This report seeks to provide more in-depth information about the physical, social, and psychological consequences of rape victimization by further investigating the findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey on this issue.
Violence against women is one factor in the growing wave of alarm about violence in American society. High-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial call attention to the thousands of lesser-known but no less tragic situations in which women's lives are shattered by beatings or sexual assault. The search for solutions has highlighted not only what we know about violence against women but also what we do not know. How can we achieve the best understanding of this problem and its complex ramifications? What research efforts will yield the greatest benefit? What are the questions that must be answered? Understanding Violence Against Women presents a comprehensive overview of current knowledge and identifies four areas with the greatest potential return from a research investment by increasing the understanding of and responding to domestic violence and rape: What interventions are designed to do, whom they are reaching, and how to reach the many victims who do not seek help. Factors that put people at risk of violence and that precipitate violence, including characteristics of offenders. The scope of domestic violence and sexual assault in America and its conequences to individuals, families, and society, including costs. How to structure the study of violence against women to yield more useful knowledge. Despite the news coverage and talk shows, the real fundamental nature of violence against women remains unexplored and often misunderstood. Understanding Violence Against Women provides direction for increasing knowledge that can help ameliorate this national problem.
Sexual Victimization: Then and Now provides scholars easy access to information that specifically examines the continuum of sex crimes and the perception of victims by our criminal justice system and society as a whole. This text features contributions from well-known researchers in the field and serves as an important resource to provide scholars with up-to-date research on sexual victimization that will educate students on this complex and evolving challenge for the criminal justice system. The authors approach the concept by examining how the criminal justice system handles sexual victimization, the association between individuals in a relationship and sexual assault, and unusual and special issues associated with contemporary sexual victimization. By discussing these issues, the theoretical explanations for these crimes and the effectiveness of the policy that has been applied will effectively link the criminological areas of theory, research, and policy.
This book investigates the causes and consequences of image-based sexual abuse in a digital era. Image-based sexual abuse refers to the taking or sharing of nude or sexual photographs or videos of another person without their consent. It includes a diversity of behaviours beyond that of "revenge porn", such as the secret trading of nude or sexual images online; "upskirting", "downblousing" and other "creepshots"; blackmail or "sextortion" scams; the use of artificial intelligence to construct "deepfake" pornographic videos; threats to distribute photographs and videos without consent; and the taking or sharing of sexual assault imagery. This book investigates the pervasiveness and experiences of these harms, as well as the raft of legal and non-legal measures that have been introduced to better respond to and prevent image-based sexual abuse. The book draws on groundbreaking empirical research, including surveys in three countries with over 6,000 respondents and over 100 victim-survivor and stakeholder interviews. Guided by theoretical frameworks from gender studies, sociology, criminology, law and psychology, the authors argue that image-based sexual abuse is more commonly perpetrated by men than women, and that perpetration is higher among some groups, including younger and sexuality minority men. Although the motivations of perpetrators vary, a dominant theme to emerge was that of power and control. The gendered nature of the abuse means that it is best understood as a "continuum of sexual violence" because victim-survivors often experience it as part of a broader pattern of gendered harassment, violence and abuse. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, law and psychology. Image-based Sexual Abuse is also an essential resource for activists, legal and policy practitioners, technology companies and victim-survivors seeking to understand the deeply complex nature of intimate-image sharing in a digital era.
In The Victimization of Women, Michelle Meloy and Susan Miller present a balanced and comprehensive summary of the most significant research on the victimizations, violence, and victim politics that disproportionately affect women. They examine the history of violence against women, the surrounding debates, the legal reforms, the related media and social-service responses, and the current science on intimate-partner violence, stalking, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. They augment these victimization findings with original research on women convicted of domestic battery and men convicted of sexual abuse and other sex-related offenses. In these new data, the authors explore the unanticipated consequences associated with changes to the laws governing domestic violence and the newer forms of sex-offender legislation. Based on qualitative data involving in-depth, offender-based interviews, and analyzing the circumstances surrounding arrests, victimizations, and experiences with the criminal justice system, The Victimization of Women makes great strides forward in understanding and ultimately combating violence against women.
This edition includes newly contributed and updated articles utilizing the latest research and studies in the areas of violence, abuse, and victims' rights from experts in the field. It has a stronger focus on emerging issues and policies in the field of victimology than other comparable texts. It utilizes the latest research and studies in the areas of violence, abuse, and victims, rights. It focuses on the emerging issues and policies in the fields of victim rights and crime prevention. New 3 Part organization with the more common victimizing crimes first, followed by responses to victimizations, and then newer issues and types of victimizations in Part 3. There is a new chapters on human trafficking and cyber crime. There is a major expansion of the human services response and school victimizations. It is updated throughout with new data and research.
Victimology: Crime Victimization and Victim Services¿ is a text written for undergraduate students that provides a broad overview of the theoretical basis of victimology, and the role of victimology in today's criminal justice system. This multidisciplinary approach to crime victimization, crime victims, and victim services includes chapters written by authors from a variety of disciplines: criminal justice and criminology, counseling, nursing, social work, nonprofit organizations, law, student affairs, and public policy. Within each chapter, chapter highlights provide more in-depth information on a central concept, spotlights on pioneers in the field, and real world applications that demonstrate how the topic is currently being addressed in communities across the country. The authors' goal was to provide a more holistic perspective that is grounded in how theories arose from the real world experiences of victims in one cohesive text.
"Sexual assault continues to be a pervasive problem, both for society in general and within the military community. To assist the Air Force in its continued efforts to combat sexual assault within its ranks, we reviewed the existing empirical literature on the characteristics and behaviors of adult perpetrators who commit sexual assault against other adults. Our search was not limited to studies of military populations. While a vast majority of the existing literature has focused on sole male perpetrators who assault female victims, we identified some research on other types of perpetrators, including female sexual assault perpetrators, men who perpetrate assault against other men, and perpetrators who participate in group sexual assault. This body of research indicates that adult perpetrators are diverse in terms of their demographics, background characteristics, and motivations. Moreover, research indicates that sexual assault perpetration is likely influenced by a combination of factors, including an individual's developmental and family history; his or her personality, including attitudes/cognitions; and environmental factors, including peer attitudes and alcohol consumption. The complexity of factors that influence sexual assault perpetration and the multiple pathways that lead to an attack make it difficult to predict whether an individual is prone to commit sexual assault. While predicting sexual assault perpetration is problematic, we identified a number of factors related to perpetration that may be relevant for intervention efforts and offer recommendations for the Air Force"--Publisher's web site.
Despite changes to laws and attitudes, rape continues at epidemic levels worldwide. As gatekeepers to the criminal justice system, law enforcement officers are important to the processing of rape cases and their interactions with victims can potentially affect the victim’s reaction to and recovery from rape. In order to better understand rape and the processing of cases through the criminal justice and legal systems, Rape, Victims and Investigations explores the unique perceptions and experiences of detectives who respond to rape victims and investigate rape cases. The detective’s investigation is the foundation of the prosecution’s case; the book considers factors that contribute to the challenging nature of rape investigations, such as lack of evidence or a clear, credible victim statement. Detectives’ perceptions of victims’ revictimization by the criminal justice and legal systems are also explored. The book also looks at specific causes of police stress and burnout related to working rape cases, financial struggles faced by departments, and ways to meet these challenges. By integrating previous research within the context of rich interview data, Rape, Victims and Investigations provides deep insight for readers and will contribute to the continued improvement of treatment of victims by the criminal justice system. The book will be essential reading for academics, students, law enforcement officers, those who provide services to sexual assault victims and victims themselves.