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.

Consecuencias literarias del 11-S: la representación de la violencia en la novela angloamericana

In my eight years as a professional journalist, I have been a front line observer of the extreme level of violence which occurs everyday in our society. As victims, consumers or perpetrators of violence, this phenomenon is now a part of our existence. As a reporter for the Spanish national newspaper El País I have been witness to the most terrible acts of violence. In Venezuela, with one of the highest rates of criminality in the world, I saw piles of bodies stacked up in mortuaries. In Argentina, I reported on the most brutal crimes including the rape of children by policemen. I believe that my interest in the manifestations and causes of violence was aroused during my time as a journalist. On a personal level, I was deeply affected by the twin poles of attraction/repulsion which the violent images produced in me. The first time I visited New York in 2003, I talked to various people who were selling photos of the victims of the Twin Tower attacks. They had laid out their wares along the wire fence that separated Ground Zero from the main public areas. One particular photograph made an indelible impression on my mind: a ghost like corpse covered in white dust which was streaked with blood. It is an image I will never forget. If I remember well, a complete album of these gruesome images cost about ten dollars. At the same time, I also became interested in islamic terrorism: its complexity and the great impact it has made on Western society. One only has to look at the front page of the press around the world to read about war, terrorism or the constant violation of human rights. The words Al-Qaeda, Daesh, Boko Haram and Islamic State have sadly become parts of our everyday language. The nihilistic philosophy which promisess eternal life in exchange for self-inmolation is a new, highly worrying reality, especially painful when it involves young people who become indoctrinated through the social media. They have become the most loyal supporters of a fanatical and uncompromising version of Islam. The stark reality is that these young recruits to Jihad (holy war) were born in places like London, Paris, Rome or Madrid...

Violência sexual no campus universitário em Portugal

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA – Instituto Universitário para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Psicologia especialidade de Psicologia Clínica.

Estudo sobre abusos sexuais de crianças em Portugal (estudantes universitários dos 18-25 anos)

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA – Instituto Universitário para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Psicologia especialidade de Psicologia Clínica.

Violência nas relações íntimas juvenis

A violência nas relações íntimas juvenis (VRIJ) constitui uma problemática socialmente relevante, transversal a diferentes culturas e com potencial desestruturante no bem-estar dos jovens. Além disso, é igualmente sabido que a forma como as vítimas respondem a este tipo de abuso íntimo pode determinar a expressão e as dificuldades de ajustamento. Tendo por base esta realidade, a presente dissertação tem por objetivo geral caraterizar as vivências amorosas abusivas dos jovens adultos, o (des)ajustamento psicossocial daqueles que admitiram ter sofrido algum tipo de violência e as estratégias de coping que utilizam para fazer face ao impacto da VRIJ, com recurso ao Questionário de Vivências Amorosas Abusivas (QVAA) e ao Brief COPE. Para tal, recorreu-se a uma amostra intencional de 287 indivíduos, com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 25 anos (M=22.08; DP=1.69). No total dos participantes envolvidos em relações amorosas, 13.9% dos jovens admitiram perpetrar atos abusivos contra o/a namorado/a, e 23.7% admitiram ter sido vítimas destes comportamentos, sendo a agressão psicológica a mais reportada tanto em termos de perpetração como de vitimação. Foi também possível verificar que as repercussões da VRIJ, nos jovens que admitiram a vitimação, se manifestam maioritariamente ao nível dos sentimentos e comportamentos, e que grande parte destes utilizam estratégias de coping do tipo ativo para lidarem com a situação. A partir dos dados obtidos pretende-se aprofundar o conhecimento sobre o fenómeno da VRIJ, procurando tecer algumas considerações sobre as estratégias interventivas a adotar na intervenção com as suas vítimas.

Remembering genocide

In Remembering Genocide an international group of scholars draw on current research from a range of disciplines to explore how communities throughout the world remember genocide. Whether coming to terms with atrocities committed in Namibia and Rwanda, Australia, Canada, the Punjab, Armenia, Cambodia and during the Holocaust, those seeking to remember genocide are confronted with numerous challenges. Survivors grapple with the possibility, or even the desirability, of recalling painful memories. Societies where genocide has been perpetrated find it difficult to engage with an uncomfortable historical legacy.Still, to forget genocide, as this volume edited by Nigel Eltringham and Pam Maclean shows, is not an option. To do so reinforces the vulnerability of groups whose very existence remains in jeopardy and denies them the possibility of bringing perpetrators to justice. Contributors discuss how genocide is represented in media including literature, memorial books, film and audiovisual testimony. Debates surrounding the role museums and monuments play in constructing and transmitting memory are highlighted. Finally, authors engage with controversies arising from attempts to mobilise and manipulate memory in the service of reconciliation, compensation and transitional justice.

Intimate partner violence perpetrator subtypes and their developmental origins: implications for prevention and intervention

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major issue for many Australian families and yet progress towards the development of effective prevention and behaviour change programs has been relatively slow. In this paper, it is proposed that the tendency to treat perpetrators as a homogenous group has hampered progress, and that treatment outcomes can be improved by tailoring treatment responses to a small set of personal and offence-related characteristics. It explores the developmental origins and trajectories of these presentations and identifies some new directions for further research in this area.

Filicide and parental separation and divorce

This paper discusses the findings of a ten-year study of filicide in Victoria, Australia, using the data from selected case files held in the Victorian coroner's office for the period 2000–09. The study sought to examine whether separation is a factor in filicide cases, as well as the role of other factors, such as domestic violence and mental illness. Also, the study sought to identify whether filicide perpetrators had contact with support services, including family and friends, general practitioners, mental health services and child protection services, in order to ascertain how these services might more appropriately identify those families most at risk prior to the filicide. The study found that while separation was a factor identified in a significant number of cases, more cases analysed showed evidence of mental illness, mainly depression. These findings suggest the need for improved strategies in preventing filicide by identifying risk factors and improving service responses for victims prior to these tragic events.

Perspectives on the geography of intolerance: racist attitudes and experience of racism in Melbourne, Australia

Given the challenge presented by worsening racial and religious relations in many western countries around the world, a closer look at the interplay between racist attitudes among potential perpetrators and experiences of racism among likely targets, focusing on out-group status, can better inform the dynamics of culturally diverse societies. Melbourne, Australia is ideal for such an analysis given its highly diverse population. Building on recent scholarship detailing a new approach to examining the attitude-experience relationship, we add an important spatial dimension by investigating how patterns of association vary spatially within specific localities over and above citywide effects. Findings indicate significant associations between racist attitudes and experience of discrimination at the citywide and, in distinct ways, at the local (Local Government Area) level. Such relationships are shaped by socio-demographic and ethnic diversity profiles, embodying attribution and degree of out-group status, in complex and nuanced ways.

Foreign fighters, human rights and self-determination in Syria and Iraq: decoding the humanitarian impact of foreign fighters in practice

Foreign fighters have become inextricably linked to perceptions of human rights abuses in the Syria and Iraq wars, particularly since the Islamic State group founded its caliphate. This paper explores the human rights impact of foreign fighters in the conflicts, noting that while foreign fighters have been involved in grave human rights abuses, such behavior has not been uniform and must be differentiated by group and role. In this regard, it is argued that while foreign fighters have overwhelmingly had a negative impact on most human rights indicators, fighters in some groups have positively impacted the Right to Self-Determination. Further, the paper notes that while foreign fighters have been large-scale perpetrators of human rights abuses, one must also consider the propaganda value of such acts because foreign fighter-led violence is more newsworthy globally than local-led violence.

María Isabel, el feminicidio con rostro adolescente en Guatemala

 Resumen El autor ilustra este ensayo con el caso Véliz Franco (Guatemala, diciembre de 2001), el cual descarna la brutalidad de la agresión, la escasa información académica y forense sobre el feminicidio adolescente y la inercia estatal por hallar a los responsables de esta manifestación de homicidio. De igual manera, resalta el papel de las organizaciones no gubernamentales ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH), en especial la necesidad de contrarrestar la impunidad generalizada en el caso de los y las adolescentes. En la audiencia 12.578, la abogada y experta guatemalteca Claudia Paz saca a relucir las debilidades de la investigación e identifica las fallas elementales del Estado guatemalteco al delimitar la escena del crimen y las piezas de la evidencia. Palabras clave: adolescente, femicidio, feminicidio, impunidad, Guatemala. Abstract The author illustrates this essay with the Véliz Franco’s case (Guatemala, December 2001), which narrates the brutality of the aggression, the lack of information on the feminicide towards teenagers and the state inertia to seek the perpetrators of such crimes. The article also highlights the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, especially on the need to combat the generalized impunity in cases of murders of teenagers. In the audience 12.578 the Guatemalan lawyer and expert, Claudia Paz, brings up the weaknesses of the investigation and identifies the core failures of the state to specify the crime scene and the pieces of evidence.  Keywords: adolescent, femicide, feminicide, impunity, Guatemala.