Victims' perceptions of a new model of sexual assault investigation adopted by Victoria Police

This paper evaluates a method of operation for sexual assault investigation recently developed by Victoria Police (Australia). The model (which is new to Victoria) is characterised by two core components: the establishment of specialist teams of investigators (responsible for investigation and victim support) and service sites referred to as ‘Multidisciplinary Centres’ where all key services are provided to victims in a single location separate from police stations. The approach consisted of in-depth interviews with 25 victims of sexual assault aged between 15 and 54 years. The overriding theme to arise from the interviews was the importance to victims of being treated with dignity and respect; six elements were highlighted by victims as assisting this. These elements are presented along with evidence to demonstrate that the police response to victims has become more victim-centred under the new model of service delivery.

Rape in Victoria as a crime of absolute liability : a departure from both precedent and progressivism

In recent decades, a disturbing trend has emerged in Victoria and elsewhere that has witnessed the emergence of statutory rules that accord preferential treatment to prosecutors and complainants in instances where allegations of rape are made. This article examines not only the manifestations of such treatment in the form of Victorian crime legislation, but the means by which the statutory crime of rape in Victoria has been transformed into an offence which, though technically one of mens rea, can effectively be prosecuted as an offence of absolute liability. The piece concludes with a discussion of the likely reasons for this trend as well as the implications of allowing such a serious offence to be prosecuted as one of absolute liability.

Workplace stressors for investigative interviewers of child-abuse victims

Purpose - This study aimed to identify the nature and prevalence of workplace stressors faced by interviewers of child sexual assault victims.

Design/methodology/approach - Sixty-eight professionals (police and child protection workers) were invited to anonymously post their perceptions of workplace stressors on an internet forum as part of an investigative interviewing online training course. Specifically, participants were asked to reflect on salient sources of stress encountered in their role of interviewing sexually abused children.

Findings - Three key stressors were identified across the study’s professional groups: (1) inadequate recognition of specialised skills; (2) high workload demands; and (3) interagency tensions. Consistent with previous research, exposure to child abuse reports was not raised as a stressor.

Research limitations/implications - Our study generated suggestions for modifying management practices; however, future research should identify and trial strategies for improving workplace climate in child abuse investigation.

Practical implications - As the stressors isolated by participants related to workplace climate rather than exposure to victims’ accounts of child abuse, minimising negative consequences of work stressors requires changes to workplace culture and practice. Workplace climates need to be modified so that the demands are offset by resources.

Originality/value - Because of its online, anonymous nature, this was the first study to offer participants the opportunity to honestly disclose primary sources of stress in child abuse investigation. The research also makes a much-needed contribution to an area of police practice that is vital yet often overlooked.

Abolishing defensive homicide will benefit female victims and offenders

The Victorian Department of Justice has released its long-awaited review into operation of the controversial offence of defensive homicide. The Consultation Paper proposes the offence’s abolition on the basis that it is “inherently complex”, “has no clear benefit” for women who kill in the context of family violence and has been “inappropriately” used by men who kill.

A direct insight into victims of cybercrime

With increasing popularity and 1.9 billion cumulative registered accounts, virtual worlds are seeing an increase in a cybercrime named Virtual Property Theft. Currently, there is no data available on victim's perception of reasons for this theft. In this study, the authors aim to identify these reasons, and fill the need for a deeper understanding of VPT. This study used a survey including questions on virtual property ownership, theft, recovery and security. This survey is the first to report the views of victims of theft and remarkably showed although users are aware of offenders and have adequate security knowledge, 23% still become victims. This highlights that cyber criminals have found loopholes in existing security systems. Finally, given the continual growth of virtual worlds, it is essential to develop new policies and effective regulations. In this paper we will discuss the most critical survey results relating to security and provide statistical analysis.

Attitudes towards younger and older victims of child sexual assault

The findings of this thesis showed that while mock jury groups perceived older children as less credible, other factors such as lack of evidence and testimony were important considerations in the determination of guilt.

Prison rape : is it okay to make jokes about rape in prison?

The trivialisation of sexual violence through what passes as humour is much less common than it once was. Jokes about rape are not innocent, are not harmless fun, are not unconnected to the horrible crime they make light of. Their gradual marginalisation represents social change of real importance. But there is one last refuge of the rape joke in mainstream popular culture, and its continued presence reflects a shameful blind spot in our society. It is a joke which conceals a horrible and damaging reality which is somehow both a taboo topic and a truth universally acknowledged.

A picture that circulated widely on Facebook and other social media last year captures the horror in the humour. It is a picture of a man’s back, decorated with a huge image of an alluring, naked woman, with the man’s buttocks marked to look like breasts. The caption: This man had what he thought was the best tattoo in the world . . . until he went to prison. How can a gag about a man being anally raped while in prison be widely popular, seen as funny, a giggle to share? Were the prospective victim a child or a woman, or were the rape in almost any other setting, the reaction would surely be revulsion and anger. Jail rape, though, somehow remains funny.

What mediates psychopathology in stalking victims? The role of individual-vulnerability and stalking-related factors

Stalking victims report significant psychiatric morbidity, which often persists long after the stalking itself has ceased. Elucidating predictors of psychopathology in victims is critical to informing the clinical management of this population. This study examined demographic, individual-vulnerability and stalking-related predictors of general psychopathology and post-traumatic stress in a community sample of victims (n = 236). Regression analyses showed that both general psychopathology and post-traumatic stress were influenced by individual-vulnerability factors, particularly the use of avoidance coping, and stalking-related factors, most notably being subjected to threats. This study provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of factors that mediate psychiatric morbidity among stalking victims, and highlights the utility of clinicians focussing on modifying dynamic risk factors such as maladaptive avoidance behaviours to help alleviate victims' psychological distress.

The chaotic state of the law of rape in Victoria: a mandate for reform

This article is intended as a final commentary and sequel to two earlier articles in this journal that have examined the arcane and circular wording of s. 37AA of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) and its patent incompatibility with ss 36 and 38 of that Act that define the elements of rape. In particular, this article will revisit many of the essential points raised in the first two articles in order to afford readers with an appropriate backdrop against which the Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision in GC v The Queen will be examined. The article concludes with a strenuous recommendation that s. 37AA be repealed or substantially amended in order to comport with ss 36 and 38 as well as the Court of Appeal’s decision in NT v The Queen that significantly reshaped the Morgan principle.

Perceptions of credibility of sexual abuse victims across generations

The success of prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual abuse often depends substantially upon the perceived credibility of the victim witness. However, perceptions of credibility may vary by generation of the observer, and the constitution of juries may therefore lead to bias. In this study we examined whether perceptions of credibility of female victims of sexual abuse varied across generation Y, generation X, "baby boomers", and "builders". One hundred and twenty-eight jury-eligible members of the community from each generation (N=512) responded to ten questions assessing the perceived believability, competence, trustworthiness, demeanour and sexual naiveté of females providing testimony related to alleged sexual abuse. Although consistent between-generation differences were not found for all questions, or all four groups of generational cohorts, in instances where significant differences were found, it was consistently the older generation groups (builders and baby boomers) that attributed less credibility to the victim than the younger generation groups (generation Y and generation X). The implications of these findings are discussed.

The League of Nations and the Refugees from Nazi Germany. James G. McDonald and Hitler’s victims

Greg Burgess's important new study explores the short life of the High Commission for Refugees (Jewish and Other) Coming from Germany, from its creation by the League of Nations in October 1933 to the resignation of High Commissioner, James G. McDonald, in December 1935.The book relates the history of the first stage of refugees from Germany through the prism of McDonald and the High Commission. It analyses the factors that shaped the Commission's formation, the undertakings the Commission embarked upon and its eventual failure owing to external complications.The League of Nations and the Refugees from Nazi Germany argues that, in spite of the Commission's failure, the refugees from Nazi Germany and the High Commission's work mark a turn in conceptions of international humanitarian responsibilities when a state defies standards of proper behaviour towards its citizens. From this point on, it was no longer considered sufficient or acceptable for states to respect the sovereign rights of another if the rights of citizens were being violated. Greg Burgess discusses this idea, amongst others, in detail as part of what is a crucial volume for all scholars and students of Nazi Germany, the Holocaust and modern Jewish history.

‘Silent victims’: royal commission recommends better protections for child victims of family violence

Among the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence’s most important recommendations is the powerful acknowledgement that family violence has devastating effects on children. Commissioner Marcia Neave described children as the “silent victims” of family violence.