By Scottish Government. Safer Communities Directorate

This research reports on 22 victims' and witnesses' experiences of court since the introduction of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 (DASA) in April 2019. The Act aimed to expand understandings of domestic abuse, improve the criminal justice system's ability to tackle domestic abuse effectively and increase courts' capacity to protect victims, witnesses and associated children. This in-depth qualitative study contributes to a programme of work to meet the Ministerial 3-year reporting requirement of DASA (S14(2) (f)) to provide: 'information about the experience of witnesses (including witnesses who are children) at court'. Early implementation of the Act (2019-22) coincided with the advent of COVID-19, which had an unprecedented impact on those experiencing domestic abuse and the operation of the justice system; these findings should be considered in that context.

Key findings

According to the 22 adult and child victims/witnesses involved in the research:

The new law better reflects how adult victims experience domestic abuse: participants reported a range of psychological, physical and, for some, sexual harm over time. However, there was limited awareness of what constitutes criminal behaviour under DASA amongst the public (including victims/witnesses) and the professionals that participants encountered.

Many participants felt DASA and/or its provisions were under-utilised. Most reported a continued focus on single/severe incidents of physical violence rather than ongoing abuse. Many felt the justice system struggled with prosecution of psychological abuse, particularly regarding verbal, telephone and online abusive behaviour.

Most parents/child witnesses reported that harm to children was insufficiently recognised; they felt perpetrators were not held accountable for the impact that domestic abuse had on children and that children's safety and specific needs/vulnerabilities were inadequately addressed. Many victims felt that abuse of a third party – for example, family and friends – had not been taken account of adequately throughout the process.

Although there were some positive examples of reporting to the police, this was not the experience of the majority of participants. The immediate aftermath of reporting domestic abuse was a time of particular vulnerability for victims and witnesses. Most participants felt an onus was on them to keep themselves safe during this time.

Participants had inadequate knowledge of decision-making processes and the rationale for decisions made throughout the investigation and court proceedings. They cited a lack of communication, collaboration and involvement/transparency in decision-making. Far from being at the centre of the justice process, they felt on the periphery and marginalised by it.

Participants reported that going to court was difficult and, for many, frightening and traumatic. Feeling uninformed, giving evidence in an adversarial process, court adjournments and delays significantly impacted on their mental health.

Participants raised the potential for court to empower and provide a sense of closure to victims and witnesses, particularly when support and advocacy was provided.

Participants had significant concerns that the investigation, prosecution and sentencing for domestic abuse offences did not adequately reflect the sustained level, severity or impact of abuse experienced.

Safety was not consistently ensured for all participants before, during or post proceedings. This was contrary to their expectations that reporting would stop abuse and provide safety for themselves, family and friends. Non-harassment orders (NHOs) offered some protection and reassurance for victims.

Advocacy and support were reported as the most significant mechanisms for minimising trauma and enhancing feelings of safety; however, participants identified gaps in provision, particularly earlier in the process and post court.

94p.

By John K. Roman, Anthony Washburn; Sofia Rodriguez; Caterina G. Roman; Elena I. Navarro; Jesse T. Brey; Benjamin M. Reist

This final report of the HAVEN Project (Harms After Victimization: Experience and Needs), which was launched in 2020 as an update to the 1996 National Institute of Justice study, Victim Costs and Consequences: A New Look. This document reports on the HAVEN Project’s use of data, measurement, and analytic tools that were not originally available in 1996; it also examines the HAVEN Project’s expansion of the taxonomy of harms from victimization and development of a survey instrument and methodology to facilitate the collection of self-reported data on the harms from violent victimization across multiple dimensions that are typically excluded from violent crime harms measurement. The HAVEN Project also introduced a regression-based cost-benefit model that may be integrated into causal models. The key research questions discussed in this final report are: if regression models of victimization harms, including estimates of the variance in harms experienced by victims, are feasible; how integrated data systems (IDS) can be employed to estimate trajectories of harms using the harm taxonomy developed, and what the strengths and limitations of those data systems; if those new definitions of direct and indirect harms to victims change estimated costs of victimizations, and if those new definitions are applicable to all crimes; if household survey data can generate estimates of the incidence of each victimization trajectory, and what can be learned from the analyses about those harms that may not require hospitalization; if new cost benefit analysis (CBA) methodologies can improve the quality of program evaluations that include harms to victims; and which types of victimization are most harmful.

Chicago: NORC at the University of Chicago, 2023. 37p.

By Heather Wolbers, Hayley Boxall and Anthony Morgan

Drawing on a large sample of female carers living in Australia (n=3,775), this study aims to document and explore children and young people’s experiences of abuse in the past 12 months. We focus on children’s exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrated against their female carers, as well as children being the target of direct physical and emotional abuse themselves.

Overall, a significant proportion of respondents who had a child in their care during the past 12 months said that a child was exposed to IPV perpetrated against them (14.1%). One in nine said a child in their care had been the target of direct abuse perpetrated by their current or most recent former partner (11.5%). Critically, one-third of respondents who experienced IPV said a child was exposed to the violence at least once in the past 12 months (34.8%).

A number of factors were associated with an increased likelihood of children being subjected to direct abuse. These included the characteristics of respondents and their relationships, children and households. We also present evidence linking economic factors, including changes in employment, with the direct abuse of children.

Research Report no. 26. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2023. 72p.

Edited by  Sharon Lamb 

It is increasingly difficult to use the word "victim" these days without facing either ridicule for "crying victim" or criticism for supposed harshness toward those traumatized. Some deny the possibility of "recovering" repressed memories of abuse, or consider date rape an invention of whining college students. At the opposite extreme, others contend that women who experience abuse are "survivors" likely destined to be psychically wounded for life.
While the debates rage between victims' rights advocates and "backlash" authors, the contributors to New Versions of Victims collectively argue that we must move beyond these polarizations to examine the "victim" as a socially constructed term and to explore, in nuanced terms, why we see victims the way we do.
Must one have been subject to extreme or prolonged suffering to merit designation as a victim? How are we to explain rape victims who seemingly "get over" their experience with no lingering emotional scars? Resisting the reductive oversimplifications of the polemicists, the contributors to New Versions of Victims critique exaggerated claims by victim advocates about the harm of victimization while simultaneously taking on the reactionary boilerplate of writers such as Katie Roiphe and Camille Paglia and offering further strategies for countering the backlash.
Written in clear, accessible language, New Versions of Victims offers a critical analysis of popular debates about victimization that will be applicable to both practice and theory.

New York; London: NYU Press, 1999. 192p.

By Kristen Budd, Sabrina Pearce and Niki Monazzam

Sexual violence in America remains a systemic social problem but excessive prison sentences do not address the root causes nor do they necessarily repair harm or bolster accountability. The misdirection of resources toward extreme punishment does little to prevent sexual violence. Since the 1990s, individuals convicted of sex crimes or sex offenses, which we call crimes of a sexual nature (CSN), have been subjected to an increased use of incarceration and longer sentences. They on average serve a greater percentage of their prison sentence compared to those sentenced for other crimes classified as violent, such as murder. The first federal law was also passed establishing state sex offense registries in 1994, the Jacob Wetterling Act.

This escalation in punishment severity and community surveillance occurred alongside two opposing long-term trends. First, recidivism rates for CSN in the United States have declined by roughly 45% since the 1970s. This drop started well before the implementation of public registration and notification, implying that the lifelong punishment approach was not responsible for this decline. Second, based on roughly three decades of nationally representative U.S. criminal victimization data (1993-2021), the number of rape and sexual assault victimizations decreased by approximately 65%. Yet, reactions to CSN continue to evoke failed policies of the past – statutorily increasing minimum and maximum sentences and requiring more time served before release – major contributors to mass incarceration.

This brief uses the term “crimes of a sexual nature” (CSN) to describe what are legally defined as “sex crimes” or “sex offenses.” While we do use similar terms interchangeably in this brief, The Sentencing Project recommends the use of “crimes of a sexual nature” to minimize labeling effects and potential cognitive bias.

Washington DC: The Sentencing Project, 2024. 14p.

By Amy Young, Jennifer Boddy, Patrick O’Leary and Paul Mazerolle

Domestic and family violence (DFV) remains one of the most challenging social problems. Approximately one in six Australian women has experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by a current or former intimate partner, while one in four women has experienced emotional abuse (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019). Recent government inquiries into DFV in Queensland and Victoria have called for greater focus on intervention and justice responses for perpetrators (State of Victoria 2016; Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce 2021). Both inquiries highlight the inadequacy of programs to hold perpetrators accountable and the need to expand the range of evidence-based intervention options.

Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No. 676. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2023. 16p.

By Debra Allnock, Helen Beckett, Claire Soares, Lindsay Starbuck, Camille Warrington and Joanne Walker

Whilst a significant body of literature exists on the impacts of child sexual abuse, the literature review undertaken at the outset of this study found that there is little that specifically considers the impacts of experiencing such abuse during adolescence, or the experiences and needs of those who do so. ‘Learning from the Experts’ sought to address this gap, recognising that those affected by sexual abuse in this distinct phase of development may have different needs and responses from younger children or adults experiencing similar abuse and, as such, require adapted responses. The research foregrounded the perspectives of young people, viewing them as experts on their own experiences and demonstrating young people’s skills and interest in contributing to improved responses to sexual abuse. Through a trauma-informed, participatory and collaborative approach, the research sought to provide safe and meaningful opportunities to learn from young people. This was achieved through a combination of participatory group workshops and individual interviews, followed by opportunities to feedback on emerging findings and co-create research outputs. A total of 32 young people took part in these different elements of the study, with their participation supported by ten specialist voluntary sector services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The research also involved interviews and focus groups with parents and professionals, the latter of whom also took part in stakeholder workshops on emerging findings. The design and conduct of the study was undertaken by staff from the Safer Young Lives Research Centre (SYLRC) at the University of Bedfordshire and the Association for Young People’s Health (AYPH), in conjunction with four young expert youth advisors from the SYLRC’s Young Researchers’ Advisory panel. The study was funded and commissioned by the NSPCC and ESRC.

Luton: University of Bedfordshire, 2022. 89p.

By EIGE -  European Institute for Gender Equality

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to increasing our reliance on digital technologies in our everyday activities, consolidating internet access as a new fundamental human right. Digital platforms have often been celebrated for allowing equal opportunities for public self expression, regardless of one’s identity and status. Yet, not everyone is welcome in the cyberspace. The digital arena has become a breeding ground for a range of exclusionary and violent discourses and beliefs, expressed and disseminated in a context of anonymity and impunity. Both women and men can be victims of cyber violence. However, evidence shows that women and girls are highly exposed to it. Not only are they more likely to be targeted by cyber violence; they can also suffer from serious consequences, resulting in physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm and suffering. Women and girls often end up withdrawing from the digital sphere, silencing and isolating themselves and eventually losing opportunities to build their education, professional career and support networks. Cyber violence against women and girls (CVAWG) is often dismissed as an insignificant and virtual phenomenon. However, as digital (online) and face-to-face (offline) spaces become more and more integrated, CVAWG often amplifies (or is a precursor for) violence and victimisation in the physical world. CVAWG is not a private problem and does not exist in a vacuum: it is an integral part of the continuum of violence against women and girls. Just like any other form of gender-based violence, CWAWG is deeply rooted in the social inequality between women and men that persists in our world. CVAWG is an intersectional form of violence with different patterns and levels of vulnerability and risk among specific groups of women and girls. It can be exacerbated when it is committed on the grounds of gender in combination with other factors, including age, ethnic or racial origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion or belief. Combating CVAWG: aims and scope of this report The aim of this report is to provide an in-depth investigation into the phenomenon of cyber violence and to examine how it affects women and girls specifically.  

Vilnius LITHUANIA: EIGE, 2022. 110p.

By Dominiek Coates, Maria Koleth and Lauren Hamilton   

Sexual violence is highly prevalent globally, and rates of reported sexual violence in Australia continue to rise. It can be both a standalone crime and a form of domestic and family violence. Sexual violence can adversely affect the physical and mental health and social wellbeing of victims and survivors, who might require support from legal, medical, counselling and advocacy services. Various specific interventions have been developed over time to support recovery and reduce the impact after sexual violence. Interventions typically fall into two categories: crisis responses delivered in the immediate aftermath of a sexual violence event, often in specialist sexual assault centres or in healthcare settings and comprising specialised medico-legal and counselling services; and post-crisis responses, typically therapeutic interventions implemented as long-term efforts to address psychological and emotional impacts. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the state of the evidence from existing systematic reviews in relation to the effectiveness of crisis and post-crisis interventions for victims and survivors of sexual violence.  

Sydney: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS), 2022. 32p.

By The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

The Truth Project enables victims and survivors to share their experiences with a member of the Inquiry in a safe environment. This report shares 50 anonymised accounts of child sexual abuse which were shared with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse by survivors participating in the Truth Project. The experiences describe sexual abuse perpetrated by adults from a variety of backgrounds. The Inquiry’s Truth Project has heard from over 1,000 victims and survivors, and is helping the Inquiry to understand more about the circumstances in which the sexual abuse of children can occur.

London: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, 2018. 96p