Sexual violence Flashcards
What is the Sexual Offences Act 2003?
- Consent: defined as “a person consents if he/she agrees by choice, and has freedom and capacity to make that choice” (S74)
- S75 Evidential presumptions about consent
- S76 Conclusive presumptions about consent
What is the Law in the UK for Rape?
- Intentional vaginal, anal, or oral penetration with a penis
- gender biased - in terms of ‘only men can rape’
- Not consensual
- Perpetrator does not reasonably believe that victim consented
- Sections 75 & 76 apply
- Maximum sentence = imprisonment for life
What is the Law in the UK for Assault by penetration?
- Intentional vaginal or anal penetration with a part of his body or anything else
- oral penetration is not included
- Penetration is sexual, not consensual and the perpetrator does not reasonably believe that victim consents
- S75& S76
- Life imprisonment
What is the Law in the UK for Sexual Assault?
- A intentionally touches B, the touching is sexual but not consensual and perpetrator does not reasonably believe that victim consents
- issue - how do you demonstrate that the assault is sexual?
- S75& S76
- Summary conviction (without jury trial) < 6 months; Conviction on indictment < 10 years
- difference compared to assault and rape
What is the Law in the UK for Causing Sexual Activity?
- A intentionally causes B to engage in a sexual activity, B does not consent, A does not reasonably believe B consents
- a complex act
- S75& S76
- Same imprisonment terms as SA
- ss4 (activity includes penetration) = life imprisonment.
- a woman would be charged less, despite committing the same act
How many women and men experienced sexual violence in their lifetime?
- 1/3 women
- 1/4 girls
- 1/4 men
- 1/6 boys
What is the lifetime prevalence in England and Wales?
- Lifetime prevalence (since the age of 16) ~14%
- Women (22.8%) and Men (4.4%)
- less than the global prevalence
- perhaps victims are reporting the acts less
- Rape & AbP (with attempts) = 1.6m
- When including Sexual Assault = 8.6m
- Women (22.8%) and Men (4.4%)
- Partners (45%), Acquaintances, family members, friends, dates (37%)
- 82% victims know of their perpetrator
- Often in victims’ homes (37%)
Who are the victims?
- Men more likely to experience CSA
- Women report victimisation across different age groups
- Black and Mixed ethnic groups significantly more likely within the last year
- Single Male victims
- Unemployed adults
- Women with a disability
Describe the theory of sexual offending.
It has three levels of theories, varying in complexity, nested, and related.
What is the Level III - descriptive offence process models?
It has been described as a self-regulation process model. It is a descriptive model that describes how an offender develops a desire to offend and then goes to committing it.
- Acquisitional (approach) goals
- the offender engages in healthy ways to avoid the desire to offend
- e.g. pornography
- Inhibitory (avoidant) goals
- when the offender does not have the desire to offend but cannot cope with the desires, ∴ commits
- adult offenders fall in the approach goal and child offenders fall in the avoidant goal
- it’s not socially acceptable to have sex with a child, ∴ evidence shows that child offenders fall into the avoidant
Part A: What are the Level II - single-factor models?
It has been described as the Power/Powerlessness Theory. Based on a Feminist approach, they argue men’s powerlessness motivates Sexual Harmful Behaviours, to recapture a sense of masculinity/power and to exercise the power over someone.
- Sexual offending is facilitated by society – masculinity norms assist sexual offending
- A middle-class man would commit to maintain his status
- But a working-class man would commit to gain hegemonic masculinity
- All Perpetrators come from all SES – Powerful men maintain dominance
Part B: What are the Level II - single-factor models (Conditioning Theory)?
- Sexual offending is the outcome of Deviant Sexual Preferences (DSP)
- offenders are exposed to childhood porn and/or violent behaviour at home
- DSPs are developed through the same cognitive-behavioural processes through which normative practices are developed(the same mechanisms through traditional conditioning)
- Modelling
- Vicarious learning
- Symbolic modelling
- Reinforcement
But many offenders do not act on their deviant sexual preferences.
What is the Level I - multivariate models?
- Finkelhor’s Precondition Model (1984) & Ward & Siegert’s Pathway Model (2002) focus primarily on childhood sexual abuse
- theories are very comprehensive and complex
What are the psychological effects on victims?
The effects are profound and long-standing, with sexual abuse being associated with an increased risk of a lifetime diagnosis of multiple psychiatric disorders:
- Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Eating Disorders
- PTSD
- Sleep Disorders
- Suicide Attempts
- Negative self-evaluative emotions are common
- e.g. shame, guilt, self-blame
- Reactions to disclosure often predict the severity of post-assault symptomatology:
- how people react to victims disclose their assault
- Positive reactions → victims more in control over their recovery → less PTSD symptoms & more adaptive social and individual coping
- Negative reactions → greater PTSD, maladaptive coping, lower perceived control over recovery
How many people report their sexual assault?
- 1/5 men
- 1/6 women
How do officers investigate rape cases?
There are 4 characteristics:
- Victim
- Demographic, Needs or Vulnerabilities, Prior history with police
- Suspect
- Demographic, Needs or Vulnerabilities, Prior history with police
- Offence
- Details of offence, substance use, level of violence
- Procedural
- Reporting, evidential factors, police investigation, victim support
Every investigation will have an investigation outcome (out of 4):
- No Crime:
- No
- Victim Withdrawal
- No
- No Further Action
- No
- Referred to Crown Prosecution Service
- No
What is the Attribution Problem?
This describes how only a small number of sexual offences in the UK are reported to the police. Of this number, a minority results in a conviction.
It highlights how the majority of victims do not seek justice, and that when they do, their cases either fail to reach the threshold for prosecution or result in a no-guilty verdict.
Where does the Attrition Problem occur?
- Victim withdrawal
- Lack of trust in the police/CJS
- Fear of not being believed/taken seriously
- Disclosure and privacy concerns
- Retraumatising experiences (officers’ scepticism/disbelief)
- No Crime
- False allegation - difficult to prosecute, without having evidence
- No Further Action
- Referrals to the CPS have to pass two tests:
- Evidential sufficiency & Public interest test
- Juries
- The prosecution must convince the jury beyond reasonable doubt the absence of consent
How long does it take for sexual offences to receive an investigative outcome?
- Sexual offences: 69 days
- Rape: > 97 days
What is rape culture?
Rape culture is “ a pervasive ideology that effectively supports or excuses sexual assault.
- Rape culture is accepted and normalised in society because of widely held norms and expectations around gender, sexuality, and interpersonal violence.
- Sexual violence is normalised as studies show how aggressive, harmful sexual behaviours are accepted and enacted.
What are the theories of Victim Blaming?
- “Authentic” rape scenarios (Du Mont et al., 2003)
- Observed preconceptions on what an “authentic” rape looks like
- Rape cases rarely meet these expectations
- Observed preconceptions on what an “authentic” rape looks like
- Heider’s Attribution Theory
- Victims are targeted for their unique characteristics
- Defensive Attribution Hypothesis
- Process of perceived similarity between observed/observer
- Just World Beliefs
- “good things happened to good people and bad things happened to bad people, ∴ if someone gets raped, it’s because they’re bad”
What are Traditional rape myths?
They are “Prejudicial, stereotyped or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists”.
it justifies male sexual aggression against women.
What are the main types of myths?
-Four types:
1. Place the responsibility & blame on the victim
2. Minimise victims’ experiences
3. Exonerate (justify) perpetrators
4. Insinuate that there is a “typical” victim
- ∴ the victims who does not meet the stereotypes are not considered
Describe the Triadic representation of victim blaming.
It describes how rape myths feed into the phenomenon of victim blaming.
- Victim blame is expressed in three ways:
- Precipitation - women are responsible for their victimisation
- Fabrication - women lie about having been raped
- Masochism - victims enjoyed the act
