bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lifetime Prevalence of Violence Against Latina Immigrants: Legal and Policy Implications
Authors: Hass Giselle Aguilar , Dutton Mary Ann , Orloff Leslye E.
Published: November 2011

Although domestic violence plagues communities of all races, socio-economic status and geographical locations, some communities within the U.S. are more vulnerable because victims' alternatives to living with their abuser are more limited and they face more obstacles to obtaining the assistance they need to escape the violence. A particularly vulnerable group are Hispanic immigrants residing in the U.S. who have been described as living in more difficult conditions. Latina immigrants and refugees face stresses of acculturation and language, in addition to the limited opportunities afforded to other ethnically diverse groups in the U.S. This article examines the prevalence of various forms of domestic violence experienced by Latina immigrant women, the nature of the battering and extreme cruelty they experience, and public policy implications of the findings. Undocumented and recently documented Latina women (n=280) were interviewed about their experiences relating to domestic violence. A large proportion of the survey participants in the three groups (48.0 percent) were undocumented, unpartnered (56.5 percent), and employed (52.9 per cent). Participants reporting being in the U.S. for an average of 5.1 years. Based on their responses, participants were identified as ‘Physically and/or Sexually Abused’ (n=136), ‘Psychologically Abused Only’ (n=33), or ‘Non-Abused’ (n = 107). Results showed that 49.3 percent of all participants reported having experienced physical abuse, 11.4 percent sexual abuse, 60.0 per cent dominance/isolation-type psychological abuse, and 40.7 percent emotional/verbal-type psychological abuse from an intimate partner. Physically and/or sexually abused women reported higher rates of several types of dominance/isolation compared to those in the psychologically abused only group. There were no differences between the two groups in emotional/verbal abuse. Physically and/or sexually abused women experienced more threats, including threats to harm children and other family members, to take the woman's money, to call Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), and to kill her, compared to psychologically abused only women. The implication for policies related to battered immigrant women is discussed.
Treating Spousal Violence ‘Differently’
Authors: Laster Kathy , Douglas Roger
Published: November 2011

Commentators maintain that the criminal justice system deals differently, and therefore unfairly, with victims of spousal assault. Quantitative and qualitative studies supporting this contention, however, generally fail to make appropriate comparisons with the processing of like crimes. Police arrest rates for spousal violence, for example, are inappropriately compared with those for crime in general. Extrapolating from police arrest practices to other criminal justice processes involves the unwarranted assumption that what is true of one aspect of the system applies throughout.

This study compares the processing of cases of spousal assault with that of acquaintance and stranger assaults. An examination of 332 cases in two regional courts of summary jurisdiction in Australia reveals no evidence that spousal assault cases were treated differently to other assaults at the charging, plea, or sentencing stages. The study concludes that the goal of parity of treatment may not promote fairness, nor be appropriate to spousal assault cases.
Patriarchal Terrorism or Common Couple Violence: Attorneys' Views of Prosecuting and Defending Woman Batterers
Authors: Erez Edna , King Tammy A.
Published: November 2011

In the last two decades, most states in the United States have passed laws to protect battered women and to enhance their access to the criminal justice system. Preliminary examinations suggest that the reforms have had a limited success on abused women's use of the law. This study examines the ways in which prosecuting and defense attorneys perceive and describe the dynamics of battering as they play out in court, and presents attorneys' views of prosecuting, defending and adjudicating cases of violence against women. Attorneys' views on the defenses commonly used in court and other issues of concern to reformers of domestic violence laws are also discussed. The study suggests that attorneys' accounts portray the woman-battering cases which reach the justice system as ‘common couple violence’ rather than ‘patriarchal terrorism’. Results indicate that the legal profession, charged with the prosecution and adjudication of domestic violence, resorts to gender stereotypes to excuse, minimize or tolerate violence against women. Similarly, legal professionals evaluate relevant criminal justice policy according to men's views of battering. The implications of the results for combating woman battering through law reform are discussed.
Unmasking What Should Be Seen: A Study of the Prevention of Domestic Violence in the London Borough of Hackney
Authors: Stanko Elizabeth A.
Published: November 2011

This article reports the findings of a study estimating the prevalence of domestic violence for one local area in London, England. Part of a wider project exploring the financial costs of domestic violence to the public purse, this article examines a truism about domestic violence: that it is largely hidden. Through a trawl of key agencies identified by previous U.K. studies to which women turn for assistance, this project estimates that approximately one in nine of the population of adult women in the London Borough of Hackney experienced domestic violence during1996. This paper presents the methodology we developed to estimate prevalence from the workloads of public service agencies.
Integrating a Victim Perspective within Criminal Justice: The Swedish Approach
Authors: Nelson Alvar
Published: November 2011

After World War II public opinion in Sweden gradually recognised the need for a crusade against crime as a threat to the state and its inhabitants. The police and responsibility for public prosecution were nationalised, reorganised and placed within the Ministry of Justice. A new authority was established in the Ministry to investigate crime prevention activities (BRÅ). A new Code on Judicial Procedure, 1942 (in force 1948) had replaced previous legislation on civil and criminal court procedure. The legislation on crime and penal sanctions was gradually reformed and a new Criminal Code was adopted 1962 (in force 1964). Tort law, which had for long been unco-ordinated was finally collected in the Tort Liability Act, 1972 supplemented by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, 1978. These codes and Acts have later been amended, sometimes to the benefit of victims of crime.

During this period the need for state compensation to victims of crime slowly attracted special attention. From a cautious beginning in 1948 the state gradually took on responsibility for adjudged economic compensation to the victim, not obtained from the offender. The social welfare system covers costs for medical and social treatment and care and losses by industrial injury etc. Other economic losses are often compensated by the victim's insurance. The remaining need for compensation mainly refers to criminal violation of the victim's integrity and the effects of harm caused by the offence. This article describes the implementation of the Crime Victim Compensation Authority which was established in 1994. It analyses the place of the victim in the Swedish criminal justice system, the injuries that attract compensation from the Authority, levels of payment, and proposals for reform. These developments are set within the context of a feminist political agenda.
Why are Single Parents More often Threatened with Violence? A Question of Ecological Vulnerability?
Authors: Wikström Suzanna , Wikström Per-Olof H.
Published: November 2011

This paper explores the relationship between household category and victimisation through threats of violence. In particular, the paper focuses on investigating the reasons for single parents' higher rate of victimisation through threats of violence. The data used in this study were taken from the second wave of data collection in the Stockholm Project. Interviews were conducted with 1,498 randomly selected individuals aged 20 or above in eight selected suburban neighbourhoods. Three explanatory factors are considered: (1) risky relationships, (2) risky life-styles, and (3) ecological risk. The results suggests that ecological risk (i.e. living in a non-profit housing area) is the main factor accounting for higher victimisation by threats of violence among single (mostly female) parents. The findings are discussed in relation to the concept of ecological vulnerability.
Terrorist Victimization: Prevention, Control and Recovery
Authors: Kratcoski Peter C. , Edelbacher Mag. Maximilian , Das Dilip K.
Published: November 2011

An Ancillary Meeting on the topic of ‘Terrorist Victimization: Prevention, Control, and Recovery’ was held at the United Nations Center in Vienna, Austria on Wednesday, April 12, 2000 in conjunction with the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. The Congress focused on ‘Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges of the 21 st Century.’ The Ancillary Meeting was sponsored by the State University of New York, Plattsburgh, USA and chaired by Dr. Dilip K. Das, Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at that University. The speakers included Alex P. Schmid, Officer-in-Charge, Terrorism Prevention Branch, United Nations; George H. Millard, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dr. Ely Karmon, Senior Research Scholar, International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Kerzlyia, Israel; and Dr. Harvey W. Kushner, Professor and Chair, Department of Criminal Justice and Security Administration, Long Island University, Brookville, New York, USA. Other presentations were made by Dr. David Rapoport, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA; Niles Lathem, The New York Post, Washington, D.C., USA, Arvind Verma, Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, Dr. S. Subramanian, Raghavendra Nagar Shvrampally, Hyderabad, India, George Ballard, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, USA and Boaz Ganor, International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Herzlyia, Israel.

In the presentations by speakers from Europe, North America, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America and in the ensuing discussions, a wide variety of issues, concerns, and prevention strategies were covered in a global framework, and also applied to situations in specific countries and continents. The papers and the sessions focused on a number of themes, including an assessment of the main contemporary trends in terrorism, the politicalization of terrorism, the effects that terrorism has on primary and secondary victims, the linkage of terrorism with organized crime, and the measures that governments, international organizations, and justice agencies can take to curtail and eradicate terrorism, including international cooperative efforts.
The Victim-Related Provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Victimological Analysis
Authors: Garkawe Sam
Published: November 2011

The 1998 Rome agreement to create a permanent International Criminal Court (the ‘ICC’) is a significant psychological advance in the fight against impunity for those who perpetrate massive violations of human rights. It has also been said to be an important step forward in the recognition of the suffering and the rights of the victims and survivors of the international crimes that are defined in the Statute of the ICC. This article will critically analyse from a victimological perspective the provisions of the Statute of the ICC that directly concern such victims. These provisions can be rouped into those that allow for victim participation into pre-trial and trial decisions, victim support and protection, and victim reparation. The conclusion to the article suggests that while the terms of the Statute are clearly an advance for victims, there are a number of concerns that in practice may undermine the usefulness of the ICC from a victimological perspective. Like all measures that promise benefits for victims, they must be carefully implemented and their use continually evaluated through proper scientific research on victims' experiences.
Integrating a Victim Voice in Community Policing: A Feminist Critique
Authors: Shalhoub-Kevorkian Nadera , Erez Edna
Published: November 2011

The article addresses the role of victim's voice in community policing of violence against women. Using Israel as a case study, with its minority Arab and majority Jewish communities, we show the paradoxes of adhering to community policing tenets in a highly collectivist community, and when divergence and conflict rather than congruence and consensus characterize the relations between the police, the minority community and its victims. The article juxtaposes and contrasts two databases relevant for understanding the role of victims in community policing in violence against women. Police officers' views about and perceptions of Arab female victims and their community are presented alongside the narratives of Arab female victims about their abuse, and their interaction with and perceptions of the police. The article concludes with discussing the risks and highlighting the advantages of community policing for violence against women victims in terms of victims' safety and empowerment, and the potential of community policing for improving the relation between minority communities and police.
Victims, Perpetrators and Fatal Scenarios: A Research Note on Anti-homosexual Male Homicides
Authors: Tomsen Stephen
Published: November 2011

Anti-homosexual harassment and violence are often described as ‘hate’ crimes perpetrated by homophobic people who act on an extreme and irrational contempt for the sexual identity of victims, and killings are regarded as the most typical form of these incidents. But there is little detailed international research evidence about the victims, perpetrators and the social aspects of such fatal violent incidents. The author's ongoing study in New South Wales, Australia, has filled some of these gaps. It has drawn evidence from 74 homicides with male victims that occurred in New South Wales between 1980–2000. Information sources were press records, police interviews with suspects, Coroner's court files and documents from the criminal trials of accused perpetrators. Analysis of the social characteristics of victims and perpetrators and the fatal scenarios reflect the significance of situational factors (such as alcohol, illicit drugs and anonymous sexual cruising) as well as the ‘hate’ motive in this fatal violence. Some perpetrators have serious drug use or psychological problems, whereas most killers are young men and boys from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The major scenarios of killing indicate that these crimes are linked to commonplace issues of male honour and masculine identity that are sharpened in the perpetrators’ situations by their marginal social status.
An ‘Invisible’ Problem? Uncovering the Nature of Racist Victimisation in Rural Suffolk
Authors: Chakraborti Neil , Garland Jon
Published: November 2011

The issue of racist victimisation in rural areas has been largely overlooked in academic and political circles, although there is growing evidence to suggest that the prevalence and impact of racism are significant problems for minority ethnic groups living in rural parts of England. This article aims to address the paucity of research conducted in the area by outlining the findings of a study conducted in rural parts of Suffolk (a county in the east of England), which was based upon a series of interviews with victims of racial harassment and local agency workers, a questionnaire survey of minority ethnic groups and focus groups with members of the county's established white rural communities. In highlighting the prejudiced attitudes and stereotypes that affect the day-to-day existence of rural Suffolk's minority ethnic population, the article draws attention to the alarming nature and extent of racial harassment in typically intransient communities, together with the perceived sense of isolation suffered by victims of such harassment. The article also discusses the reasons behind victims' reluctance to report racist incidents, and offers suggestions as to how local agencies can make much-needed improvements to their response to victims in rural areas.
Victimization and Repeat Victimization Over the Life Span: A Predictive Study and Implications for Policy
Authors: Gabor Thomas , Mata Fernando
Published: November 2011

This study was based on the 1999 General Social Survey, a national Canadian survey of criminal victimization involving about 26,000 individuals, 15 years of age and over. More than half of all respondents (57.8%) reported experiencing at least one criminal incident during their life span. More than one in eight (13.5%) were victimized more than once and these repeat victims experienced over half (54%) of all offences. Less than 5% of the sample was victimized three times or more, although these individuals experienced nearly a quarter of all offences reported by the respondents. Logistic regression analyses, relating to violent, property, and all offences, revealed that the variables that best predicted victimization and repeat victimization were age, province of residence, and education, while gender, ethnicity, country of birth, urban residence, and routine activities were less consistent in their ability to predict victimization as a whole or repeat victimization. Taken together, the predictors achieved modest success in predicting membership in the victim and non-victim groups. The study concluded that the concentration of victimization warranted victim-based preventive measures, with the qualification that nearly half of all victimizations were not experienced by repeat but, rather, single-incident victims. It was also recommended that special attention be accorded in the future to understanding the relatively low level of lifetime victimization of persons 65 years of age and over, the elevated risk faced by residents of British Columbia, and the risks of violence faced by Aboriginal Canadians. The study concludes with a call for the use of alternative methodologies to study victimization and for the validation of the General Social Survey through a smaller number of face-to-face interviews in order to ascertain the role played by recall and disclosure issues in victimization surveys involving telephone interviews.
The Perils of Inclusion and Exclusion: International Debates on the Status of Trafficked Women as Victims
Authors: Kelly Liz
Published: November 2011

Intense and unresolved debates on prostitution are played out in discussions of trafficking in interesting and contradictory ways. Should women and girls be designated ‘victims’ or ‘migrant sex workers’? And what are the implications in practice of each position for those detected in foreign countries? Other questions such as the globalisation of the sex industry, the extension of sex markets in terms of demand for foreign women are rarely interrogated outside of feminist discourse. This paper explores these questions, linking them to feminist theorization of victimization and survival. It draws on recent research findings on trafficking within Europe, and suggests that more complex concepts and frameworks are necessary, both to enhance understanding and ensure that those who are sexually exploited are treated — in word and deed — as full human beings.
Victims of Human Trafficking in Italy: A Judicial Perspective
Authors: Curtol F. , Decarli S. , Di Nicola A. , Savona E.U.
Published: November 2011

This article presents quantitative and qualitative information about victims of human trafficking in Italy. It does so from the point of view of Italian judicial activities and draws on information from various sources: statistics on criminal proceedings, judicial cases from the Italian public prosecutors' offices handling the largest volume of prosecutions for human trafficking, and interviews with investigating magistrates of these offices and NGOs. The first part of the article provides a quantitative analysis of criminal proceedings brought against traffickers in Italy between June 1996 and June 2001. Particular attention is paid to the victims of trafficking. It considers their nationalities and their geographic distribution in the country and an attempt is made to estimate their number on the basis of judicial data. In the second part a qualitative analysis of recent judicial cases on human trafficking is provided, the purpose being to draw up profiles of the victims and identify current trends. Finally, the article deals with the role of victims as collaborators in proceedings brought against traffickers in Italy. It considers the systems in place to assure their presence at trials as witnesses and the degree of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and NGOs in this field.
Population Inequality: The Case of Repeat Crime Victimization
Authors: Tseloni Andromachi , Pease Ken
Published: November 2011

This paper employs data from the 2000 British Crime Survey for England and Wales to discuss ways of illustrating the degree of inequality in the distribution of crime victimization. In particular, Lorenz curves are presented for major crime categories, i.e. property, personal and vehicle crime, and their components are presented. They are fitted both nationally (Le. to victimized and non-victimized people) and amongst victims. Crime Lorenz curves over victims illustrate repeat victimization. Additional repeat victimization statistics, such as concentration, the percentage of repeat crimes and the percentage of repeat victims, are also shown. Threats and assaults are the most recurring crimes, whereas theft of vehicles shows low rates of repetition within a year.
Law Reform, Corporal Punishment and Child Abuse: The Case of Sweden
Authors: Durrant Joan E. , Janson Staffan
Published: November 2011

Over the past 70 years, Sweden has implemented a series of proactive legal reforms aimed at eliminating the corporal punishment of children in homes, schools and institutions. The most recent of these reforms took place in 1979 when Sweden became the first nation to explicitly abolish corporal punishment. The primary purposes of the ban were to recognize and affirm children's rights to security of the person and to inform the public and professionals that corporal punishment is neither socially acceptable nor legally defensible. It was expected that, over time, parents would demonstrate decreasing support for this practice and decreasing use of it. Ultimately, it was expected that the ban, and the legal reforms that led up to it, would contribute to lower levels of parental violence toward children. In the present article, evidence from a variety of sources is examined to assess trends in child physical abuse in Sweden over time. It is concluded that acts of violence against children have declined dramatically in Sweden over recent decades corporal punishment is infrequent, serious assaults are uncommon, and child abuse fatalities are extremely rare. Implications of legal reform for the well-being of children are discussed.
The Constitutional Validity of the Corporal Punishment Defence in Canada: A Critical Analysis of Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law Versus Canada (Attorney General)
Authors: Carter Mark
Published: November 2011

In Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law Versus Canada the Supreme Court rejected the Foundation's arguments that the corporal punishment defence denies children rights that are guaranteed to them under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The author argues that among the unfortunate aspects of the Court's decision is the extent to which it identifies the perpetrators of violence against children, rather than the children themselves, as the most deserving recipients of concern about victimization in the debate over the retention of the corporal punishment defence. By failing to extend basic human rights protections to our most vulnerable citizens, the Foundation decision raises troubling questions about the effectiveness of the Charter and the relationship of Charter litigation to other law reform strategies.
Temporal Invariance in Repeated Cross-Sectional ‘Fear of Crime’ Research
Authors: Pleysier Stefaan , Pauwels Lieven , Vervaeke Geert , Goethals Johan
Published: November 2011

‘Fear of crime’ research is gradually outgrowing the tenacious criticism of being caught within a conservative methodological frame, inherent to the era when the research tradition originated. Over time, the idea that ‘fear of crime’ can be measured in a reliable and valid way by using a single indicator has been questioned. However, using more advanced measures confronts the research tradition with ‘new’ issues related to measurement error, and therefore urges methodological novelty and sophistication to a field notoriously starved of both. Previously, we provided evidence that in order for cross-cultural comparisons to be meaningful, the instruments used to measure ‘fear of crime’, need to exhibit adequate cross-cultural equivalence. This contribution argues that comparing ‘fear of crime’ levels across time is bound to this logic as well. Considering the growing attention paid in recent years to crime, insecurity and ‘fear of crime’ within public opinion in Belgium, as in Western Europe and in an international context in general, it is not unlikely that respondents have indeed changed or are changing their understanding of the issue. Using structural equation modelling (LISREL), this issue of potential temporal invariance or item parameter drift in ‘fear of crime’ item sets, will be assessed in two large scale, repeated cross-sectional research projects in Belgium, Le. the Safety Monitor and the APS-survey.
Recognising and Responding to Victims of Rural Racism
Authors: Garland Jon , Chakraborti Neil
Published: November 2011

In recent decades policy-makers and academics have afforded increasing levels of recognition to the needs of victims of crime. However, much of this ‘new’ focus has centred upon urban environments, with only limited attention given to rural crime and victimisation. Significantly, even within the small body of rural-based work, the concerns of victims of racist harassment have been largely neglected. This article seeks to redress this situation by examining and contextualising issues of racist victimisation in the rural arena. Drawing from the authors’ own research conducted across different rural locales in the UK over a four-year period, it is argued here that this victimisation is an ongoing process rather than a collection of distinct, one-off events. Whilst ‘low-level’ incidents of harassment, such as verbal abuse, are worryingly commonplace, ‘high-level’ forms, such as criminal damage or physical assault, also feature regularly in the lived experiences of many rural minority ethnic households. These can leave the recipient feeling frightened, depressed, isolated and anxious, and these emotions may be exacerbated by ineffective responses from agencies that do not grasp the significance or implications of racist victimisation in the countryside. It is suggested that agencies need to adopt a range of long-term, sustainable initiatives that recognise the unique characteristics of rural environments, as well as the heterogeneity of the processes and experiences of victimisation itself, if the situation for victims of racism is to be improved.
The Vengeful Victim? Assessing the Attitudes of Victims Participating in Restorative Youth Conferencing
Authors: Doak Jonathan , O'mahony David
Published: November 2011

The task of delineating an appropriate role for the victim in the criminal justice system has been the subject of considerable debate in academia and policy circles for some time. While victim participation is considered something of a sine qua non of the restorative paradigm, many commentators remain sceptical of victim input in conventional sentencing on the grounds that it may lead to the imposition of overly harsh or onerous obligations. Drawing on evidence from a major evaluation of youth conferencing in Northern Ireland, this article challenges the assumption that victims are essentially punitive parties, and calls for a rethink of some of the fundamental values and assumptions that have traditionally resulted in their exclusion and even alienation in the criminal justice system.
Addressing the Court, the Offender, and the Community: A Communication Analysis of Victim Impact Statements in a Non-Capital Sentencing Hearing
Authors: Szmania Susan J. , Gracyalny Monica L.
Published: November 2011

This article focuses on forty oral Victim Impact Statements (VIS) presented during the public sentencing hearing of an offender convicted of murdering forty-eight women over the course of twenty years. We argue that the VIS in this case illustrate the increasingly complex and public nature of victim testimony in the formal U.S. criminal justice system. Through the use of grounded theory analysis, we highlight critical issues regarding the communicative function and emotional intensity of victim impact testimony as victims address the court, the offender, and the community through their statements. This case study extends Roberts and Erez's (2004) communication model of VIS and offers several practice and policy recommendations for the use of VIS in non-capital criminal cases.
Injured in the Line of Duty: Is the Practice of Law Becoming a High Risk Occupation?
Authors: Brown Karen , MacAlister David
Published: November 2011

This article reports on qualitative data from structured, in-depth interviews with a diverse group of twenty-five lawyers. It supplements a 2004 survey of 5,539 lawyers from both private and prosecutorial practices in British Columbia, Canada. A thematic tactic was adopted in reviewing the lawyers' interviews, from which seven prevalent themes were exposed including theoretical hypotheses behind violence against lawyers; the legal profession paradigm shift; whether violence in the profession is an issue of concern; courthouse security and media derision.
Gay Tourist Victimisation
Authors: Brunt Paul , Brophy Kristin
Published: November 2011

This study examines the phenomenon of gay tourist victimisation, from the viewpoint of gay tourists. A review of literature suggests that the victimisation of gay men as tourists has received little attention. This is despite the fact that both tourists in general and gay men are highly likely to suffer criminal victimisation. The paper questions whether taking these findings together suggests that gay tourists suffer particularly higher levels of victimisation. A qualitative survey of a sample of gay tourists is undertaken with two rounds of interviews. The findings suggest that gay tourists do suffer high levels of victimisation on holiday, though measurement difficulties prevent generalisations. In common with other research, it is also found that: incidents are not reported (for fear of further victimisation in some cases); the types of crime are similar to those suffered by other tourists with additional homophobic related crimes; the lifestyle choices of gay men influence victimisation; offenders of homophobic crimes are more likely to be other tourists; and gay men are often discriminated against by the tourism industry. The paper concludes by arguing that, although a complex issue, experience and fear of victimisation influence the holiday decision-making processes of gay men.
The Exploitation of Acculturating Immigrant Populations
Authors: Miller Linda A.
Published: November 2011

This analysis is based upon the experiences of Civil Society, a provider of legal and support services to immigrants who are victims of crime, regulatory violations and unscrupulous business practices in St. Paul, Minnesota since 1996. The types of victimizations covered range from sexual harassment to defrauding immigrants of tax credits to consumer frauds to labor law violations to domestic abuse and mail order brides. Contrary to what advocates of policies promoting acculturation and integration of immigrants might expect, the analysis finds that the victimization of immigrants increases as they seek to acculturate into society.
From Preferences to Experiences: Valuing the Intangible Victim Costs of Crime
Authors: Dolan Paul , Moore Simon C.
Published: November 2011

An important part of the costs of crime are intangible victim costs; that is, the effects on individual well-being. Economists tend to value such costs by asking people what they would be willing to pay to avoid them (either in money terms or by giving up something else of value, like life expectancy). However, psychological research has shown that such preferences are not a very good guide to how various events impact on well-being. Recent developments in the measurement of well-being as it is experienced provide promising alternatives to preference-based methods and we discuss how these methods could be developed further to provide more robust estimates of intangible costs of crime.
Secondary Victimization of Children in Israel and the Child's Perspective
Authors: Ben-Arieh Asher , Windman Vered
Published: November 2011

This study has three objectives: (1) to study the needs of child victims in the criminal justice system; (2) to study the attitudes, activities and provisions of investigative authorities toward child victims and their families, as perceived by the children themselves and their parents; and (3) to study the relation between the assistance received and the child victims' and the parents' willingness to cooperate with the investigative authorities. We conducted an exploratory study of children aged 14 to 18, all victims of violence and sex crimes, and their parents. All received assistance from the Israeli Child Victim Assistance Project. The study is based on self-reports of a small, nonrepresentative convenience sample.

Both the children and the parents were generally satisfied with the way the complaint was received and the subsequent investigation. However, the perspective of children is not necessarily identical to that of their parents, so it is important to address the children themselves. For example, the children were considerably more satisfied than the parents during the investigation, mostly because of the respect they received, even though other important needs — for information, explanations, and support — were not met by investigative authorities. The fulfillment of these needs had an influence on victims' willingness to cooperate with the police. Thus, to reduce children's secondary victimization, authorities should institute a system that will ensure that child victims and parents are informed and receive assistance and explanation about support and services in a timely manner.
Crime Victimization and Divorce
Authors: Tark Jongyeon , Bedard Laura , Kleck Gary , Roe-Sepowitz Dominique
Published: November 2011

Extemsive research has been conducted regarding factors contributing to the breakdown of marriage, focusing on problems such as infidelity, domestic violence, money problems and mid-life crises. This study explores a new question: does crime victimization contribute to the dissolution of marriage? Unique information from a national panel survey, the National Crime Victimization Survey, was analyzed in a longitudinal format to determine whether married crime victims were more likely than non-victims to become divorced or separated in the six to twelve months following the crime. Logistic regression analysis indicated that crime victims were generally more likely to experience marital disruption. Robbery victims were 2.7 times more likely (significantly so) than non-victims to be divorced or separated within six to twelve months of the crime, while this risk was non-significantly higher for burglary, assault, and theft victims. Those victimized by their spouse were nearly nine times more likely to later be divorced or separated. Assault victimization had a more detrimental impact on marriage for women than for men. Otherwise, the effects of victimization were similar for men and women. Although it has been speculated that sexual assault could jeopardize marriages because some husbands would view their victimized wives as ‘damaged goods’, we found no significant effect on marital disruption. We speculate that men in recent times may have become less likely to devalue victimized women in this way.
The Role of Alcohol in the Construction of a ‘Good’ Victim — The Attribution of Blame to Male Victims of Violence
Authors: Tryggvesson Kalle
Published: November 2011

This paper examines the attribution of blame in two hypothetical male-to-male violence scenarios. There are two main aims for the study: to study the effect of the victim's intoxication on the blame attributed to him; and more generally to study factors that determine how much blame a respondent attributes to the victim. 1,004 RDD quantitative telephone surveys were completed with Swedes aged 16-25. The response rate was 73.8%. Respondents were presented with vignettes, two of them describing male-to-male aggression. A number of variables were manipulated in the vignettes, for example the victim's drinking. The attribution of blame to the victim was analysed using multiple regression and ANOVA. The first analyses were stratified by sex. For male respondents, the victim's intoxication had no effect on the blame attributed to him. Female respondents attributed more blame to a drunken victim in a provoked male to male assault but not in the unprovoked scenario. When it came to understanding factors that determined the general attribution of blame, we found surprisingly few significant variables.
Bayesianism: Science or Pseudoscience?
Authors: Bunge Mario
Published: November 2011

This is a criticism of Bayesianism, the opinion that all probabilities are a matter of opinion, hence beyond objective tests. It is shown that the mathematical concept of a probability function makes no room for a person, and that in physics, chemistry and biology probabilities are objective quantities subject to calculation and measurement. It is also shown that the use of subjective probabilities in medicine and criminology is bound to lead to either nonsense or injustice. The upshot is that only the realistic interpretation of probability, as the quantitation of objective possibility, is legitimate.
The Treatment of Offenders: Current Practice and New Developments with an Emphasis on Sex Offenders
Authors: Ward Tony , Gannon Theresa , Yates Pamela M.
Published: November 2011

Despite some dissenting views, most recent comprehensive reviews of what works in the correctional domain agree that some types of rehabilitation programmes are particularly effective in reducing the reoffending rate. In this paper, we review rehabilitation and treatment approaches utilized historically and presently, with a specific focus on ‘what works’. We examine the most widespread and successfully used rehabilitation principles (e.g., the Risk/Need/Responsibity Model), and then we turn our focus to specific treatment methods that are effective in reducing recidivism with sex offenders, paying particular attention to the relapse prevention model, and recent adaptations to this model (e.g., the self-regulation model).
Fear of Crime Among the Poor in Britain and Sweden
Authors: Larsson Daniel
Published: November 2011

This paper investigates whether and why the poor are more afraid of crime than are the non-poor in Britain and Sweden. The purpose is to describe and interpret fear of crime as a consequence of poverty, emphasizing contextual and institutional differences. The results show that the poor are more afraid of crime than are the non-poor in both countries. In Britain, the poor are more afraid than are the non-poor as a consequence of their vulnerability in the labour market. In Sweden, no explanation could be found as to why the poor are more afraid. Thus far, it seems that it is the very situation of poverty that is related to fear of crime in Sweden. Furthermore, the results show that in Sweden fear of crime is generally more related to experience of crime, while in Britain fear of crime is generally more related to vulnerability in the labour market.
Prosecuting Domestic Violence: New Solutions to Old Problems?
Authors: Hall Matthew
Published: November 2011

Drawing on empirical data gathered at two courts in the north of England, this paper examines the administration of courts and the occupational cultures of practitioners and court staff running domestic violence trials in the magistrates' courts. The paper evaluates the practical outcomes of recent moves by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to improve conviction rates for these cases and the impact this has had on victims of domestic violence who are reluctant to give evidence. The resultant discussion examines the role of domestic violence victims in the decision to prosecute. It is argued that no radical alteration of the present system of trials in England and Wales is required to fulfil the expectations of these victims, but rather occupational cultures must be adapted to civilise that system, treating domestic violence victims as contributors to and participants in the process rather than as representatives of a particularly difficult and problematic source of work.
The Victim-Witness Experience in the Special Court For Sierra Leone
Authors: Horn Rebecca , Charters Simon , Vahidy Saleem
Published: November 2011

This paper reports the findings of an interview study of 144 victim-witnesses who testified in the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Witnesses expressed satisfaction with the preparation they received for testifying from their lawyers, particularly appreciating emotional support, as well as practical preparations. Victim-witnesses generally evaluated their interactions with all court staff positively, and reported feeling well-treated by the Court. The experience of cross-examination was difficult for a large proportion of witnesses in the current study, but an even larger group of witnesses reported the experience to be positive. For some witnesses, the experience of successfully coping with the challenge of cross-examination may be empowering. The feelings reportedly experienced by witnesses during their testimony are similarly mixed: a large proportion reported painful feelings, but others reported feeling confident, relieved and happy when they testified. The importance of continued post-testimony contact with witnesses is supported by the current study; witnesses expressed a strong desire for ongoing contact with the SCSL. According to witnesses' own evaluations, their security was not negatively affected by their involvement with the court. This indicates that the SCSL has been largely successful in its attempt to protect the identities of those who testify in its trials.
How do We Compensate a Victim's Losses?
Authors: Mulder J.D.W.E.
Published: November 2011

Compensatory damages awarded in court are intended to make victims ‘whole again’. This intention raises the question how the losses, especially the emotional losses, that victims incur could be compensated. This paper provides an overview of the economic theories that are used to provide an answer to this question and it purports to provide a new perspective on compensation by explaining how victims could be compensated by both financial and non-financial forms of compensation.
Fear of Crime Victimization: A Study of University Students in India and Japan
Authors: Chockalingam Kumaravelu , Srinivasan Murugesan
Published: November 2011

Previous research has established that fear of crime victimization is a result of many factors including age, gender, race, income, neighbourhood variables, prior victimization and so on. The present research was conducted to test the following hypotheses: (1) fear of crime victimization is dependent on the country in which one lives; (2) socio-demographic characteristics affect fear of crime victimization; (3) economic status affects fear of crime victimization; and (4) prior experience of victimization affects fear of crime victimization. Using a structured questionnaire, constructed for the purpose, data were collected from a sample of 725 students from the city of Chennai (India) and 715 students from Mito City in Japan. The results of the study revealed that there was a difference in the level of fear of crime victimization between the respondents from India and Japan. Fear of crime victimization was influenced by some factors such as gender, age and the place of residence of respondents. In contrast to many previous studies relating to influence of prior victimization, it is puzzling to note that prior experience of crime victimization did not influence positively fear of crime victimization.
The International Criminal Court and its Trust Fund are Coming of Age: Towards a Process Approach for the Reparation of Victims
Authors: Rombouts Heidy , Parmentier Stephan
Published: November 2011

The last decade has witnessed a rapid development in the field of reparation for victims of serious human rights violations, both at the national and the international level. Both in (post-)conflict situations and in situations of large-scale human rights abuses it has become a major question of transitional justice how to repair the harm inflicted on victims through acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other forms of injustice. As institutions of international criminal justice, the International Criminal Court and the Trust Fund for Victims are also confronted with this question and the many issues involved. They have to address three crucial questions in particular: (a) who are the beneficiaries for reparation; (b) who are the duty-bearers of reparation; and (c) what forms of reparation can be awarded? We argue that the answers to these questions raise very important issues that go beyond a purely legal approach and that require an input from other scientific disciplines and also from other sectors of society, including victims and their organizations. We argue in particular in favour of a concept of reparation that seeks to attain a new balance and that will allow victims to cope with the past and the future alike, and therefore propose a process-oriented approach to reparation based on the work of Barkan and Habermas.
What the International Criminal Court has Achieved and can Achieve for Victims/Survivors of Sexual Violence
Authors: De Brouwer Anne-Marie
Published: November 2011

In this contribution, the provisions of potential benefit to victims/survivors of sexual violence in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and its subsidiary instruments will be discussed. In addition, the Court's practice to date in investigating and prosecuting sexual violence crimes will be examined. The new regime of the ICC brings with it improvements to international criminal law of benefit to victims/survivors of sexual violence. Whether this also means that the interests of victims/survivors of sexual violence are also better served in practice than under previous processes is, however, discussed, followed by the ICC's potential to address justice for victims/survivors of sexual violence. In this contribution it will become clear that provisions which are good on paper may not necessarily be sufficient in providing justice to victims of sexual violence. Good implementation of these provisions and of the institutional structures at the Court is needed in order to ensure that the rights given to victims/survivors of sexual violence do not remain merely an empty promise.