Victim Awareness Research Articles

Comparison of Restorative Justice Implementation in Indonesia, Usa, Germany, Poland and Switzerland

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to compare and contrast the utilization of penal mediation within the criminal justice system as an implementation of restorative justice. Theoretical framework: The perpetrator may be required to participate in a structured employment initiative to accumulate funds to fulfill their financial obligation towards restitution. Methods: The research methodology employs statutory-based normative legal research utilizing secondary data sources in the form of legal materials. Results and Conclusion: The findings indicated that penal mediation is implemented in Indonesia for trivial offenses, juveniles involved in legal proceedings, and first-time offenders. Furthermore, within the United States, penal mediation is implemented at the state level. This is achieved through various means such as community panels, restitution programs, victim awareness education, alternative school expulsion alternatives, diversion programs, and victim and offender mediation. Research implications: Furthermore, in Poland, penal mediation is implemented for offenses carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Following the conclusion of the penal mediation process, both the agreement's outcomes are monitored, and a rationale for the dismissal of the prosecution is established. Originality/value: In contrast, Switzerland practices penal mediation due to the lack of empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of incarceration. The procedure of restorative justice is executed using a variety of implementation models.

Promoting Inmates’ Positive Attitudes toward Participating in a Restorative Justice Process: The Effects of a Victim Awareness Process

In the present study, we conducted an empirical experiment to examine whether exposure to a victim awareness procedure would affect inmates’ attitudes toward participating in a restorative-justice process. In addition, the study sought to evaluate whether there are differences between inmates serving their sentences in prisons with different therapeutic orientations. The findings indicate that participants who were exposed to a victim awareness procedure were more aware of the harm caused to the victim and showed a higher level of positive attitudes toward participating in restorative-justice process than those who were not. Contrary to our hypothesis, no differences were found between the prisons.

Droge za silovanje - pojedini kriminalistički aspekti, informisanost i stavovi mladih

Rape has always attracted attention of both general and professional public, primarily due to the fact that it represents the most flagrant attack against an individual's sexual integrity, frequently involving intense violence. However, the overall technical and technological progress along with pharmacological advancement have nowadays resulted in a possibility of avoiding physical violence in a large number of committed acts of rape by preventing the victim from offering resistance using chemical substances with sensory properties that can conveniently be administered without the victim's awareness. Moreover, such substances cause amnesia in victims, so that, as a rule, the offences go unreported and no measures are taken against perpetrators, which makes this type of criminal activity even more dangerous. In the light of the above said, following a brief overview of the properties of these substances and a number of relevant observations related to criminalistics and criminal law, the authors present the findings of their study focusing of the familiarity of young people - as the most seriously threatened part of the population - with the existence of the so-called rape drugs, their forms and properties, possible experiences and modalities of defence against possible rapists. The research conducted in the course of 2018 on a sample of over 200 respondents analysed relevant attitudes of students of the Faculty of Philosophy and Medical School of the University in Novi Sad and the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies in Belgrade. The findings of the research indicate that there is general awareness of the phenomenon among the respondents, with only some vague knowledge about details and with significant differences in the responses to certain questions given by students from different faculties or universities.

A Qualitative Evaluation of Recovery Processes Experienced by Mentally Disordered Offenders Following a Group Treatment Program

ABSTRACTThis study presents a qualitative, user-focused evaluation of a three-day dramatherapy workshop run as part of an 18-week treatment group for mentally disordered sexual offenders (MDSOs). The program is based in the Good Lives Model and aims overall to increase empathy, victim awareness, and emotional awareness. The objective of the present study was to understand offenders’ lived experiences of the workshop and how they perceived it to contribute to their recovery. Semistructured interviews were conducted with five offenders and their narratives transcribed. An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis revealed four superordinate themes, which we have termed Not Being the Person I Was, Gaining New Perspectives, Social Relationships, and Barriers. These themes lend support to recent research on treatment and behavior change in sexual offenders emphasizing responsivity and process issues. This study gives particular emphasis to the need to encourage group cohesion and trust, and highlights issues relating to peer comparisons that may impede new perspectives on personal identity and rationale for change. The study also found barriers to change in some participants, including impression management, memory problems, and varying levels of attraction or, conversely, aversion to dramatherapy techniques. Practical implications for the effective delivery of sex offender treatment groups in the context of personal recovery from mental disorder and offending are discussed.

After the Medication Error: Recent Nursing Graduates' Reflections on Adequacy of Education.

The purpose of this study was to better understand individual- and system-level factors surrounding making a medication error from the perspective of recent Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates. Online survey mixed-methods items included perceptions of adequacy of preparatory nursing education, contributory variables, emotional responses, and treatment by employer following the error. Of the 168 respondents, 55% had made a medication error. Errors resulted from inexperience, rushing, technology, staffing, and patient acuity. Twenty-four percent did not report their errors. Key themes for improving education included more practice in varied clinical areas, intensive pharmacological preparation, practical instruction in functioning within the health care environment, and coping after making medication errors. Errors generally caused emotional distress in the error maker. Overall, perceived treatment after the error reflected supportive environments, where nurses were generally treated with respect, fair treatment, and understanding. Opportunities for nursing education include second victim awareness and reinforcing professional practice standards. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(5):275-280.].

Raising awareness of prisoners about restorative justice and victims: An example of the program implemented in the women’s prison in Serbia

Restorative justice is implemented in a variety of fields, contexts and situations. One possible way of implementing restorative justice is seen in introducing restorative approaches into the prison settings. It is argued that restorative justice can add more humanity into the prison system; it may help in treatment of prisoners and contribute to their preparation for the release and easier reintegration and social inclusion. Introducing victims? perspective, either through their direct involvement in restorative justice programs in prisons or through working on raising awareness of inmates about victims and their rights, needs and feelings, contributes to increase of the visibility of victims, their empowerment and healing. Taking that as a starting point, the article aims at presenting one possible way of introducing restorative justice into the prison setting through raising awareness programs for prisoners about restorative justice and victims? rights, which are implemented in some European and non-European countries. It particularly focuses on presenting the program on raising awareness about the impact of crime on a victim and on restorative justice, which was developed by the Victimology Society of Serbia as a part of its long-term advocacy and support to female prisoners. This is an integrated, gender-sensitive program developed in the spirit of positive criminology and victimology. It was piloted in 2015 in the women?s prison in Serbia. The program was implemented in a form of a series of six workshops followed by evaluation interviews with female prisoners who took part in the entire program. The program evaluation suggested that participants improved their overall knowledge related to victims; they also showed the desire to apologize to person(s) they had hurt and they recognized that the program had influenced them to change in a positive way, especially in terms of diverting from hurting others by a crime or other harmful acts. Participants also recognized the potential of restorative mechanisms in their relationship with their own victims, but also with other people. Evaluation showed that participants used learnt skills after the program ended, particularly communication skills in the spirit of restorative justice, focusing on the present moment and yoga nidra. Development and delivery of the victim awareness raising program piloted in the women?s prison in Serbia proved to be valuable learning experience. Keeping in mind lessons learnt, it is obvious that there is a need for broader use of restorative justice approaches in prison settings for both adults and juveniles in Serbia.

Factors associated with reporting of sexual assault among college and non-college women

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine factors impacting college and non-college women reporting sexual assault to police. The goal is to increase knowledge regarding differences in the rates of reporting and reasons for reporting across these two groups.Design/methodology/approachParticipants were drawn from a national telephone survey of US women and a sample of US college women. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine factors influencing the reporting of sexual assault to police.FindingsNon-college women were more likely than college women to report to police. Women who perceived their victimization as rape were much more likely to report to the police and women who had contact with a helping agency were also much more likely to report their assault. Contacting a helping agency is more relevant to non-college women’s reporting to police, while considering the assault a rape is more important for college women.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that significant work is needed to encourage women in college to view sexual assaults as worthy of reporting. Boosting victim awareness and access to services is paramount. Providing education and empowerment to student victims to inform their perceptions about the definition of rape is vital, as women perceiving sexual assault as rape are more likely to report the incident.Originality/valueThe research significantly adds to the literature indicating differences in rates of reporting and the factors that impact reporting uniquely for college vs non-college women.

Treatment Gain in Violent Offenders: The Relationship Between Proximal Outcomes, Risk Reduction and Violent Recidivism

This study examines whether change in dynamic risk factors and other treatment targets over the course of violent offender treatment is associated with a reduction in violent recidivism. Data from 82 adult male violent offenders who attended a prison-based violence treatment programme were collected via retrospective file review. Therapeutic change was assessed by comparing pre- and post-treatment Violence Risk Scale (VRS) scores, ratings of denial and minimisation of violence, level of victim awareness, and motivation to change. Completion of offender treatment is found to be associated with significant change on all proximal outcome measures (i.e. reduction in dynamic risk and minimisation of violence, and increased victim empathy). However, these changes do not translate into reductions in reoffending; only one measure of within-treatment change – enhancement of victim awareness – is (negatively) associated with recidivism. These results suggest that caution is required when considering the impact of change in a restricted range of treatment targets on violent recidivism. Future research should focus on identifying reliable indicators of within-treatment change to aid idiographic assessments of violence risk and to elucidate mechanism of change.

Victim awareness

Victim awareness

Victim awareness

‘Ensuring offenders' awareness of the effects of crime on the victims of crime and the public’ is one of five stated aims of the National Probation Service of England and Wales and specifically undertaking victim awareness work is an expectation of the service’s work. The nature and putative value of such work appears to be rarely questioned however. It is argued that ‘victim awareness’ is a confused concept in terms of its rationale, definition, and empirical basis as a criminogenic need. These issues are evaluated and the practice implications discussed. A possible model of victim awareness work is described.

Restorative justice in prisons

Restorative justice (RJ) has found significant utility outside the prison setting. For many reasons, it has not received the same level of consideration inside the institution. While not every case can, or perhaps should be considered for restorative justice processing inside the prison, some could easily fall into the broad purview range of restorative and transformative justice. We provide examples of RJ practices that exist in some prisons focusing on: offending behavior and victim awareness programs, community service work, and victim‐offender mediation, as well as prison systems that exhibit a RJ philosophy. Also considered are the effectiveness of prison RJ practices, and the limitations of such efforts. Although RJ has the potential to have a positive impact on the work of prisons and the experience of imprisonment, it has not found wide acceptance and is currently limited to a relatively small number of prisons and then often only delivered in partial form. We believe that RJ has a realistic future in prison settings and that the contradictions that may be identified are not debilitating.

Carjacking and its consequences: A situational analysis of risk factors for differential outcomes

Using police narrative accounts of 241 carjackings in Las Vegas, this study examines the situational contexts of carjacking and the risk factors associated with its outcomes (that is, whether the vehicle theft is completed or just attempted, whether the victim suffers injuries or not). Our findings indicate that the influence of type of carjacking, the numerical advantage of suspects over victims, valuables stolen, weapon use and level of victim resistance are highly contextual, having diverse effects on the consequences of carjacking across different situational contexts. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the control of carjacking through increased victim awareness programs and other situational crime prevention strategies.

TINJAUAN YURIDIS MENGENAI PERDAGANGAN ORANG DARI PERSPEKTIF HAK ASASI MANUSIA

Indonesia have regulated the trafficking since the Criminal Code (KUHP) era, the Act 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights, the Act 23 of 2002 about Protection Child until currently we have the Act 21 of 2007 concerning Trafficking in Persons. However, the trafficking in persons cases increase dramatically and the law enforcement of trafficiking in persons was not function well. There are caused by some factors such as: the lack of sanction, the lack awareness of society, lack socialization of Trafficking in persons, and lack of victim awareness reporting the trafficking in person’s case to the police. From the social perspetive, the poor condition of the victim also become crusial factor caused weak of the law enforcement of trafficking in persons. Trafficking in persons in reality is not only breaking the Act 21 of 2007 and others trafficking in persons regulation but also tend to against the principle humiliated standard and human dignity and against of the human rights.

What’s Wrong With Victims’ Rights in Juvenile Court?: Retributive v. Rehabilitative Systems of Justice

While scholars have written extensively about the victim's rights movement in capital and criminal cases, there has been very little discussion about the intersection of victim's rights and the juvenile justice system. Statutes that allow victims to attend juvenile hearings and present oral and written impact statements have shifted the juvenile court's priorities and altered the way judges think about young offenders. While judges were once primarily concerned with the best interests of the delinquent child, victim's rights legislation now requires juvenile courts to balance the rehabilitative needs of the child with other competing interests such as accountability to the victim and restoration of communities impacted by crime. In this article, I contend that victim impact statements move the juvenile court too far away from its original mission and ignore the child's often diminished culpability in delinquent behavior. I also argue that victim impact statements delivered in the highly charged environment of the courtroom are unlikely to achieve the satisfaction and catharsis victims seek after crime. To better serve the needs of the victim and the offender, I propose that victim impact statements be excluded from the juvenile disposition hearing and incorporated into the child's long-term treatment plan. Interactive victim awareness programs, such as victim-offender mediation and victim impact panels that take place after disposition, allow victims to express pain and fear to the offender, foster greater empathy and remorse from the child, and encourage forgiveness and reconciliation by the victim. Delaying victim impact statements until after the child's disposition also preserves the child's due process rights at sentencing and allows the court to focus on the child's need for rehabilitation.

Initial Psychometric Properties of a Treatment Planning and Progress Inventory for Adolescents Who Sexually Abuse

This article presents the initial psychometric properties of a treatment planning and progress inventory for adolescents with sexual behavior problems, the Treatment Progress Inventory for Adolescents Who Sexually Abuse (TPI-ASA). The TPI-ASA was designed to monitor common elements of specialized treatment for youth with sexual behavior problems. The TPI-ASA measures nine dimensions relevant to the evaluation and treatment of adolescents with sexual behavior problems (inappropriate sexual behavior, healthy sexuality, social competency, cognitions supportive of sexual abuse, attitudes supportive of sexual abuse, victim awareness, affective/behavioral regulation, risk prevention awareness, and positive family caregiver dynamics). Members of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers completed the TPI-ASA with 90 male adolescents with sexual behavior problems as part of a psychosexual evaluation. The preliminary findings provided support for the internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity of the dimensions. Suggestions are offered for additional research on the TPI-ASA and its potential as a clinical tool.

A Preliminary Evaluation of Behavioral Outcomes in a Corrections-Based Victim Awareness Program for Offenders

This article follows up on an earlier study that found significant improvements in three of four knowledge and sensitivity factors measured in offenders who participated in an impact of crime on victims “victim awareness” program. The current study investigated behavioral outcomes in a similar study population, namely disciplinary infractions that occurred while participants continued their incarceration. Findings indicated that African American adult males in the treatment group exhibited significantly fewer A-level (most serious) disciplinary problems than did their comparison group counterparts, while all other subgroup comparisons did not yield such significant differences. This result, although limited to one subgroup, remains both interesting and useful given that African American males are typically overrepresented in correctional populations and given the seriousness of the offenses at issue here. Reducing the frequency of serious infractions, and therefore these additional victimizations, is critical to the safety of both inmates and correctional officers.

A combined drama‐based and CBT approach to working with self‐reported anger aggression

A drama-based programme, called 'Insult to Injury', was designed to explore the processes of anger, aggression and violence. The aim of the programme was to enable offenders to identify and generate strategies and skills for dealing with potentially volatile situations, and to provide a safe and supportive environment in which to practice and evaluate these strategies. AIMS An active drama-based approach combined with cognitive-behavioural techniques was used to explore issues such as masculinity, power and control, pride and shame and victim awareness. Reductions in anger were hypothesized. METHOD A single group pre/post design assessed the levels of anger before and after the course. RESULTS Sixty-two adult male offenders from six prison establishments in the UK took part in the nine-day course. As hypothesised, significant reductions in anger were found in pre- to post-course assessment. These results suggest that a drama-based approach may be a promising adjunct to traditional anger management programmes for violent offenders.

Risk-Taking, Recklessness and HIV Transmission: Accommodating the Reality of Sexual Transmission of HIV Within a Justifiable Approach to Criminal Liability

This paper examines the issue of justifiability of risk-taking with regard to the transmission of HIV. It considers a number of factors, such as seriousness of risk, likelihood of risk occurring, social utility of conduct involved, ability to use precautions and victim awareness of the risk and willingness to accept it, which combined help to determine whether the taking of a risk is reasonable or not. It argues that by considering the issue of justifiability in this way, it is possible to accommodate the wider social, psychological and public health realities of HIV. It further argues that a criminal law which fails to take account of such considerations is not only overly broad in its application but ultimately risks punishing those who are not in fact deserving of punishment.

A Comparison of US and UK Asbestos Liability

This article compares the impact of asbestos liabilities in the U.S. with that in the U.K. The maximum exposure to asbestos in the U.S. occurred during the time period from the 1930s to the 1960s. In the U.K., the peak asbestos exposure likely occurred during the 1960s and the 1970s. Asbestos-related deaths are projected to have peaked before 1997 in the U.S. Asbestos-related deaths in the U.K. are projected to peak sometime before 2020—some 20 years after those in the U.S. In the U.S., asbestos-related claims are believed to have peaked around 2002. Given the anticipated peak in asbestos-related disease deaths in the U.K., the peak in asbestos-related claims in the U.K. will likely occur sometime after 2020. There are differences in judicial systems and victim compensation schemes (private and public) between the U.S. andthe U.K. However, trends in recent U.K. court decisions and regulatory activities (as well as increases in victim awareness, litigation, on-going discovery, victim support groups, and claim compensation) suggest that the U.K.'s current asbestos liability situation may be analogous to what the U.S. experienced in the mid-1980s, and that the impact on the U.K. courts and economy may be far from over.

Investigating Burglars' Decisions: Factors Influencing Target Choice, Method of Entry, Reasons for Offending, Repeat Victimisation of a Property and Victim Awareness

This paper describes a survey of domestic burglars which investigated their offending behaviour. Information was collected on factors influencing choice of target, preferred method of entry into properties, reasons for committing burglaries, planning of offences, repeat offending at a particular property, and burglars' awareness of victims. The results showed that specific factors within the four categories of occupancy, surveillance, accessibility and security influenced target choice and method of entry, as did previous experience. In line with previous research, it was found that a number of the burglars had targeted the same property more than once. Interestingly, the findings suggest that installation of new security measures did little to deter repeat victimisation. Knowing the occupants of a property had a high deterrence value, which, when linked to responses about awareness of victims, suggests that it may prove to be useful in preventing revictimisation.