Jurors in Criminal Trials: A Duty to Sexual Assault Victims?

Sexual assault is a widespread and serious problem in our society. Yet instead of delivering justice to its victims the criminal justice system can too often be a source of further distress for victims. It is well known that sexual assault complainants have too often experienced the criminal justice system as a place that re-traumatizes and even harms them and that many victim-survivors choose not to report the crimes of sexual violence committed against them as a result. Sexual assault is very often an experience of trauma. Trauma has a neurobiological impact – it affects our brains and our nervous-systems. For this reason, it is imperative that those working within the criminal justice system have a basic appreciation of the effects and impact of trauma in relation to victims of sexual assault in order to process sexual assault cases more effectively and receive evidence in these cases in a more fair and impartial manner. Recently, an important and significant paradigm shift in our knowledge about victim reactions to traumatic events like sexual assault, including impact on memory, has deepened understanding and led to improved practices which assist with developing more effective criminal justice system responses to sexual assault cases. Insights from the neurobiology of trauma has assisted professionals working in a wide range of fields to better understand the psychological and physiological responses of crimes such as sexual assault, and how these affect victim response. This in turn, has facilitated more trauma-informed service delivery and more appropriate and effective interventions, from first responders like police through to advocates and legal personnel in court rooms. The focus of this report is on outlining some of the key findings from the body of knowledge of neuroscience, and applying them to the issue of sexual assault and its impacts on victims. More specifically, we review and highlight some of the significant developments which have emerged from the field of the neurobiology of trauma as they relate to the unique crime of sexual assault and apply their relevance to the many challenges surrounding the criminal processing of sexual assault cases. Victim reactions to sexual assaults are still not well understood in society at large. These misunderstandings unfortunately continue to persist in the legal system. In fact, they contribute to ongoing deficiencies in criminal justice system processing of sexual assault cases, leading to imperfect justice for victims and survivors. This has been described as the “justice gap” for sexual assault cases. We argue that this justice gap can, in part, be closed by moving towards a more trauma-informed criminal justice system. This will lead to more just outcomes for sexual assault complainants and also allow for the fuller realization of the impartiality and fairness that criminal trials are supposed to provide for all participants.

The questions asked of victims of sexual and physical assault by the prosecutor and defense were recorded and coded by courtroom observers. The defense in comparison to the prosecution treated both types of victims in a negative way. Sexual assault victims were subjected to more negative questions and required to give a more personal form of testimony than physical assault victims due to the strategies used by both the prosecution and the defense. Sexual assault cases were convicted less often than physical assault cases. It was concluded that the new law in Canada which replaced the offense of rape with one of "sexual assault" has not had its intended effect of reducing the burden on a victim when she testifies in court.

HIV/AIDS epidemic and sexual assault have emerged as the most serious public health problems in South Africa. The country has about 5-million HIV infected individuals. About a million women are raped every year. To study the incidence of HIV infection in victims of sexual assaults. This is a retrospective descriptive study. There were 831 victims of sexual assault, who attended the Sinawe Centre during the 5-year (2000-2004) study period. Sinawe Centre is the only unit in this area which deals with cases of sexual assaults. Data were analyzed using PRISM R computer program. This is a retrospective descriptive study. There were 831 victims of sexual assault, who attended the Sinawe Centre during the 5-year (2000-2004) study period. Sinawe Centre is the only unit in this area which deals with cases of sexual assaults. Data were analyzed using PRISM R computer program. Eight hundred and thirty one cases of sexual assaults (rape) were reported in last 5-years (2000-2004). Increase in sexual assaults by three-times, and one-and-half-fold increase in HIV seropositivity has recorded over the period of 5 years. In 2000, 76 (9.7%) sexual assault cases were registered, and in 2004, 237 (28.5%) cases. Of them, 443 (53.3%) were children under 15-years of age. A total of 114 (13.7%) tested positive for HIV, and 23 (2.7%) were children less than 15 years. In 2000, only 8 (10.5%) tested positive for HIV, and this had climbed to 39 (16.5%) in 2004. There is significant difference in HIV seropositivity among children compared to adults, p<0.05, and Paired t=3.45 with 3df. There is an increasing incidence of HIV infection among victims of sexual assaults in this study.

Matters of sexual consent and sexual assault are hotly debated issues among professionals and laypersons alike. A widespread misconception of sexual assault is that most victims of sexual assault sustain significant physical trauma. It is the purpose of this review article to compare the patterns of physical injury (both genital and extragenital) in victims of sexual assault and participants of consensual sex to conclude if physical injury alone can indicate whether consent was given. Interpretations of injury have great forensic significance as it can influence the outcome of sexual assault cases. Several articles indicate that extragenital injuries are commonly found in sexual assault victims (46%-82%) and that most of such injuries are deemed minor. Articles report a wide range of genital injury detection rates in both sexual assault victims (6%-87%) and consensual sex participants (6%-73%). Usage of different examination techniques may partly explain the wide range of detection rates reported. Out of all those who sustained genital injuries, only a small portion of people required hospitalization. In both consensual and sexual assault cases, genital injuries in the 6 o'clock position were most common. Studies of genital injury lacked standardization of factors that significantly influence the results, such as time to examination after sex, examination techniques, and injury severity scales. Therefore, medicolegal personnel should be aware that sexual assault victims can present with a wide range of physical trauma and should avoid relying on physical trauma alone to conclude whether consent was present.

Aim: To determine the pattern of injuries in the genito-anal area in cases of sexual assault&#x0D; Study Design: Cross-sectional study&#x0D; Place and Duration: This study was conducted at Liaquat University of Medical and Health sciences Jamshoro, Pakistan from June 2020 to July 2021&#x0D; Methodology: A total of 96 victims of assault, who survived rape, were incorporated. The victims were from all groups of ages. All the patients considered in this study were both male and female. All of them had reported the case to the police and community.&#x0D; Results: There were 84.5% cases of penile-anal penetration, 76% of penile-oral penetrate and 48% of assault victims presented with ano-genital bleeding. Most of the cases of sexual assault considered in this study were not completely investigated previously.&#x0D; Conclusion: The study concludes that the most common pattern of injury after sexual assault was penile-anal penetration. Penile-oral penetration was the second most common injury. Nothing can undo whatever a sexual assault victim has to go through but catching and punishing the perpetrator is a necessary step. Genital injuries are not proof of a sexual assault. A sexual assault does not necessarily leave the genital area injured.

The ABCs of caring for sexual assault patients

Sexual assault is a concern among women and men and a prevalent public health problem impacting 6.3 million or 33.2% of adult Texans over their lifetime. In the year prior to this survey, 413,000 sexual assault crimes occurred in Texas. Before this study, the most current statewide study on sexual assault prevalence in Texas was in 2003. In 2003, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin found that approximately 1.9 million adult Texans (1,479,912 females and 372,394 males) or 13% of adult Texans reported sexual assault victimization at some point in their lives (Busch, Bell, DiNitto, & Neff, 2003). While the 2003 study created a foundation for our knowledge of statewide prevalence of sexual assault, innovations in the science of measuring sexual assault warrant another study. Current and comprehensive understandings of the prevalence and extent of reported and unreported sexual assaults are critical to understanding the scope of the problem, designing effective responses, and developing primary prevention strategies. Even though there were some more recent reports on sexual victimization, there was still a need to benchmark sexual assault prevalence data in Texas. Several state agencies in Texas also collect updated data on interpersonal violence and sexual assault, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, Office of the Attorney General of Texas, and Texas Health and Human Services Commission. While these data provide information on reported sexual assault cases, most cases of sexual assault go unreported. As a result, these estimates might not fully capture the scope of the problem. Our study presents more detailed data about the scope of sexual assault prevalence and incidence specifically focused on Texas. This report contains the results of Health and Well-Being: The Texas Statewide Prevalence Study on Sexual Assault. The purpose of this report is to present the descriptive findings on sexual assault prevalence, health and well-being in Texas, including the victims’ relationship to perpetrators, involvement of alcohol, reporting of sexual assault to the police and the impact of sexual assault on victims. Advocates, policy-makers, researchers, medical professionals and practitioners can use these findings to better inform institutional responses and service delivery to victims in Texas. How to read this report? This report has seven major sections. The introduction, background, and methodology sections provide details about the procedures. The findings section contains relevant analyses. To make statistical data available and easy to understand infographics and explanatory highlights are used for each major finding. Our hope is that this presentation achieves that purpose. There are twelve infographics findings. The infographics are designed as stand-alone sections. Readers may also download infographics individually at: https://socialwork.utexas.edu/cswr/institutes/idvsa/ Finally, it was important to include results that did not yield statistically relevant findings. It is important to understand that conclusions should not be drawn with these data.

“Something has to change”

Objective:To map the main characteristics of and differences between domestic violence and sexual assault cases presenting to a hospital emergency department in Australia.Methods:This retrospective observational cross-sectional study presents a snapshot of domestic violence and sexual assault cases presenting to the emergency department of a regional tertiary Australian hospital between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018. Data were extracted from the health district electronic information system for all eligible females. All data were checked for completeness and discrepancies by researchers before analysis.Results:42/105 (40%) sexual assault cases and 27/56 (48%) domestic violence cases reported mental health issues. More than half of the sexual assault and domestic violence cases had recurrent presentations to emergency department (51%; 54/105% and 52%; 29/56, respectively); most injuries were classed as severe. 92/105; 88% of sexual assault and 41/56; 73% of domestic violence victims were referred to related services.Conclusion:Clinical health staff, particularly those working in emergency department, can play crucial roles in identifying cases of domestic violence and sexual assault. Domestic violence training for clinicians and routine domestic violence screening in hospital emergency department is recommended to enhance early intervention.

From the beginning of systematic research on sexual victimization, it has been recognized that a substantial proportion of women report nonconsensual sexual experiences meeting the defining criteria of rape in response to behaviorally specific items, but do not acknowledge their experience as rape in response to broad questions about whether they have ever been raped. Recent studies suggest that rates of unacknowledged rape may be as high or even higher among men than among women. This study examined rates of unacknowledged female and male victims of rape and sexual assault by comparing responses to behaviorally specific items of the Sexual Aggression and Victimization Scale (SAV-S) with responses to broad questions using the labels of sexual assault and rape (SARA) in 593 participants (303 women) in Germany. As predicted, more women and men were classified as rape victims based on behaviorally specific items than on the basis of the broad rape item. The rates of unacknowledged rape were about 60% for women and 75% for men. The gender difference was not significant. Against our prediction, no significant differences in acknowledgement of sexual assault were found in relation to coercive strategy and victim-perpetrator relationship. Few cases of rape and sexual assault identified by the SARA items were missed by the behaviorally specific questions. The implications for establishing prevalence rates of rape and sexual assault and for comparing victims and nonvictims in terms of vulnerability factors and outcomes of sexual victimization are discussed.

In Egypt, there is no clear and accurate epidemiologic study on sexual assault and this lack of data conduct us to this study.It is a retrospective study evaluating sexual assault against females over 18years old in Suez Canal area from 2004 to 2008 assessing reported cases of sexual assault to the police and recognizes the associated factors. Total number of cases of sexual assault was 40 over the studied years. There were 6, 7, 8, 8 and 11 cases respectively in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Alive cases were (95%) and (5%) were autopsy cases. One (2.5%) of the assailants was considered as intra-familial assault, while (90%) were extra-familial and (7.5%) were incest. In (57.5%) of the cases the assailant was known to the victim. The highest percentage of victims was among age group 1 (18–28years old) representing 65% of the cases. The most frequent reported type of sexual abuse between was complete rape (35%), followed by incomplete rape (30%). The reported type of incest is father–daughter in (100%) of the cases.Female sexual assault is a hidden problem in Suez Canal area as the majority of cases passes without reporting to authorities.

Introduction: Achieving just outcomes in sexual assault cases is one of the most serious and complex problems facing the health care and justice systems. The objectives of this analysis were to determine the prevalence and correlates of Sexual Assault Evidence Kit (SAEK) completion and release to police among sexual assault cases presenting at the hospital emergency department. Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study come from the Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program (SAPACP) case registry (Jan1-Dec31, 2015) at The Ottawa Hospital, a unique medical-forensic access point and the only facility offering SAEK collection in Ottawa. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression models were conducted using odds ratios (OR), adjusted ORs, and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: In 2015 406 patients were seen by the SAPACP and 202 (77.10%) were eligible for a SAEK. Among eligible cases, 129 (63.86%) completed a SAEK and only 60 (29.70%) released the SAEK to police for investigation. Youth cases below 24 years of age (AOR:2.23, 95% CI: 1.18-4.23) and presenting within 24h (AOR:0.93-3.40) were the strongest independent factors contributing to SAEK completion. Cases who were uncertain of the assailant (AOR:3.62, 95% CI:1.23-10.67) and assaults that occurred outdoors (AOR:3.14, 95% CI:1.08-9.09) were the cases most likely to release the SAEK to police. Conclusion: Our study has shown high attrition levels along the continuum of care and justice for sexual assault case. Even with access to specialized forensic evidence collection, many do not complete a SAEK and even fewer release the evidence to police for legal investigation.

Despite consistent high rates of campus sexual assault, little research has examined effective strategies to decrease sexual assault victimization. Sexual assault and drinking protective behavioral strategies (PBS) may be important means of reducing sexual assault victimization risk on college campuses but need further examination. The current study examined the relationship among sexual assault in childhood, before college, and since college to evaluate the mitigating roles of both sexual assault PBS and drinking PBS on sexual assault victimization. Participants (n = 620) were undergraduate women, 18 to 20 years old. The current study was a cross-sectional online survey assessing participants' sexual assault PBS and sexual assault history. Sexual assault history was positively associated with future sexual assault experiences. Pre-college sexual assault was associated with increased since-college sexual assault and increased drinks per week. Since-college adolescent/adult sexual assault was associated with less use of sexual assault PBS. These findings suggest that PBS may have an important role in sexual assault victimization and future research should examine their usefulness in risk reduction programs for college women.

Introduction: Sexual assault involves non-consensual physical or sexual contact, causing harm to the victim. In such cases, healthcare professionals in emergency departments play a critical role as they are often the first point of contact for victims. Effective management of these cases relies heavily on proper evidence sampling, which is crucial for identifying perpetrators. However, in Pakistan, the low conviction rate in sexual assault cases is often attributed to inadequate forensic sampling techniques and a lack of specialized expertise, highlighting the need for improved training and protocols. Objectives This study investigates sexual assault cases among women, focusing on prevalence, management and impacts. Method: The study was conducted at Department of Forensic Medicine &amp; Toxicology, LUMHS, Jamshoro and Medicolegal Section, Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad, analyzing data from July 2022 to June 2023. It identified 80 cases of female sexual assault victims who underwent comprehensive medical examinations by female medical officers. Biological samples, including vulvar, vaginal, and rectal swabs, were collected from the victims as part of the examination process. Results: The results showed 80 cases of female sexual assault victims. The victims' ages ranged from 15 to 40 years, with a mean age of 22.4 years (±3.12 years). Notably, 67% of the victims were unmarried and 65.1% belonged to lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, 72.1% of the victims reported a history of penetration. Laboratory analysis of samples from these victims revealed that only 40% of those with a penetration history tested positive for male DNA. Conclusion: Pakistan's healthcare system requires improvement, particularly in emergency departments, to effectively manage sexual assault cases. Healthcare professionals need training to properly collect and handle forensic evidence, record victim histories and document medical reports. Specialized forensic training is crucial for identifying perpetrators. Additionally, awareness campaigns in rural areas can educate communities about sexual assault and its long-term effects, promoting support for survivors and prevention efforts. Keywords: Sexual assault, Forensic sampling, female victims, Survivors

Increasing just responses to sexual assault requires understanding how police perceive sexual assault cases and victims, and which legal (e.g., evidence), extralegal (e.g., suspect characteristics), and practical (e.g., convictability) concerns influence their responses in these cases. Using interview data collected in the Los Angeles Sexual Assault Study, we qualitatively analyzed 611 comments made by 52 detectives in response to questions about case processing decisions (e.g., what it takes to arrest) to examine the factors detectives described as relevant to their assessments of allegations as legitimate, victims as credible, and cases as chargeable. Results revealed overlap between rape myths and legal, extralegal, and practical concerns. Specifically, comments referenced rape myths in relation to suspect blameworthiness and dangerousness, evidence, victim cooperation, and prosecutors’ decisions. Comments also revealed some detectives lacked knowledge of relevant legal statutes and case processing guidelines (e.g., unfound criteria). These results suggest that sexual assault case attrition stems from an orientation to prosecutors’ charging criteria rather than probable cause, and organizational factors, such as deprioritization of sex crimes investigations. We recommend that departments adequately staff and equip sex crimes units with investigatory resources and prioritize sex crimes investigations over non-violent crimes. Departments should incentivize sex crimes assignments and screen applicants for quality, experience, and bias. Detectives in these units should undergo regular trainings on unfounding and probable cause criteria and should be required to make arrests when they have probable cause to do so.