presa de declaració a nens, nenes I adolescents en el procés penal

La prueba preconstituida es un buen instrumento jurídico de protección a los menores de edad en el proceso penal, a la vez que garantiza los derechos fundamentales y la preservación del testimonio. El cómo se realice y el momento en que se practica es crucial para que tenga validez en base a los referidos objetivos. En este trabajo se propone una "valoración técnica de la pertinencia sobre la toma de declaración a niños, niñas y adolescentes como prueba preconstituida", entendida como criterios de oportunidad, adecuación y conveniencia

The pre-constituted evidence is a good legal instrument for the protection of minors in criminal proceedings, at the same time as it guarantees fundamental rights and the preservation of testimony. How and when it is performed is crucial for its validity, based on the objective references. This work proposes a "technical assessment of belonging on the pre-constituted proof of children, infants and adolescents", understood as criteria of opportunity, adequacy and coexistence

La prova preconstituïda és un bon instrument jurídic de protecció als menors d'edat en el procés penal, al mateix temps que garanteix els drets fonamentals I la preservació del testimoni. El com es realitzi I el moment en què es practiqui és crucial perquè tingui validesa en base als referits objectius. En aquest treball es proposa una "valoració tècnica de la pertinença sobre la presa de declaració a nens, nenes I adolescents com a prova preconstituïda", entesa com a criteris d'oportunitat, adequació I convivència

Deinstitutionalization and other factors in the criminalization of persons with serious mental illness and how it is being addressed.

One of the major concerns in present-day psychiatry is the criminalization of persons with serious mental illness (SMI). This trend began in the late 1960s when deinstitutionalization was implemented throughout the United States. The intent was to release patients in state hospitals and place them into the community where they and other persons with SMI would be treated. Although community treatment was effective for many, there was a large minority who did not adapt successfully and who presented challenges in treatment. Consequently, some of these individuals' mental condition and behavior brought them to the attention of law enforcement personnel, whereupon they would be subsequently arrested and incarcerated. The failure of the mental health system to provide a sufficient range of treatment interventions, including an adequate number of psychiatric inpatient beds, has contributed greatly to persons with SMI entering the criminal justice system. A discussion of the many issues and factors related to the criminalization of persons with SMI as well as how the mental health and criminal justice systems are developing strategies and programs to address them is presented.