Victimological and cognitive scripting study of adult male and female rape

From this exploratory study it appears that the experience of adult rape has many similarities for men and women, but there are additional factors which may account for the adjustment differences and difficulties for and of men.

Rape : psychopathology, theory and treatment

Whether treatment programs are effective at rehabilitating rapists is yet to be determined empirically. From a scientist–practitioner perspective, treatment should be based on an empirical understanding of rape and rapists, and evidence-based knowledge of treatment outcome with rapists. In this paper we comprehensively review the characteristics of rapists, etiological features implicated in the commission of rape, and relevant treatment outcome research. We pay particular attention to contemporary knowledge about the core vulnerabilities and features required to understand and treat rapists effectively, and, where possible, highlight similarities and differences between rapists, child molesters and non-sexual violent offenders. We use an epistemological framework to (a) critique the various etiological accounts of rape available and (b) help guide professionals' use of such knowledge in both treatment design and evaluation. Gaps in the understanding of rapists' characteristics and etiological features are highlighted, as are discrepancies between current knowledge and treatment approaches. We conclude by highlighting areas for future research and practice innovation.

Scanty clothing never justifies rape

Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali has demonstrated he is unfit and unable to act as a leader in the Muslim community and should resign from his position or be stood down by his Lakemba congregants.

Ignorance of the law as a defence to rape : the destruction of a maxim

In DPP v Morgan, the House of Lords correctly concluded that an accused who entertained a genuine belief that a woman was consenting to carnal knowledge of her person could not be convicted of the common law crime of rape as such a belief and the requisite mens rea to convict were mutually exclusive of one another. Though England and Wales have resiled from this position by virtue of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, s. 1 (b), which allows for conviction upon proof that the accused did not reasonably believe that the complainant was consenting, the Morgan principle has retained its vitality at common law as well as under the various statutory crimes of rape that exist throughout Australia, most notably the provisions of s. 38 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic). Despite a long line of Victorian Court of Appeal decisions which have reaffirmed the Morgan principle, the court has construed s. 37AA(b)(ii) of the Act as leaving open the possibility of an acquittal despite the fact that the accused acted with an awareness that one or more factors that are statutorily deemed as negating consent under s. 36(a)-(g) of the Act were operating at the time of his or her sexual penetration; specifically, the court held that the foregoing factors do not necessarily preclude a jury from finding that the accused acted in the genuine belief that the complainant was consenting. This article endeavours to explain how the accused could be aware of such circumstances at the time of penetration, yet still entertain such a belief. The article ultimately concludes that such an anomaly can only be explained through a combination of the poor drafting of s. 37AA(b)(ii) and the court's apparent refusal to follow the longstanding precept that ignorance of the law is never a defence to a crime, ostensibly prompted by its adherence to the cardinal precept that legislation is not to be construed as superfluous.

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.

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.

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.

Entomophilous pollination in rape (Brassica napus L. var. oleifera) in Brazil

The most frequent insect visitors to the flower were: Apis mellifera, 80.6%; Trigona spinipes, 12.8% and Dialictus sp, 6.6%. -from Authors