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Sexual Assault (sexual + assault)
Terms modified by Sexual Assault Selected AbstractsAdolescent Foley Catheter Technique for Visualizing Hymenal Injuries in Adolescent Sexual AssaultACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 9 2003Jeffrey S. Jones MD Abstract Objectives: To determine the usefulness of the Foley catheter balloon technique for visualizing injuries of the estrogenized hymen in adolescent sexual assault victims compared with supine labial traction. Methods: A prospective clinical trial of 20 adolescent (age 13,16 years old) victims of sexual assault evaluated at a free-standing Nurse Examiner Clinic was conducted over a four-month study period. The clinic, affiliated with an emergency medicine residency program, is staffed by registered nurses who have been specially trained to perform medicolegal examinations using colposcopy with digital imaging. The Foley catheter technique uses an inflated balloon in the distal vaginal vault to expand the estrogenized hymen to its full capacity so that the edge may be readily visualized for signs of trauma. The Foley technique was compared with gross inspection, using supine labial traction, to photodocument hymenal abnormalities. Photographs of the hymen were obtained using the labial traction technique and then with the Foley technique. Three emergency physicians independently examined each pair of photographs with high interrater agreement for the presence of injury (,= 0.88). Results: Twenty adolescent sexual assault victims volunteered for the study; mean age was 14.8 years. Gross inspection of the hymen using supine labial traction identified hymenal injuries in three patients (15%). Use of the Foley catheter balloon technique allowed identification of hymenal abnormalities in nine additional cases (60%). The common injuries to the hymen included lacerations (30%), followed by ecchymosis and abrasions. One patient (5%) voiced discomfort (mild pressure sensation) during inflation of the balloon. Conclusions: The Foley catheter balloon technique is a simple method allowing improved photodocumentation of hymenal trauma in adolescent sexual assault victims compared with supine labial traction. [source] Comparative Analysis of Adult versus Adolescent Sexual Assault: Epidemiology and Patterns of Anogenital InjuryACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2003Jeffrey S. Jones MD Abstract Objectives: To compare the characteristics of sexual assault in pubertal girls (<18 years old) and adults in a community-based population of women presenting to an urban sexual assault clinic. Methods: This case-series analysis evaluated consecutive female patients presenting to a sexual assault clinic during a three-year study period. The clinic is associated with a university-affiliated emergency medicine residency program and is staffed by forensic nurses trained to perform medicolegal examinations using colposcopy with nuclear staining. Patient demographics, assault characteristics, and injury patterns were recorded using a standardized classification system. Data from the two patient groups (adolescents vs. women ,18 years of age) were analyzed using chi-square test and t-test. Results: A total of 766 cases were identified: 43% of the victims were 13 to 17 years old (mean 15.0 years old), and 57% were older than 17 years old (mean 30.8 years old). Adolescents were more likely to be assaulted by an acquaintance or relative (84% vs. 50%, p < 0.001) and to delay medical evaluation (17 hours vs. 12 hours, p < 0.001) than were older women. Adolescent sexual assault was less likely to involve weapons or physical coercion (29% versus 57%, p < 0.001) and was associated with fewer nongenital injuries (33% vs. 55%, p < 0.001). Adolescents had a greater frequency of anogenital injuries (83% vs. 64%, p < 0.001), however, compared with older women. Common sites of injury in adolescents were posterior, including the fossa navicularis, hymen, fourchette, and labia minora. The injuries showed consistent topologic features, varying with the site and nature of tissue. Adult victims of sexual assault had a less consistent pattern of anogenital injuries with fewer hymenal injuries, greater injury to the perianal area, and widespread erythema. Conclusions: Of women presenting to an urban sexual assault clinic, 43% were adolescents. The epidemiology of sexual trauma and the pattern of anogenital trauma in this age group are unique and may pose special challenges to emergency health care providers. [source] Sexual Assault and Defendant/Victim Intoxication: Jurors' Perceptions of Guilt,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2000ANNE-MARIE WALL The present research investigates how defendant and claimant intoxication operates in sexual-assault trials. Participants (N= 323) were provided with a description of a sexualassault trial in which the intoxication level (sober, moderate, extreme) of both parties was systematically varied. While the introduction of alcohol altered participants' perceptions of the case and of the parties involved, a complex interplay between the defendant's and complainant's level of intoxication was apparent. When the complainant was sober, harsher judgments were rendered when the defendant was intoxicated, particularly at the extreme level. In contrast, when the complainant was moderately intoxicated, more guilty verdicts occurred when the defendant was similarly inebriated. Finally, when the complainant was extremely intoxicated, the defendant's beverage consumption did not exert any discemible impact. Evaluations of both parties' abilities to self-regulate their behavior and for the female target to become sexually disinhibited were also influenced by the intoxication manipulation. [source] Domestic Sexual Assault: A New Opportunity for Court ResponseJUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2004JUDITH BERMAN ABSTRACT Based on research conducted for the State Justice Institute, this article examines the invisibility of domestic sexual assault,also known as intimate partner sexual assault or spousal, wife, or marital rape,from the perspective of community and court responses to domestic violence and sexual assault. The article identifies the consequences of invisibility of domestic sexual assault, including the potential for lethality, and offers suggestions to courts for improving outcomes for victims and perpetrators. Areas explored include data collection and analysis, judicial leadership, and specialization in victim response systems, law enforcement and prosecution, court management, and offender intervention. [source] Emergency Department Medical Evidence Collection Following Sexual AssaultACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 1 2010Diana Strasburger MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] Struggling to Survive: Sexual Assault, Poverty, and Mental Health Outcomes of African American WomenAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2010Thema Bryant-Davis A substantial body of research documents the mental health consequences of sexual assault including, but not limited to, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use, and suicidality. Far less attention has been given to the mental health effects of sexual assault for ethnic minority women or women living in poverty. Given African American women's increased risk for sexual assault and increased risk for persistent poverty, the current study explores the relationship between income and mental health effects within a sample of 413 African American sexual assault survivors. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that after controlling for childhood sexual abuse there were positive relationships between poverty and mental health outcomes of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and illicit drug use. There was no significant relationship between poverty and suicidal ideation. Counseling and research implications are discussed. [source] Family Characteristics and Traumatic Consequences Associated with the Duration and Frequency of Sexual AssaultASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Adi Fahrudin The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between family characteristics and the trauma associated with the duration and frequency of sexual assault on child survivors in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. Eighty children who reported sexual assault through a one stop crisis centre in an urban hospital were studied. The main research instrument used was adapted from the trauma symptoms checklist for children. The results of the study show that there are significant differences between the symptoms of trauma of victims according to the frequency of sexual assault, but not according to its duration. Social workers need both to understand and to take note of the relationship of the variables of family characteristics, frequency of sexual assault and trauma effects on the victims in their intervention work with child sexual assault survivors who report having been abused. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of providing crisis intervention by social workers in Malaysia for child victims of sexual assault. [source] Validation Set Correlates of Anogenital Injury after Sexual AssaultACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 3 2008Peter Drocton MD Abstract Objectives:, Forensic investigators remain unsure exactly why some sexual assault victims display acute injury while others do not. This investigation explores potential reasons for these differential findings among female victims. Methods:, This cross-sectional analysis examined data from consecutive female sexual assault victims, at least 12 years old, who agreed to a forensic exam between November 1, 2002, and November 30, 2006. Exams utilized colposcopy, anoscopy, macrodigital imaging, and toluidine blue dye to delineate anogenital injury (AGI), which was defined as the presence of recorded anogenital abrasions, tears, or ecchymosis. Demographic variables of the victim, including sexual experience and reproductive parity, and assault characteristics were recorded in the database for bivariate and multivariate analysis with AGI. Results:, Forty-nine percent of the initial 3,356 patients displayed AGI. Of this total, 2,879 cases included complete data for all variables and were included in the multivariate logistic regression model. A statistically significant increased risk for AGI was noted with: educational status (odds ratio [OR] 1.53, 95% CI = 1.25 to 1.87); vaginal or attempted penetration using penis (OR 2.29, 95% CI = 1.74 to 3.01), finger (OR 1.61, 95% CI = 1.88 to 1.94), or object (OR 3.19, 95% CI = 1.52 to 6.68); anal,penile penetration (OR 2.00, 95% CI = 1.57 to 2.54); alcohol involvement (OR 1.25, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.50); and virgin status of victim (OR 1.38, 95% CI = 1.11 to 1.71). Victims were less likely to display AGI with a longer postcoital interval (OR 0.50, 95% CI = 0.39 to 0.65) and increased parity (OR 0.76, 95% CI = 0.57 to 0.99). Conclusions:, Approximately half the patients displayed AGI. This rate is higher than earlier studies, but consistent with current investigations utilizing similar injury detection methods. The correlates of injury found reinforce the findings of prior studies, while prompting questions for future study. [source] Child Sexual Assault: Feminist PerspectivesCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 3 2001209 pp. £45.00., Basingstoke, Joy Trotter (eds) Palgrave Publishing, Pat Cox, Sheila Kershaw No abstract is available for this article. [source] Violence against women: is psychology part of the problem or the solution?JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2002A content analysis of psychological research from 1990 through 199 Abstract Previous critiques of traditional psychology portrayed a discipline that examines social problems from an exceptionalistic perspective and decontextualizes the subjects of its inquiries. We analysed 10 years of psychological research on domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual harassment to determine whether this criticism applied to violence against women research. Specifically, we examined the purpose, level of analysis, sample, and context of 1396 PsychLit abstracts. We found that almost half reported an examination of causal factors. Only one quarter reported intervention studies. Most studies focused at the individual level of analysis and few included contextual factors. Investigators explored questions about domestic violence most frequently among samples of victims and perpetrators drawn from clinical settings. Sexual assault and sexual harassment researchers depended on victims and perpetrators to a lesser extent, but tended to rely upon convenience samples from college settings. Representative community samples were used in only 9% of studies. These findings support the view that psychological research on violence against women suffers from a heavy emphasis on exceptionalism at the expense of a universalistic perspective, the latter of which we contend is critical to advancing the field and reducing a major threat to women's health and wellbeing. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Part II: Development of the Construct Within the North American Psychiatric TaxonomyPERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE, Issue 2 2006CMHPN (C), G. C. Lasiuk RN TOPIC.,The impairment associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) carries with it staggering costs to the individual, to the family, and to society as a whole. Although there is strong evidence that gender plays a significant role in responses to stress and trauma, gender specificity is still not well incorporated into clinical or research work in the area of PTSD. PURPOSE.,This is the second of three articles examining the sufficiency of the current PTSD construct to articulate the full spectrum of human responses to trauma. This article chronicles ongoing refinements to the original PTSD criteria and the subsequent controversies. SOURCE OF INFORMATION.,Existing bodies of theoretical and research literature related to the effects of trauma. CONCLUSION.,In a third article we will review evidence supporting the existence of a more complex posttraumatic stress reaction associated with interpersonal trauma (physical/sexual abuse/assault). [source] Homicide, psychopathology, prosecutorial and jury discretion and the death penaltyCRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2000Chief, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Richard M. Yarvis MD MPH Professor of Clinical Psychiatry Introduction The American preoccupation with the death penalty persists and, in fact, shows no sign of abatement. This is demonstrated not only by attitudinal measures but also by the quickening pace of executions. In California, homicide convictions can result in either 25-year-to-life, life-with-no-possibility-of-parole, or death sentences. The ultimate outcome in any given case is determined by a complex interaction of prosecutorial and jury decisions. Three vignettes illustrate how heinous crimes have been handled quite variably. Method A data set comprising 115 homicide cases was examined. To determine how murderers who qualify for the death penalty differed, if at all, from those who did not so qualify, 52 defendants who met the criteria for a death sentence were compared with 63 who did not. Criteria utilized and ignored by prosecutors in seeking the death penalty were analysed by comparing 39 cases in which death sentences could have been and were sought with 13 cases in which prosecutors chose to seek a lesser penalty instead. Finally, criteria utilized and ignored by juries to reach sentencing decisions were analysed by comparing 25 cases in which juries chose not to hand down death sentences with 14 cases in which they did render death verdicts. Results Special circumstance murderers did not differ significantly on personal variables from ordinary murderers. (1) Special circumstances were invariably charged when more than one criterion for this was present. Robbery and sexual assault usually provoked a special circumstances charge. Mitigating factors did not deter prosecutors from charging a special circumstance. (2) There was no excess of aggravating factors in individuals sentenced to death by juries, indeed there was a trend for the opposite to be the case, but there was a trend for mitigating factors to be commoner in those excused the death penalty. Conclusion It is not clear that the death penalty process in California carries out the legislature's intent but the US Supreme Court's 1976 mandate that mitigating and aggravating factors should provide discretion may be having a modest impact. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Adolescent Foley Catheter Technique for Visualizing Hymenal Injuries in Adolescent Sexual AssaultACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 9 2003Jeffrey S. Jones MD Abstract Objectives: To determine the usefulness of the Foley catheter balloon technique for visualizing injuries of the estrogenized hymen in adolescent sexual assault victims compared with supine labial traction. Methods: A prospective clinical trial of 20 adolescent (age 13,16 years old) victims of sexual assault evaluated at a free-standing Nurse Examiner Clinic was conducted over a four-month study period. The clinic, affiliated with an emergency medicine residency program, is staffed by registered nurses who have been specially trained to perform medicolegal examinations using colposcopy with digital imaging. The Foley catheter technique uses an inflated balloon in the distal vaginal vault to expand the estrogenized hymen to its full capacity so that the edge may be readily visualized for signs of trauma. The Foley technique was compared with gross inspection, using supine labial traction, to photodocument hymenal abnormalities. Photographs of the hymen were obtained using the labial traction technique and then with the Foley technique. Three emergency physicians independently examined each pair of photographs with high interrater agreement for the presence of injury (,= 0.88). Results: Twenty adolescent sexual assault victims volunteered for the study; mean age was 14.8 years. Gross inspection of the hymen using supine labial traction identified hymenal injuries in three patients (15%). Use of the Foley catheter balloon technique allowed identification of hymenal abnormalities in nine additional cases (60%). The common injuries to the hymen included lacerations (30%), followed by ecchymosis and abrasions. One patient (5%) voiced discomfort (mild pressure sensation) during inflation of the balloon. Conclusions: The Foley catheter balloon technique is a simple method allowing improved photodocumentation of hymenal trauma in adolescent sexual assault victims compared with supine labial traction. [source] Comparative Analysis of Adult versus Adolescent Sexual Assault: Epidemiology and Patterns of Anogenital InjuryACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2003Jeffrey S. Jones MD Abstract Objectives: To compare the characteristics of sexual assault in pubertal girls (<18 years old) and adults in a community-based population of women presenting to an urban sexual assault clinic. Methods: This case-series analysis evaluated consecutive female patients presenting to a sexual assault clinic during a three-year study period. The clinic is associated with a university-affiliated emergency medicine residency program and is staffed by forensic nurses trained to perform medicolegal examinations using colposcopy with nuclear staining. Patient demographics, assault characteristics, and injury patterns were recorded using a standardized classification system. Data from the two patient groups (adolescents vs. women ,18 years of age) were analyzed using chi-square test and t-test. Results: A total of 766 cases were identified: 43% of the victims were 13 to 17 years old (mean 15.0 years old), and 57% were older than 17 years old (mean 30.8 years old). Adolescents were more likely to be assaulted by an acquaintance or relative (84% vs. 50%, p < 0.001) and to delay medical evaluation (17 hours vs. 12 hours, p < 0.001) than were older women. Adolescent sexual assault was less likely to involve weapons or physical coercion (29% versus 57%, p < 0.001) and was associated with fewer nongenital injuries (33% vs. 55%, p < 0.001). Adolescents had a greater frequency of anogenital injuries (83% vs. 64%, p < 0.001), however, compared with older women. Common sites of injury in adolescents were posterior, including the fossa navicularis, hymen, fourchette, and labia minora. The injuries showed consistent topologic features, varying with the site and nature of tissue. Adult victims of sexual assault had a less consistent pattern of anogenital injuries with fewer hymenal injuries, greater injury to the perianal area, and widespread erythema. Conclusions: Of women presenting to an urban sexual assault clinic, 43% were adolescents. The epidemiology of sexual trauma and the pattern of anogenital trauma in this age group are unique and may pose special challenges to emergency health care providers. [source] THE CAUSES OF GIRLS' DELINQUENCY AND THEIR PROGRAM IMPLICATIONSFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 3 2007Margaret A. Zahn This article summarizes some of the literature reviewed by the Girls Study Group, which is a federally funded project aimed at assessing the causes of girls' delinquency as well as evaluating programs to address it. The literature reveals that a number of factors such as family dysfunction, involvement with antisocial peers, and living in disadvantaged neighborhoods are correlated with delinquency for both boys and girls. Some factors, however, are gender sensitive, meaning that either girls are more exposed to a given risk factor than boys or react somewhat differently to a given risk factor. Girls have higher rates of exposure to sexual assault, which is associated with delinquency and, although more research is needed, they are more affected by the impacts of early puberty, when it is coupled with harsh parenting and disadvantaged neighborhoods. This article discusses some implications of the research on correlates of delinquency for programming for girls and makes recommendations for program selection. [source] Pharmacotherapy to Blunt Memories of Sexual Violence: What's a Feminist to Think?HYPATIA, Issue 3 2010ELISA A. HURLEY It has recently been discovered that propranolol,a beta-blocker traditionally used to treat cardiac arrhythmias and hypertension,might disrupt the formation of the emotionally disturbing memories that typically occur in the wake of traumatic events and consequently prevent the onset of trauma-induced psychological injuries such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. One context in which the use of propranolol is generating interest in both the popular and scientific press is sexual violence. Nevertheless, feminists have so far not weighed in on propranolol. I suggest that the time is ripe for a careful feminist analysis of the moral and political implications of propranolol use in the context of sexual violence. In this paper, I map the feminist issues potentially raised by providing propranolol to victims of sexual assault, focusing in particular on the compatibility of propranolol use and availability with an understanding of the social and systematic dimensions of rape's harms. I do not deliver a final verdict on propranolol; in fact, I show that we do not yet have enough information about propranolol's effects to do so. Rather, I provide a feminist framework for evaluating the possibilities and perils opened up by therapeutic memory manipulation in the context of sexual violence against women. [source] Attributions of Responsibility for Rape: Differences Across Familiarity of Situation, Gender, and Acceptance of Rape Myths,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2008Peter A. Newcombe In 2004 in Australia, controversy over the alleged involvement of elite footballers in incidents of sexual assault highlighted a tendency to denigrate the victims and excuse the perpetrators. To investigate whether rape myths were prevalent enough to explain this public response, 102 university students were surveyed for their beliefs and determinations of blame in rape situations. Although there was a gender difference in the rates of rape myth acceptance, with males more likely to accept these beliefs, these were not evident in decisions about victim blame or perpetrator blame. However, males and high rape myth acceptors were significantly more likely to minimize the seriousness of the rape situation. These effects increased with familiarity depicted in the situation. [source] Examining Rape Empathy From the Perspective of the Victim and the Assailant,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2003Christine A. Smith Two studies using college student samples were conducted to establish reliability and validity for new scales measuring rape victim empathy and rape perpetrator empathy separately. In Experiment 1, two 13-item measures of rape empathy were developed. Variables examined for purposes of construct validity included personal sexual assault experience, general empathy, and perceived rape victim responsibility. In Experiment 2, we added 5 new items to each scale. The final scales were two 18-item measures with high reliability. Variables examined in Experiment 2 included personal sexual assault, general empathy, and acquaintanceship with a victim or a perpetrator. Both studies found gender differences for empathy scores, with women tending to be higher on rape victim empathy, and men tending to be higher on rape perpetrator empathy. Personal sexual experience was related to rape empathy scores. Perceived victim responsibility was negatively correlated with rape victim empathy and positively correlated with rape perpetrator empathy. [source] Cognitive,behavior therapy for PTSD in rape survivorsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 8 2002Lisa H. Jaycox In recent years, new data have appeared, further suggesting the utility of cognitive,behavioral interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subsequent to sexual assault. In this article, we present a model of cognitive,behavioral treatment (CBT) for PTSD in rape survivors. Emotional-processing theory, which proposes mechanisms that underlie the development of disturbances following rape, is reviewed. A CBT-based therapy (Prolonged Exposure) is presented that entails education about common reactions to trauma, relaxation training, imaginal reliving of the rape memory, exposure to trauma reminders, and cognitive restructuring. Current research regarding the use of prolonged exposure is discussed. The case example of a young female rape survivor is described in detail, and her prior substance dependence and intense shame are highlighted. The therapy was successful in reducing the client's symptoms of PTSD, as well as her depressive symptoms, and these gains were maintained at a one-year follow-up assessment. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 58: 891,906, 2002. [source] Violence against women: is psychology part of the problem or the solution?JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2002A content analysis of psychological research from 1990 through 199 Abstract Previous critiques of traditional psychology portrayed a discipline that examines social problems from an exceptionalistic perspective and decontextualizes the subjects of its inquiries. We analysed 10 years of psychological research on domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual harassment to determine whether this criticism applied to violence against women research. Specifically, we examined the purpose, level of analysis, sample, and context of 1396 PsychLit abstracts. We found that almost half reported an examination of causal factors. Only one quarter reported intervention studies. Most studies focused at the individual level of analysis and few included contextual factors. Investigators explored questions about domestic violence most frequently among samples of victims and perpetrators drawn from clinical settings. Sexual assault and sexual harassment researchers depended on victims and perpetrators to a lesser extent, but tended to rely upon convenience samples from college settings. Representative community samples were used in only 9% of studies. These findings support the view that psychological research on violence against women suffers from a heavy emphasis on exceptionalism at the expense of a universalistic perspective, the latter of which we contend is critical to advancing the field and reducing a major threat to women's health and wellbeing. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] When intimate partner violence against women and HIV collide:Challenges for healthcare assessment and interventionJOURNAL OF FORENSIC NURSING, Issue 2 2010FAAN, Kimberly Adams Tufts DNP, WHNP-BC Abstract Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) both constitute major public health issues that impact the overall health of women. IPV, including sexual assault, remains a persistent public health concern that has proven to be both difficult and significantly dangerous to prevent and treat. Based on data from UNAIDS more than 14.5 million women were living with HIV by the end of 2005. IPV and HIV are often interrelated. Exposure to IPV has been associated with an increased risk for contracting HIV and women who are living with HIV may be more likely to become victims of IPV. Implications: comprehensive care and services have to be offered in the context of where women seek health care. Screening and effective intervention for IPV are essential components of HIV-related services including prevention programming, voluntary counseling and testing, and treatment. Including IPV-related services into the context of HIV-related services delivers the message that violence is not a taboo topic in the health-care setting. [source] The healing power of reflective writing for a student victim of sexual assaultJOURNAL OF FORENSIC NURSING, Issue 2 2009Karen A. Karlowicz EdD Abstract The phenomenon of a caring relationship between a teacher and her student, a victim of sexual assault, is mediated through reflective writing assignments in a baccalaureate nursing program. Increased self-awareness, personal transformation, and healing results when the student is encouraged to openly write about her feelings. [source] Forensic Investigation of Sex Crimes In ColombiaJOURNAL OF FORENSIC NURSING, Issue 3-4 2007Nancy B. Cabelus Victimization by sexual assault has become not only a public health and safety issue but a way of life for many in Colombia. Poverty, gender inequality, and a lack of family and community support contribute to the cycle of sexual violence. Ineffective medico-legal systems have added to a rate of 93% for sex crimes that go without arrest or prosecution in Bogotá, the capital. Collaborative efforts are underway between the United States and Colombian governments to change the criminal justice system and strengthen forensic investigation of sex crimes in Colombia. [source] Information Processing of Sexual Abuse in EldersJOURNAL OF FORENSIC NURSING, Issue 3 2006Ann W. Burgess Sexual abuse is considered to be a pandemic contemporary public health issue, with significant physical and psychosocial consequences for its victims. However, the incidence of elder sexual assault is difficult to estimate with any degree of confidence. A convenience sample of 284 case records were reviewed for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The purpose of this paper is to present the limited data noted on record review on four PTSD symptoms of startle, physiological upset, anger, and numbness. A treatment model for information processing of intrapsychic trauma is presented to describe domain disruption within a nursing diagnosis of rape trauma syndrome and provide guidance for sensitive assessment and intervention. [source] Y-STR Profiling in Extended Interval (,3 days) Postcoital Cervicovaginal Samples,JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 2 2008Kathleen A. Mayntz-Press M.S. Abstract:, Depending upon specific situations, some victims of sexual assault provide vaginal samples more than 36,48 h after the incident. We have tested the ability of commercial and in-house Y-STR systems to provide DNA profiles from extended interval (,3 days) postcoital samples. The commercial Y-STR systems tested included the AmpF,STR® YfilerÔ (Applied Biosystems), PowerPlex® Y (Promega) and Y-PLEXÔ 12 (Reliagene) products whereas the in-house systems comprised Multiplex I (MPI) and Multiplex B (MPB). Three donor couples were recruited for the study. Postcoital cervicovaginal swabs (x2) were recovered by each of the three females at specified intervals after sexual intercourse (3,7 days). Each time point sample was collected after a separate act of sexual intercourse and was preceded by a 7-day abstention period. As a negative control, a precoital swab was also recovered prior to coitus for each sampling and only data from postcoital samples that demonstrated a lack of male DNA in the associated precoital sample was used. A number of DNA profile enhancement strategies were employed including sampling by cervical brushing, nondifferential DNA extraction methodology, and post-PCR purification. Full Y-STR profiles from cervicovaginal samples recovered 3,4 days after intercourse were routinely obtained. Profiles were also obtainable 5,6 days postcoitus although by this stage partial profiles rather than full profiles were a more likely outcome. The DNA profiles from the sperm fraction of a differential lysis were superior to that obtained when a nondifferential method was employed in that the allelic signal intensities were generally higher and more balanced and exhibited less baseline noise. The incorporation of a simple post-PCR purification process significantly increased the ability to obtain Y-STR profiles, particularly from 5- to 6-day postcoital samples. Remarkably an 8 locus Y-STR profile was obtained from a 7-day postcoital sample, which is approaching the reported time limit for sperm detection in the cervix. [source] Spatial and environmental consistency in serial sexual assaultJOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND OFFENDER PROFILING, Issue 1 2010Samantha Lundrigan Abstract This study examines the crime patterns of 76 New Zealand serial sexual offenders in order to determine the extent to which offenders display locational consistency in their choice of crime locations. More specifically, the hypothesis was that there would be intraseries consistency in the distances travelled (spatial consistency) and the characteristics of the crime sites selected (environmental consistency) by serial sexual offenders. For spatial consistency to be tested, the distances travelled from home to offend and the criminal range for each offence series were analysed. Support was found for spatial consistency, and, in line with much overseas research, it was also found that the offenders typically did not travel very far from home to offend (median distance of 3,km). The environmental consistency measure was made up of various physical, temporal, and contextual variables that described the environmental characteristics of an offence. As hypothesised, it was found that offenders displayed intraseries environmental consistency in offence site selection beyond the level of that expected by chance. The implications of this both for understanding offender spatial decision making and for geographical profiling are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The urinary excretion of ,-hydroxybutyric acid in manJOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY: AN INTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2001P. V. Kavanagh ,-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) has been widely associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA). However, its excretion profile in man has not been well characterized. To assess the detectability of GHB for forensic cases and to correlate urinary levels with dose, we have examined the excretion profiles of 1- and 2-g doses of GHB (sodium salt) in a healthy male volunteer. The urinary levels were measured by a novel, simple and highly reproducible method. The drug was found to be excreted in small amounts in the free form (0.86 and 1.16% for 1- and 2-g doses, respectively) rapidly in urine (, 10 h). The urinary levels were found to be in the low mg L,1 range (up to 29.1 mg L,1). The work presented demonstrates that it is of the utmost importance to collect the samples as soon as possible following the alleged assault. [source] Why Have Child Maltreatment and Child Victimization Declined?JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, Issue 4 2006David Finkelhor Various forms of child maltreatment and child victimization declined as much as 40,70% from 1993 until 2004, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, sexual assault, homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, and larceny. Other child welfare indicators also improved during the same period, including teen pregnancy, teen suicide, and children living in poverty. This article reviews a wide variety of possible explanations for these changes: demography, fertility and abortion legalization, economic prosperity, increased incarceration of offenders, increased agents of social intervention, changing social norms and practices, the dissipation of the social changes from the 1960s, and psychiatric pharmacology. Multiple factors probably contributed. In particular, economic prosperity, increasing agents of social intervention, and psychiatric pharmacology have advantages over some of the other explanations in accounting for the breadth and timing of the improvements. [source] Alcohol Abuse or Dependence Among Mexican American Women Who Report ViolenceALCOHOLISM, Issue 10 2001E. Anne Lown Background: Violence against women has been linked to alcohol disorders in various populations. Few studies have assessed alcohol disorders among assaulted women in a general population of Mexican Americans. This study examined alcohol disorders among Mexican American women who reported physical or sexual assault. Methods: Participants were women (n= 1516, ages 18,59) living in Fresno County, California, who were enrolled in a population-based, randomized household survey of Mexican-origin men and women. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for alcohol dependence/abuse (ADA) and physical or sexual assault by a current partner or someone other than a current partner. Results: Women who reported lifetime physical or sexual assault were significantly more likely to meet criteria for ADA (OR = 8.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.4,15.4). After we adjusted for birthplace, age, income, and parental problem drinking, assaulted women were still 4.7 times more likely to meet criteria for ADA (CI, 2.1,10.4). Physical or sexual assault by someone other than a partner was more strongly associated with ADA (OR = 8.7; CI, 4.5,16.9) than assault by a current partner (OR = 3.2; CI, 1.3,7.6). Both physical (OR = 9.0; CI, 4.7,17.0) and sexual assault (OR = 4.7; CI, 2.2,10.0) by either type of perpetrator were associated with ADA. Conclusion: There is a strong association between reporting violence and having a lifetime history of ADA. Although temporal order could not be established, these findings highlight the importance of screening for physical and sexual assault in settings that treat alcohol disorders as well as screening for alcohol disorders among women who seek services related to previous or current violence. [source] Thought suppression mediates the relationship between negative mood and PTSD in sexually assaulted womenJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 5 2006M. Zachary Rosenthal Sexually victimized individuals often report chronic attempts to avoid unpleasant internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, emotions, memories) as a means of affect regulation. The aim of this study was to expand upon previous findings by examining the relationships among negative mood, thought suppression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of adult women with a history of sexual assault after age 14 and assault-related intrusions in the past week. Chronic thought suppression partially mediated the relationship between negative mood and PTSD symptom severity after covarying the use of worry to control unpleasant thoughts. Findings extend previous studies and suggest that chronic thought suppression may help explain the link between negative mood and PTSD. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||