Sexual violence and complainant intoxication

Sexual violence and complainant intoxicatio

Saving fallen women now? Critical perspectives on engagement and support orders and their policy of forced welfarism

The UK seems set to follow the increasingly abolitionist trend that is taking hold in Europe in response to the issue of prostitution. While some argue that an abolitionist approach signals a serious attempt to tackle the injustices and gendered aspects of commercial sex, we are less optimistic. Drawing upon the findings of the first study to evaluate Engagement and Support Orders, we argue that any focus on women's needs is distorted by the continued zero tolerance approach to street sex work and the criminal justice setting it takes place in. New revolving doors have been created for those involved in the most visible sectors of the industry and support agencies have been made to take on an increased policing role. This narrow focus individualises the causes of poverty and prostitution, elides the wider structural factors that shape sex work and does little to address the real needs of this vulnerable group. In conclusion, we argue that future policy should engage more productively with the rich cultural study of sex work. This will enable the development of ground-up responses and allow for a more effective role for the criminal law

Rape Politics, Policies and Practice: Exploring the tensions and unanticipated consequences of well-intended victim-focused measures

The inability of the criminal justice system to respond effectively to rape has led to numerous law and policy reforms in England and Wales. Nevertheless, difficulties remain, with problems often linked to the impact of rape myths and implementation failure. This article, however, adopts a different lens through which to explore the ongoing challenges faced by rape complainants. Drawing on interviews with 14 barristers in the North West of England, this article asks: how have rape law and policy reforms impacted practice for this group of practitioners? The findings highlight that numerous tensions emerged from these reforms. In particular, measures that were perceived to be politically driven and well-intended were often perceived to generate unanticipated negative consequences for complainants, as opposed to improving their experience. In concluding, we emphasise the importance of a close working practice between the policy maker and practitioner, in order to institute more effective responses

The emotional particulars of working on rape cases: Doing dirty work, managing emotional dirt and conceptualising ‘tempered indifference’

This paper asks: In what ways are the work of rape barristers dirty, with a particular focus on emotional dirt? What impact do clients’ burdensome emotions and affects have on barristers and what mechanisms are used to manage this taint? Based on 39 interviews with advocates from four English cities, we argue that emotional dirt is central to the taint of the role. Barristers must distance themselves from emotional dirt in order to maintain objectivity, yet simultaneously invest in those emotions in order to convince a jury. In these contradictory circumstances, barristers employ what we term ‘tempered indifference’, a form of emotional work premised on strategically turning emotions down. However, the subsequent ability to turn them back on remains debatable

Alcohol-related Rape Cases: Barristers’ Perspectives on the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and Its Impact on Practice

This article discusses the findings of a qualitative study which interviewed 14 barristers about the law-in-action reality of rape cases involving alcohol intoxication. The study aimed to identify how a number of provisions introduced by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 were perceived by barristers, worked in practice and their overall impact in terms of improving the law of rape and specifically, alcohol-involved rape. The article focuses on barristers’ opinions relating to the definition of consent as contained in s. 74; the ‘consent presumptions’, with specific emphasis on s. 75(2)(f); the jurors’ perceived response to jury directions and definitions; and barristers’ opinions on the need for future reforms in this area. It is argued that certain provisions introduced by the 2003 Act are not always utilised in a way that was intended, have been interpreted and applied narrowly and, in a number of instances, fail to assist the jury

Testing the reflection assumption: A comparison of eyewitness ecology in the laboratory and criminal cases

In the US, experts are often called upon to provide evidence during criminal trials regarding eyewitness identification research. A key factor is probative value: to what extent are findings from laboratory studies generalisable to the real world? In order to answer this question, this article explores the issue of eyewitness ecology, a term referring to the environmental context in which people witness crimes, which includes characteristics of perpetrators and the viewing conditions, as well as the identification context. Specifically, we explore the extent to which the typical eyewitness ecology found in laboratory studies reflects or is similar to real-world conditions. We coded the characteristics of the published literature on criminal identification in the laboratory (n = 309), and the results were compared to the characteristics of a stratified random sample of felony cases (n = 721) obtained from a large metropolitan district in the United States. This analysis demonstrated that in the criminal cases compared to the laboratory studies, duration of exposure to the culprit and retention interval length were significantly longer, and weapons, violence and showup identifications were more prevalent. Additionally, the laboratory studies and criminal cases differed with respect to participant/witness race. These findings indicate a need to broaden the range of conditions employed in the laboratory to increase the applicability of eyewitness identification research to the legal system

Gender differences in alcohol-related non-consensual sex; cross-sectional analysis of a student population

Background: Sexual offences are a global public health concern. Recent changes in the law in England and Wales have dramatically altered the legal landscape of sexual offences, but sexual assaults where the victim is voluntarily intoxicated by alcohol continue to have low conviction rates. Worldwide, students are high consumers of alcohol. This research aimed to compare male and female students in relation to their knowledge and attitudes about alcohol and sexual activity and to identify factors associated with being the victim of alcohol-related non-consensual sex. Methods: 1,110 students completed an online questionnaire. Drinking levels were measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Non-consensual sexual experiences were measured using the Sexual Experience Survey. Univariate and multivariate analyses were undertaken using chi square and backwards stepwise logistic regression respectively. Results: A third of respondents had experienced alcohol-related non-consensual sex. Male and female students differed in the importance they gave to cues in deciding if a person wished to have sex with them and their understanding of the law of consent. 82.2% of women who had experienced alcohol-related non-consensual sex were hazardous drinkers compared to 62.9% who drank at lower levels (P < 0.001). Differences existed between men and women, and between those who had and had not experienced alcohol-related non-consensual sex, in relation to assessments of culpability in scenarios depicting alcohol-related intercourse. A third of respondents believed that a significant proportion of rapes were false allegations; significantly more men than women responded in this way. Conclusions: Alcohol-related coerced sexual activity is a significant occurrence among students; attitudinal and knowledge differences between males and females may explain this. Educational messages that focus upon what is deemed acceptable sexual behaviour, the law and rape myths are needed but are set against a backdrop where drunkenness is commonplace

Gender differences in alcohol-related non-consensual sex; cross-sectional analysis of a student population

Background: Sexual offences are a global public health concern. Recent changes in the law in England and Wales have dramatically altered the legal landscape of sexual offences, but sexual assaults where the victim is voluntarily intoxicated by alcohol continue to have low conviction rates. Worldwide, students are high consumers of alcohol. This research aimed to compare male and female students in relation to their knowledge and attitudes about alcohol and sexual activity and to identify factors associated with being the victim of alcohol-related non-consensual sex. Methods: 1,110 students completed an online questionnaire. Drinking levels were measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Non-consensual sexual experiences were measured using the Sexual Experience Survey. Univariate and multivariate analyses were undertaken using chi square and backwards stepwise logistic regression respectively. Results: A third of respondents had experienced alcohol-related non-consensual sex. Male and female students differed in the importance they gave to cues in deciding if a person wished to have sex with them and their understanding of the law of consent. 82.2% of women who had experienced alcohol-related non-consensual sex were hazardous drinkers compared to 62.9% who drank at lower levels (P < 0.001). Differences existed between men and women, and between those who had and had not experienced alcohol-related non-consensual sex, in relation to assessments of culpability in scenarios depicting alcohol-related intercourse. A third of respondents believed that a significant proportion of rapes were false allegations; significantly more men than women responded in this way. Conclusions: Alcohol-related coerced sexual activity is a significant occurrence among students; attitudinal and knowledge differences between males and females may explain this. Educational messages that focus upon what is deemed acceptable sexual behaviour, the law and rape myths are needed but are set against a backdrop where drunkenness is commonplace