This article delves into the landscape of legal protections and available resources for sexual assault victims within the United States’ criminal justice system. Beginning with an exploration of the constitutional rights afforded to victims, including the right to a fair trial and dignified treatment, the discussion navigates through key federal laws such as the Violence
This article delves into the pivotal role of profiling within the criminal justice system, focusing specifically on its application in sexual offense cases within the United States. The introduction offers a contextual overview of sexual offenses and underscores the significance of profiling as an investigative tool in this domain. The first section comprehensively explores the
Sexual harassment is the act of using some element of power to solicit a sexual favor from a person who does not want to participate in a particular activity. It is unwelcome activity in the form of speech, print, gesture, or some other form of sexual communication. Such activity is harmful and illegal and may
Sexual selection operates under the same process of differential reproductive success described by Darwin in The Origin of Species. This success, or fitness, is determined by the amount of genes contributed by an individual to the next generation. Sexual reproduction adds genetic variation and allows for distinct sets of characteristics, some of which are advantageous
This research paper discusses some of the more important variables such as sex of the observer, complainant, and alleged harasser; organizational structure; and individual differences in observers, complainants, and alleged harassers. While not all psychological studies of sexual harassment follow the contours of discrimination law, all the scientific literature eventually comes into contact with the
Research examining juror decisions in sexual harassment has generally found a relationship between juror gender and liability decisions, in that women are more likely than men to consider sociosexual behavior sexual harassment. This relationship is mediated by several variables, including attitudes of hostile sexism, juror self-referencing, juror ratings of the credibility of the plaintiff, and
The Sexual Violence Risk-20 (SVR-20) is a set of structured professional judgment guidelines for conducting sexual violence risk assessments in criminal and civil forensic contexts. The SVR-20 is not a quantitative test that yields norm-referenced or criterion-referenced scores. Rather, it was developed as an aide memoire to help systematize the risk assessment of individuals who
Although definitions can vary across legal, clinical, and research contexts, child sexual abuse is commonly defined as sexual acts between a youth and an older person (e.g., by 5 years or more) in which the dominance of the older person is used to exploit or coerce the youth. Behaviors may include noncontact (e.g., exposure) and
Sexual harassment is behavior of a sexual nature that harms those exposed to it. The behavior may be intentional or unintentional, aimed at an individual or group, initiated by an individual or group, initiated by employees or outside parties such as customers, initiated by men or women, and targeted at men or women. Many countries
Although gay men and lesbians constitute between 4 percent and 17 percent of the workforce, a larger proportion than many other minority groups, they remain an understudied population that is often “invisible” in the careers literature. It is important to understand the unique challenges faced by lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals in the workplace and