Reported Sexual Assault Incidents in a Metropolitan City: Consideration of Community Characteristics on Case Outcomes.

Male density, female density and inter-sexual conflict in a stream-dwelling insect

Lysistrata, #MeToo, and Consent:A Case Study Meghan Brodie (bio) The country is going to hell in a handbasket. Foreign policy is a disaster area. Military interventions stretch on for years. The motives and strategies (or lack thereof) of the men in power have become suspect, and women have had enough. But we are not at the most recent US Women's March or even in the current century. It is 411 bce. In Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the war-weary women of Athens and Sparta want to end the Peloponnesian War, and their tactic is radically simple: participate in a sex strike until the men lay down their arms. In this fast-paced comedy, lust is leverage and the personal is definitely political. But what does it mean to produce this classical play against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement?1 In spring 2017, several months before the movement erupted in the United States, I had planned to direct Ellen McLaughlin's adaptation of Lysistrata for Ursinus College's 2017–18 season. In the October 2017 wake of multiple sexual assault allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, women used #MeToo to create public awareness about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault in their lives.2 As more and more of my students, colleagues, and friends shared their #MeToo experiences, I paused to consider how a production of Aristophanes' sex comedy, specifically McLaughlin's adaptation of it, might be interpreted in terms of commentary on consent in this changing cultural landscape.3 Surveying Sexual Violence on College Campuses The college sexual assault epidemic is just one of the sexual violence crises to which the #MeToo movement responds. In June 2017, Columbia University announced the findings of the Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT), "a major research initiative to study sexual violence and sexual health among Columbia University undergraduates." The SHIFT team "surveyed, interviewed, and observed students, assembling one of the most scientifically rigorous and comprehensive portraits of undergraduate sexual health and behavior ever compiled" ("Columbia Researchers Present"). Researchers first published their findings in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE: of the over 1,600 students surveyed, "[s]ince college entry, 22% of students reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual assault" and "[w]omen and gender nonconforming students reported the highest rates (28% and 38%, respectively)." The data compiled by the researchers "suggest a cumulative risk for sexual assault experiences over four years of college with over one in three women experiencing an assault by senior year," but also demonstrate that "freshman year, particularly for women, is when the greatest percentage experience an assault" (Mellins). Given such statistics, how might colleges proactively address sexual assault on campus and cultivate conversations about prevention and consent? Turning to Theatre as a Tool for Sexual Violence Prevention Several texts, including M. Candace Christensen's "Using Theater of the Oppressed to Prevent Sexual Violence on College Campuses," Sarah McMahon and coauthors' "Utilizing Peer [End Page 183] Education Theater for the Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence on College Campuses," and W. Gregory Thatcher's "Preliminary Evaluation of the 'Playing the Game' Sexual Assault Prevention Theatre Program," identify theatre as an effective tool for sexual violence education. For example, Speak About It, a not-for-profit organization, provides "[a]ffirmative consent education through performance and dialogue" to teach high school and college students about consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships. As of 2016, the organization reports that it reached over 300,000 students. In "Exploring and Sharing Strategies for Staging Affirmative Sexual Consent: 100 Shades of Grey and Beyond," Charlotte McIvor discusses her own experiences coordinating a theatre-based sexual violence prevention project at the National University of Ireland at Galway, and highlights similar projects at the University of Texas at Austin, Santa Clara University, Hobart and William Smith College, Michigan State University, and Rutgers University. Based on a model I developed in conjunction with AddVerb Productions and the University of Southern Maine, I coordinate and direct a performance-based sexual violence prevention program titled The Consent Event—a series of scenes and monologues about sexual violence and healthy relationships performed by an ensemble of student actors for Ursinus College's new student orientation...

Impact of Trauma on Adult Sexual Assault Victims: What the Criminal Justice System Needs to Know

Author: Mary Simmerling, University of Chicago, mcs@uchicago.edu Goal. To determine the incidence of sexual assault (SA) within the community and to do a needs assessment for SA survivors in the community. The study will use random digit dialing (RDD) to households in the community. The research assistants working on the project will ask the person who answers the phone if she may speak to any females in the home over the age of 18. If there are any qualifying subjects in the home, they will be invited to participate in a 45 minute survey about their experience(s) of violence in the community. The survey will include demographic questions, specific questions about SA experience(s), and the subjects’ help-seeking behavior and post-assault needs. Study methods include completing a survey questionnaire about the survivor participant’s sexual assault experience(s), and participating in an in-depth interview that focuses on general life history as well as specific information about the sexual assault(s). Ethical and scientific justification. There is alleged to be a high incidence of SA that is never reported to the police or others. Consequently, it is difficult to gauge the actual incidence of SA within a community. This study would gauge the incidence of SA in the community, and assess the needs of SA survivors. RDD permits representative sampling that will help to inform estimates of actual incidence as well as the needs of non-reporting and reporting SA survivors. SA survivors who do not come forward to report their assault may also be less likely to self-select to participate in research in this topic. The use of RDD may help to identify and include those survivors in this type of research. The use of RDD may also allow for increased privacy protection for participants who may not be comfortable participating in face-to-face interviews on this topic. Ethical objections or barriers. Asking survivors to recall their assault experiences may be re-traumatizing for them, cause emotional distress, and leave them worse off in terms of their recovery (e.g., may exacerbate PTSD). This may be particularly pronounced in research that utilizes RDD in which subjects are not self-selecting as they would be in the case of advertisements for participants in such a study. Although the use of RDD allows for the inclusion of non-reporting SA survivors who may not otherwise come forward to participate, it may be experienced as an invasion of privacy by these individuals. The use of RDD to reach out to non-reporting SA survivors may result in their first disclosures being to the researchassistant interviewers. This may be very distressing to subjects whose first disclosure might better be to a trained counselor. As “vulnerable subjects” survivors need to be protected from risks such as shame, stigma, and emotional distress. Also, they may have “limited autonomy” and so not be positioned to choose freely whether to participate and if so to what extent. Suggested empirical questions:

A high proportion of persons in institutionalized settings such as the criminal justice system and psychiatric hospitals have substance use disorders (SUDs). We explored the association between substance use, demographics, and criminal justice involvement in a population of patients placed on involuntary 72-h holds in a psychiatric facility. We retrospectively identified patients aged 18 through 57 years who had been placed on 72-h holds during an acute psychiatric hospitalization during a 1-year period. Data were analyzed with standard descriptive statistics, and data collection was reviewed by 2 randomly assigned psychiatrists. We identified 336 patients placed on 72-h holds during an acute psychiatric stay. Of these, more than two-thirds (68.5%; n = 230) had an SUD. Compared with patients not using substances, those with SUDs were significantly more likely to be younger (p = .003), male (p = .005), and unmarried (p < .001) and to have criminal justice involvement before (p < .001) and after hospitalization (p < .001). The rate of unemployment was similarly high in both users (67.4%) and nonusers (69.2%). Most patients on involuntary psychiatric holds have comorbid SUDs. These patients are more likely to have interacted with the criminal justice system and less likely to have social support in the form of marriage. Unemployment was common among all patients. When SUDs are not treated by the criminal justice or mental health system, rehospitalization and criminal recidivism may result. (Am J Addict 2018;27:574-577).

BackgroundSexual selection is largely driven by the availability of mates. Theory predicts that male competition and female choice should be density-dependent, with males competing more intensely at relatively high density, and females becoming increasingly discriminating when there are more males from whom to choose. Evidence for flexible mating decisions is growing, but we do not understand how environmental variation is incorporated into mate sampling strategies. We mimicked threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) breeding conditions in pools with high and low densities of nesting males and allowed females to search for mates to determine whether 1) mate search strategies change with the density of breeding males and 2) pre-copulatory components of mate choice (signalling, competition, search patterns, and mating decisions) are modified in parallel.ResultsWhile females sampled more males at high male density, suggesting greater opportunity for sexual selection, the expanded search did not result in females choosing males with more attractive sexual signals. This is likely because red throat colouration was twice as great when half as many males competed. Instead, females chose similarly at high and low male density, using a relative strategy to compare male traits amongst potential suitors. Reduced throat colour could reflect a trade-off with costly male competition. However, we did not observe more intense competition at higher relative density. Density-dependent signalling appears largely responsible for females associating with males who have more attractive signals at low density. If we lacked knowledge of plasticity in signalling, we might have concluded that females are more discriminating at low male density.ConclusionsTo understand interactions between mate choice and population dynamics, we should consider how components of mate choice that precede the mating decision interact.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0481-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Unreadable and Underreported:Can College Students Comprehend How to Report Sexual Assault? Zachary W. Taylor (bio) Title IX's Clery Act (1986) requires postsecondary institutions receiving Title IV funds to "disclose accurate and complete crime statistics for incidents that are reported to Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) and local law enforcement as having occurred on or near the campus" (White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault, 2014, para.4). Included in this mandated crime reporting is the incidence of sexual assault on or near campus; however, institutions adhering to the Clery Act can only report crimes that are reported to them: as recently as 2006, nearly 80% of all 2-year and 4-year institutions in the United States did not report a single sexual offense (Lombardi & Jones, 2015). This apparent absence of sexual assault on campus simply does not represent the lived experiences of college students. Longitudinal research has suggested that sexual assault on college campuses is widespread and grossly underreported (Lombardi & Jones, 2015). In their seminal study of sexual assault on 32 college campuses, Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski (1985) found that 54% of undergraduate women and 26% [End Page 248] of undergraduate men experienced sexual aggression or victimization during college. Over 30 years later, Krebs, Lindquist, Berzovsky, Shook-Sa, and Peterson (2016) found that 21% of all female students experienced sexual assault during their undergraduate careers and 13% were raped by the time they graduated. More troubling, recent research demonstrates more than 90% of all sexual assault victims on a college campus—students who identify with any gender identity and/or sexual orientation—do not report the crime (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2015). In no uncertain terms, sexual assault and the underreporting of sexual assault on campus are troubling problems for students, faculty, student affairs professionals, and others working with college students. To curb the problem of underreporting, numerous lawmaking bodies have attempted to remove barriers to reporting sexual assault on college campuses. In 2013, President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which expanded the definitions of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking and included them in Clery Act reporting requirements. In 2016, the state of Wisconsin passed legislation—Assembly Bill 808—prohibiting victims of sexual assault from being fined for underage drinking, in hopes that college students would be more willing to come forward and report a crime on campus. Educational researchers have advocated for improving physical and mental health services to boost disclosure of sexual assault (Sabina & Ho, 2014), intersectionality counseling to promote sexual assault prevention and reporting (Coulter et al., 2017), and institutional use of longitudinal prevention and research models to inform new sexual assault reporting policies and procedures (Banyard, 2014). To date, scholars have not examined a seemingly commonsense aspect of sexual assault reporting: the readability of the reporting instructions themselves; therefore, in this study I examined the readability—using four commonly used measures—of sexual assault reporting instructions of 100 four-year institutions in the United States to answer this research question: Can college students of average reading comprehension ability read and comprehend sexual assault reporting instructions? METHOD In this project I employed a rarely used method in higher education research: an analysis of textual readability. The sample, data, and procedures for this study are detailed below. Sample The population of interest for this study is all 4-year public and private nonprofit colleges and universities, representing a sampling frame of 2,386 institutions in the United States. This population was identified as being relevant to the study of sexual assault reporting instructions, as these institutions often have large percentages of students living on or near campus and these institutions deliver predominantly face-to-face education instead of online education. A sample size of 100 institutions was established, given the time necessary to locate each institution's sexual assault reporting instructions, extract the text therein, and calculate four readability measures per set of instructions. To reduce bias and increase generalizability, I used a simple random sampling technique. Once I identified all 2,386 institutions using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, I sorted each institution alphabetically by name and assigned each institution a number. I then used a...

Reducing Barriers to Students Reporting Sexual Assaults

The influence of male density on the spacing behaviour of male field voles, Microtus agrestis, was experimentally investigated in field enclosures. Males were radio-tracked at different densities (3 or 6 males per enclosure) with the same density of females (five in each enclosure) placed in stationary cages. Male density influenced individual males' spacing behaviour. Home ranges were smaller and overlapped more, and movement activity was lower at the high male density. Furthermore, at high male density home range size varied more between individuals; small home ranges were smaller at high male density than at low density, whereas the largest home ranges were of similar size in the two experimental setups. These results suggest that at high male density competition between males increases and, consequently, less competitive males suffer from the increased competition. Finally, intrasexual competition apparently constitutes an important influence on the spacing system of male field voles

Understanding and Controlling Violence

Background: Sexual Violence is one of the most common crimes across the globe changing the religious as well as cultural values. The incidence of sexual assault is increasing in the community and gained considerable importance being the important public health problem all over the world. Objectives: To study the socio-demographic profile & medico-legal consequences in the victims of alleged sexual assault brought for medicolegal certification at District Headquarter (Teaching) Hospital Sahiwal, Pakistan. Setting & Duration: Retrospective study was conducted in medicolegal clinic of DHQ Teaching Hospital, Sahiwal during the period from 1st January, 2016 to 31st December, 2016. Material & Methods: 125 cases of alleged sexual assault reported in medicolegal clinic of DHQ Hospital Sahiwal, during the calendar year 2016. The socio-demographic characteristics were studied in detail i.e. age, marital status, residential background. Associated physical injuries as well as perineal injuries observed on the body of victims were also considered. Results of the biological specimens / evidentiary material sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) were recorded on a Performa. Results: The incidence of sexual assault was higher 79(63.20%) in rural inhabitants as compared to 46(36.80%) in urban citizens. The most vulnerable age group was 11-20 years involving 57(45.60%) cases followed by those belonging to 3rd decade of life involving 37(29.60%) victims. Of the total 125 cases of alleged sexual assault, 74(59.20%) were married and 51(40.80%) unmarried. As regard injuries to the perineal areas; hymen was observed to have fresh injuries to the vulva & vagina in 7(5.60%) cases whereas old / healed tears of perineal area were found in remaining 118(94.40%) victims and there was no Virgo intact among all the cases of alleged sexual assault. Conclusion: The victims with age group of 11–20 years were the most commonly affected by sexual violence in Sahiwal & majority of them belonged to the rural areas. Rape and sexual assault are under-reported crimes in order to avoid the social stigma. A combined effort by law enforcing agencies, civil society & electronic / print media should be initiated to eliminate the ferocity of sexual crimes from community.

Toward Successful Postbooking Diversion: What Are the Next Steps?

We investigated the effects of male population density and male-biased operational sex ratio (OSR) with constant and limited resource density on male mating tactics shown by a freshwater fish, the European bitterling, Rhodeus sericeus. This species spawns inside living unionid mussels. Large males defended territories and were aggressive towards conspecifics under equal sex ratios. They also monopolised pair spawnings with females, releasing 98% of all sperm clouds during mating. However, the mating tactic changed at high male density where large males ceased to be territorial and instead competed with groups of smaller males to release sperm when females spawned. Large, medium and small males now obtained 61%, 33%, and 6% of sperm releases respectively, thereby reducing the opportunity for sexual selection by half. Females spawned at equal rates in the two densities of males, despite lower courtship at high density. These results run counter to the usual expectation that an increasingly male-biased OSR should lead to higher variance in male mating success. Instead, the use of alternative reproductive behaviours by males can lead to lower resource competition and mating variance at high male densities.

Introduction: Landmark research of Magee et al. (2002) (n=3,120) found that in Ireland , 4 in 10 women (42%) and almost 3 in 10 men (28%) experienced sexual assault or abuse in their lifetime. Subsequently, a National Review of Sexual Assault Treatment Services found sexual assault remains one of the most underreported and under recorded violent crimes in Ireland (O’Shea 2006). Key recommendations included expansion of existing services and introduction of a pilot programme in forensic nursing in Ireland, where nurses would undergo a higher diploma and apply for accreditation as CN/MS (SAFE). Short description of practice change implemented: Expansion of Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATU) from four to six units in Cork, Dublin, Letterkenny, Waterford, adding Galway, Mullingar (2009). Successful implementation of nurse training following pilot programme CN/MS (SAFE). Aim and theory of change: Patients attending SATU may be physically and /or psychologically traumatised making difficult, life changing decisions. SATUs need to be appropriately staffed and available around the clock to provide prompt medical /supportive care and collect forensic evidence. As a nationally agreed service with defined multiagency guidelines (National SATU Guidelines 2014) and choice of care pathways, the CN/MS (SAFE) can consolidate the initial healthcare response to the under-reported crime of rape/sexual assault by utilising specialistic clinical nursing/midwifery knowledge and critical thinking skills to provide optimum patient care. This change also addresses the issue of recruitment/retention of doctors to carry out forensic examinations (O’Shea 2006). Targeted population and stakeholders: All male /female patients age 14 or older who present to SATU following recent rape/sexual assault. The optimisation of the role of nurses /midwives as Forensic Clinical Examiners realises advantages to Patients, SATU services, Nursing/Midwifery, the wider Inter-disciplinary Team, Inter-disciplinary working ,Criminal Justice System. Timeline: 3 groups of CN/CM (SAFE) graduated 2010-16 developing, assimilating, integrating a broad in-depth knowledge base in this speciality through a structured academic and clinical framework. Highlights: Innovations, Impact, Outcomes CN/MS (SAFE) has transformed the care/services for patients significantly advancing and extending the breadth /depth of SATU services namely: availability of trained staff on a 24 hr basis streamlined response times, accessibility, efficiency of healthcare/forensic service delivery (see Table 1) implementation of patient focused care initiatives including increased patient care pathways influential in driving quality improvement in SATUs nationally participation in patient, staff, community education / risk reduction programmes contribute to development, evaluation and implementation of national strategies Table 1 table of case numbers from 2009 to present day will not load! Sustainability: Some CN/MS (SAFE) have advanced skills in both the academic and practice arena and the enhancement and expansion of this nursing/midwifery role to Registered Advance Nurse Practitioner (RANP (SAFE) would support national policy direction promoting quality patient care. Realisation of the RANP (SAFE) would also ‘assist sustainability, the long range thinking’ (Markowitz 2009) for this unique and extremely challenging area of healthcare practice. Transferability: Transferable skills to other health related services e.g. sexual health, paediatric sexual assault forensic examination etc. Scope for other jurisdictions internationally to adopt and develop the Irish model of CN/MS (SAFE) training and role into their own programmes of care. Discussions & Key findings: CN/CM (SAFE) are attached to a SATU strategically located nationally so that the patient has no more than a three hour drive to the nearest SATU. SATU availability helps to minimise patient distress and ensures timely collection of forensic evidence (O’Shea 2006). The CN/CM (SAFE) initiative is unique to Ireland. It demonstrates international leadership, supported at Government level and by the many different disciplines /agencies involved including An Garda Siochana, the Rape Crisis Centres. Since 2009, Forensic Clinical Examiners in Ireland are either Medical Doctors or CN/MSs (SAFE). Conclusions: To date, CN/MS (SAFE) in the realms of rape / sexual assault in Ireland have forged a path through a previously unknown clinical area. Working as Forensic Clinical Examiners, the CN/MS (SAFE) use a consistent, standardised, patient focused approach with the interdisciplinary team to improve outcomes and reduce the long term sequelae for each patient regardless of the circumstances of the incident or a person’s engagement, or not with the criminal justice system. Expansion of SATU services in Ireland and availability of CN/MS (SAFE) has greatly improved accessibility for patients following rape /sexual assault.

Sexual assault on college campuses is a public health issue. However varying research methodologies (e.g., different sexual assault definitions, measures, assessment timeframes) and low response rates hamper efforts to define the scope of the problem. To illuminate the complexity of campus sexual assault, we collected survey data from a large population-based random sample of undergraduate students from Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City, using evidence based methods to maximize response rates and sample representativeness, and behaviorally specific measures of sexual assault to accurately capture victimization rates. This paper focuses on student experiences of different types of sexual assault victimization, as well as sociodemographic, social, and risk environment correlates. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to estimate prevalences and test associations. Since college entry, 22% of students reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual assault (defined as sexualized touching, attempted penetration [oral, anal, vaginal, other], or completed penetration). Women and gender nonconforming students reported the highest rates (28% and 38%, respectively), although men also reported sexual assault (12.5%). Across types of assault and gender groups, incapacitation due to alcohol and drug use and/or other factors was the perpetration method reported most frequently (> 50%); physical force (particularly for completed penetration in women) and verbal coercion were also commonly reported. Factors associated with increased risk for sexual assault included non-heterosexual identity, difficulty paying for basic necessities, fraternity/sorority membership, participation in more casual sexual encounters (“hook ups”) vs. exclusive/monogamous or no sexual relationships, binge drinking, and experiencing sexual assault before college. High rates of re-victimization during college were reported across gender groups. Our study is consistent with prevalence findings previously reported. Variation in types of assault and methods of perpetration experienced across gender groups highlight the need to develop prevention strategies tailored to specific risk groups.