By Atkins, Susan and Brenda Hale, Baroness

Women And The Law is a pioneering study of the way in which the law has treated women – at work, in the family, in matters of sexuality and fertility, and in public life. Originally published in 1984, this seminal text is one that truly deserves its 'groundbreaking' moniker. Predating many key moments in contemporary feminist history, it was written before Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble; before Naomi Klein’s The Beauty Myth, with the term ‘feminist jurisprudence’ having only been coined three years earlier. It went on to inspire a legion of women lawyers and feminist legal rulings, from the Family Law Act 1996 to the legal definition of ‘violence’ (Yemshaw v. LB Hounslow 2011). This 2018 edition comes with a new foreword by Susan Atkins and provides a timely analysis of women in law forty years on, how much has changed and the work still left to do

London: University of London Press, 2018. 284p.

By Savannah Minihan, Melanie Burton, Mariesa Nicholas, Kylie Trengove, Sarah Napier and Rick Brown

This study examines the prevalence of requests for facilitated child sexual exploitation (CSE) online. Of 4,011 Australians surveyed, 2.8 percent had received a request for facilitated CSE in the past year. Requests for facilitated CSE were significantly higher among those who had shared a photo of or information about children publicly online. Among respondents who had shared publicly, requests for facilitated CSE were significantly higher among men, younger individuals, linguistically diverse individuals, individuals with disability, and those who had experienced other sexual or violent harms online. The results highlight the need for increased awareness of the potential harms of posting photos of and information about children publicly online, and place onus on platforms to warn users of these potential harms.

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 692. . Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2024.

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 Michelle Oberman and Cheryl L. Meyer

Michelle Oberman and Cheryl L. Meyer don’t write for news magazines or prime-time investigative television shows, but the stories they tell hold the same fascination. When Mothers Kill is compelling. In a clear, direct fashion the authors recount what they have learned from interviewing women imprisoned for killing their children. Readers will be shocked and outraged—as much by the violence the women have endured in their own lives as by the violence they engaged in—but they will also be informed and even enlightened.
Oberman and Meyer are leading authorities on their subject. Their 2001 book, Mothers Who Kill Their Children, drew from hundreds of newspaper articles as well as from medical and social science journals to propose a comprehensive typology of maternal filicide. In that same year, driven by a desire to test their typology—and to better understand child-killing women not just as types but as individuals—Oberman and Meyer began interviewing women who had been incarcerated for the crime. After conducting lengthy, face-to-face interviews with forty prison inmates, they returned and selected eight women to speak with at even greater length. This new book begins with these stories, recounted in the matter-of-fact words of the inmates themselves.
There are collective themes that emerge from these individual accounts, including histories of relentless interpersonal violence, troubled relationships with parents (particularly with mothers), twisted notions of romantic love, and deep conflicts about motherhood. These themes structure the books overall narrative, which also includes an insightful examination of the social and institutional systems that have failed these women. Neither the mothers nor the authors offer these stories as excuses for these crimes.

New York; London: NYU Press, 2008. 208p.

By Lisa Sharland and Ilhan Dahir  

   Women are impacted by violence in digital contexts in a variety of ways. While technology and the internet have catalyzed opportunities for men and women to engage, communicate, and further their human rights, digital space also poses a gendered risk, as abuses offline are mirrored and replicated online. Technology facilitated violence disproportionately affects women and can be used to perpetuate different types of inequality. Member states have reached agreement through multiple UN processes on the importance of enacting legislation, developing policies, creating monitoring and accountability mechanisms, and providing effective remedies for victims and survivors of violence in digital contexts. However, efforts to advance domestic implementation have been slow. Building on previous research by the Stimson Center, this paper provides a blueprint that offers ten overarching strategies for governments to consider in the development of more effective and coherent domestic policy on ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) in digital contexts. The blueprint also offers a framework for civil society to hold governments to account for the commitments they have made to end VAWG in digital contexts  

Washington, DC: Stimson Center. 2023, 44pg

By Joel Koh, Vanessa Rose, Gayatri Kembhavi-Tam, Rebecca Featherston, Aron Shlonsky

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability was established in April 2019 in response to community concern about widespread reports of violence against, and neglect, abuse and exploitation1 of, people with disability. This rapid review – undertaken by the Centre for Evidence and Implementation in partnership with Monash University – reviews evidence that describes experiences of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, with the aim of preventing this from occurring, and better supporting people with disability. We had two key review questions: • What are the risk and protective factors associated with violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disabilities from birth to 65 years? • What is the nature of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation experienced by people with disabilities from birth to 65 years? The scope of the review was limited to avoid overlap with the Aged Care Royal Commission and to reflect contemporary disability policy and legislation within four Commonwealth Western Industrialised countries with similar economic, political and legal systems. We used a rigorous and systematic process to identify 168 papers in the peer reviewed literature: 60 publications focused on risk and protective factors and 109 publications focused on the nature and experience of violence against, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability (and one publication focused on both of these topics). Evidence from studies focused on risk and protect factors related to violence against, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability suggest: • Having a disability increases the risk of experiencing violence, abuse, and neglect. The overarching finding across almost all studies was that people with disabilities were more likely to have experienced all types of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation when compared to people without disabilities. • Being a female with a disability increases the risk of experiencing violence and abuse. This includes studies focused on violence, violent crime or victimisation, intimate partner or gender-based violence, sexual abuse and physical abuse. • The reported risk factors are limited, primarily focussed at the individual level, and static. There was a focus more on individual and static (usually unchanging) risk factors, such as disability status or gender and little attention to different types disability, groups or intersectionality.

Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with a Disability. 2021, 81pg

By Natalie Townsend

The Australian Government Department of Social Services (2019, p. 60) defines sexual violence as sexual actions without consent, which may include coercion, physical force, rape, sexual assault with implements, being forced to watch or engage in pornography, enforced prostitution or being made to have sex with other people. While there is a growing body of international evidence on sexual violence, its prevalence and impact has not been extensively examined in the Australian context. The existing evidence base is largely limited to data sources that are likely to underestimate the prevalence of sexual violence or to apply only to discrete groups of women (e.g. clinical samples). Further, while international and national estimates of sexual violence prevalence are available, these rarely capture experiences and outcomes across the life span. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) has collected sexual violence data since its inception in 1996 and offers an ideal opportunity to examine sexual violence over the life span. The ALSWH has captured a broad range of data on women’s health, which are crucial for understanding the economic, social, physical and mental health trajectories of women who have experienced sexual violence. This report was developed in consultation with ANROWS to address the limitations of the existing evidence by utilising ALSWH data. Aims The purpose of this report was to assess the prevalence of sexual violence over the life course and the impacts of experiencing sexual violence on health and wellbeing among Australian women using national, longitudinal data. The research had the following specific aims: 1. Determine the prevalence of sexual violence across the life course, including sexual violence experienced in childhood and adulthood, perpetrated both within an intimate relationship and outside of such a relationship. 2. Determine the role of sexual violence during childhood as a risk factor for experiences of multiple forms of violence later in life. 3. Identify the impact of sexual violence on socio-economic factors over time, such as education, paid employment and financial stress. 4. Determine the nature of associations between sexual violence experienced by women at different life stages and subsequent health behaviours. 5. Assess the impact of sexual violence on women’s physical and mental health. 6. Measure health service use in relation to sexual violence, including costs of selected health services and satisfaction with general practitioner services. 7. Identify factors associated with the general health and wellbeing of women who have experienced sexual violence.  

Sydney: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS). 2022, 95pg

By Monica Williams

The controversy surrounding community responses to housing for sexually violent predators When a South Carolina couple killed a registered sex offender and his wife after they moved into their neighborhood in 2013, the story exposed an extreme and relatively rare instance of violence against sex offenders. While media accounts would have us believe that vigilantes across the country lie in wait for predators who move into their neighborhoods, responses to sex offenders more often involve collective campaigns that direct outrage toward political and criminal justice systems. No community wants a sex offender in its midst, but instead of vigilantism, Monica Williams argues, citizens often leverage moral, political, and/or legal authority to keep these offenders out of local neighborhoods. Her book, the culmination of four years of research, 70 in-depth interviews, participant observations, and studies of numerous media sources, reveals the origins and characteristics of community responses to sexually violent predators (SVP) in the U.S. Specifically, The Sex Offender Housing Dilemma examines the placement process for released SVPs in California and the communities’ responses to those placements. Taking the reader into the center of these related issues, Monica Williams provokes debate on the role of communities in the execution of criminal justice policies, while also addressing the responsibility of government institutions to both groups of citizens. The Sex Offender Housing Dilemma is sure to promote increased civic engagement to help strengthen communities, increase public safety, and ensure government accountability.

New York; London: New York University Press, 2018. 288p.

By Muhammad Hudhud, Scott Proescholdbell, Tammy Norwood, Crystal Cavalier-Keck, Ronny A Bel

Like other minoritized populations, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) females experience disparate morbidity and mortality outcomes to that of the general US population. This study identified discrepancies in reporting of AI/AN female decedents between the North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System (NC-VDRS) and an online, user-generated database. Female AI/AN decedent data of all ages were collected from the NC-VDRS and compared against that of the publicly available North Carolina Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW NC) database for the study period, 2004–2019. Twenty-four of the 72 cases matched between data systems (33.3%). Substantive differences between the NC-VDRS and the MMIW NC database were found. Future efforts should be directed towards supporting Indigenous communities with the comprehensive data the NC-VDRS can provide. This paper highlights statewide public health systems like the NC-VDRS supporting community efforts to understand, advocate for, and disseminate information on MMIW.

Forensic Sciences Research, Volume 9, Issue 1. March 2024, 3pg

By: Felix Reer, Ruth Wendt, and Thorsten Quandt

Several cross-sectional studies have shown that online sexual engagement (OSE) in the form of sexting or sexy self-presentation on social media is associated with an increased risk of experiencing negative consequences, such as online sexual victimization (OSV) or lower levels of psychosocial well-being. However, representative and longitudinal studies are scarce. The current study follows three research goals: (1) examining the prevalence of OSE and OSV among a random-quota sample of 1,019 German Internet users aged 14–64 years, (2) examining gender and age-related differences in OSE and OSV, and (3) examining the longitudinal relationships between OSE, OSV, and psychosocial well-being over a period of 1 year. Our results indicate that OSE and OSV are relatively widespread: 17.7% of the participants had already experienced OSV, 25.3% indicated that they had presented themselves online in a sexualized manner at least once in the past 2 months, and 22.7% showed a certain willingness to engage in sexting. We found higher rates among the younger participants. However, to a certain degree, older individuals were also affected. Male participants showed higher sexting willingness and more often presented themselves in a sexualized manner than females, whereas only small differences related to OSV were found. Concerning relationships with psychosocial well-being, our cross-sectional results showed that OSE, OSV, and mental problems are intercorrelated. Furthermore, we detected a significant long-term relationship between higher sexting willingness at time 1 and more victimization experienced 1 year later, whereas no significant longitudinal associations with lower levels of psychosocial well-being were identified.

Front. Psychol., 07 December 2021

By Jasmine B. MacDonald, Melissa Willoughby, Pragya Gartoulla, Eliza Cotton, Evita March, Kristel Alla, Cat Strawa

Overview - Coercive control is the ongoing and repetitive use of behaviours or strategies (including physical and non-physical violence) to control a current or ex intimate partner (i.e. victim-survivor) and make them feel inferior to, and dependent on, the perpetrator (Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety [ANROWS], 2021). Coercive control is a relatively new area to policy, practice and research and the research evidence is still emerging. However, AIFS’ consultations with key stakeholders in the child and family sector identified coercive control as a key topic of interest for policy makers and practitioners and that there is a desire for a synthesis of current evidence. This paper synthesises the findings of a rapid literature review to describe what we know about how common coercive control victimisation is, as well as risk factors and impacts of coercive control victimisation. A victim-survivor is someone who has experienced coercive control victimisation (i.e. been the target of coercive control behaviours by a current or ex intimate partner). The term victim-survivor is used to acknowledge ‘the ongoing effects and harm caused by abuse and violence as well as honouring the strength and resilience of people with lived experience of family violence’ (Victorian Government, 2022). The fndings of the rapid literature review are presented in 3 chapters: How common is coercive control victimisation? Risk factors associated with coercive control victimisation Impacts associated with coercive control victimisation. The key findings for each of these results sections are summarised in the subsections below. Please refer to the full chapter for more detail, including the evidence synthesis of relevant research studies and implications for practice, research and policy. Key messages Quality of coercive control victimisation research The studies sampled in this review provide important foundational insights about coercive control victimisation but had some limitations. These limitations were related to the relatively early stage of research on coercive control victimisation and the practical barriers associated with research in a complex area of human experience. Based on our review, we made the following observations about the state of evidence on coercive control victimisation in Australia: ƒ There is a need for research specifc to the Australian context. Only a small proportion of the sampled studies (3 out of 13; 23%) explored Australian experiences. ƒ We currently know little about the unique experiences of: – Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples – people with disability – LGBTQIA+ communities – culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities – people in older age groups (65+ years) – children and young people where there is coercive control between their parents – intersectional experiences across more than one of the above. ƒ There is debate among researchers and experts about what exactly coercive control victimisation is and how it should be conceptualised: Some studies emphasised the gendered nature of coercive control and others did not. – Some studies have not used a measure of coercive control but rather a measure of domestic and family violence (DFV), sometimes from a previous study. In such instances, coercive control victimisation is often considered to be synonymous with the experience of psychological or emotional abuse behaviours as distinct from experiences of physical or sexual violence in the DFV measures. – Others, such as Stark and colleagues (Stark, 2007; Stark & Hester, 2019) and ANROWS (2021), conceptualise coercive control as the context in which intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs, meaning that physical and sexual violence are considered behaviours to enact coercive control (when not occurring in isolated incidence-based abuse). – Most studies (70%) used customised measurements of coercive control victimisation (i.e. measures constructed by the authors for the purpose of the study). Standardised and psychometrically validated measures were used by only 4 of the 13 sampled studies. ƒ Research design diferences between studies make it challenging to: – distinguish between IPV characterised by a coercive control pattern and that which is not – identify coercive control in practice – inform prevention and intervention – know which risk factors and impacts are most robust and deserving of further investigation. ƒ Most studies used a cross-sectional survey method for data collection. These studies cannot demonstrate changes for specific individuals over time or indicate coercive control victimization causing a change in outcomes such as mental health within the sampled participants. A longitudinal research design is required to demonstrate such changes and potential causation. ƒ Studies were also characterized by: – self-report data – large differences in sample sizes – an absence of demographic and other relevant social variables in analyses – a broad range of risk factors and impact measures, with little consistency of measures or replication of findings – a tendency to focus on individual-level factors associated with victimization, without equal consideration of broader institutional or societal levels.

Southbank VIC 3006 Australia Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2024 42p.

By Violence Policy Center

 Intimate partner violence against women is all too common and takes many forms. The most serious is homicide by an intimate partner. Guns can easily turn domestic violence into domestic homicide. One federal study on homicide among intimate partners found that female intimate partners are more likely to be murdered with a firearm than all other means combined, concluding that “the figures demonstrate the importance of reducing access to firearms in households affected by IPV [intimate partner violence].” Guns are also often used in non-fatal domestic violence. A study by Harvard School of Public Health researchers analyzed gun use at home and concluded that “hostile gun displays against family members may be more common than gun use in self-defense, and that hostile gun displays are often acts of domestic violence directed against women.” The U.S. Department of Justice has found that women are far more likely to be the victims of violent crimes committed by intimate partners than men, especially when a weapon is involved. Moreover, women are much more likely to be victimized at home than in any other place.5 A woman must consider the risks of having a gun in her home, whether she is in a domestic violence situation or not. While two thirds of women who own guns acquired them “primarily for protection against crime,” the results of a California analysis show that “purchasing a handgun provides no protection against homicide among women and is associated with an increase in their risk for intimate partner homicide.” A 2003 study about the risks of firearms in the home found that females living with a gun in the home were nearly three times more likely to be murdered than females with no gun in the home. Finally, another study reports, women who were murdered were more likely, not less likely, to have purchased a handgun in the three years prior to their deaths, again invalidating the idea that a handgun has a protective effect against homicide. While this study does not focus solely on domestic violence homicide or guns, it provides a stark reminder that domestic violence and guns make a deadly combination. According to reports submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), firearms are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes.9 Instead, they are all too often used to inflict harm on the very people they were intended to protect.

Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center. 2022, 27pg

By Rúna í Baianstovu and Sofia Strid

Summary: It is widely accepted that honor-based violence is a lived reality and a serious problem. However, honor-based violence is also a contested academic and political field, characterized by a polarized debate about whether or not the violence comprises stereotyping images of immigrants. This article asks how honor-based violence can be understood in light of this polarization, and what consequences it may have for clients and social workers. It is based on interview data with 235 adults with either professional (n = 199) or personal experiences (n = 36) of honor-based violence in Sweden. The data has been thematically coded and analyzed using the concepts of culturalization and intersectionality.

Findings: Honor-based violence is simultaneously a lived reality and teeming with stereotypes that are constructed by culturalizing images of nation, gender, age, religion, and sexuality. These stereotypes constitute forms of violence themselves and decrease clients’ trust in society and its institutions. Hence, the stereotypes become obstacles to social workers’ capacity to support those exposed to violence. At a general level, the stereotypes contribute to retaining the exposed in violence. In contrast, intersectional approaches to understanding honor-based violence have the potential to capture clients’ self-perceived and complex formulations of the causes of, and the character of, their situation, and thus increase the possibilities for adequate support.

Applications: The article's findings can support social workers’ understanding of the complexity of honor-based violence and strengthen their possibilities and capacities to develop antiracist and nonviolent communicative practices and, thus, acknowledge clients’ varying experiences and individual needs.

By Shirin Zia, Jannatul Ferdous Antu, Mahfuz Al Mamun, Kausar Parvin, and Ruchira Tabassum Naved

Despite the abundance of literature, longitudinal studies evaluating the factors associated with domestic violence (DV) at different stages and over longer periods of women’s lives are rare. We evaluated factors associated with physical and sexual DV during pregnancy, at 10-year, and 18-year follow-ups after pregnancy and within a 19-year period of life using a cohort of women (n= 1,126) who participated in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Interventions, Matlab trial in rural Bangladesh. Data on women’s experience of DV, social and economic characteristics, empowerment, and family condition were recorded in a similar manner during pregnancy and at 10- and 18-year follow-ups, using standard questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression models and generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate factors associated with women’s experience of physical and sexual violence at each discrete time point and over a period of 19 years, respectively. During pregnancy, women were more likely to experience violence if they were members of microcredit programs/non-governmental organizations (NGOs), living in an extended family and had lower wealth status. At the 10- and 18-year follow-ups, higher levels of decision-making and higher wealth status were protective against the experience of violence. At the 18-year follow-up, women with larger age differences from their husbands were less likely to experience violence, while membership in microcredit programs/NGOs was associated with higher odds of experiencing violence among women. Within a period of 19 years, a higher level of education, living in an extended family, higher decision-making level and higher wealth index were protective against the experience of violence, while membership in microcredit programs/NGOs was a risk factor. In conclusion, this study showed that correlates of violence might change at different time points in women’s life. Thus, policies and programs should consider the stage of women’s lives while planning interventions for addressing violence against women.

Stockholm, Sweden: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2023. 22p.

By Jennifer E. Storey, Afroditi Pina, and Cherise S. Williams

Victims of stalking suffer severe and varied impacts requiring assessment and treatment. Research to inform support is limited. This study examines a national sample of stalking victims to identify the types and prevalence of impact reported and the predictors of impact. A secondary analysis of 258 stalking cases reported to a stalking charity was conducted. Four categories of victim reported impact were coded; psychological and substance abuse, physical health, practical impact on life, and impact on others. Stalking duration, severity, the diversity of stalking behaviors, and the relationship between the victim and perpetrator were investigated as predictors of impact. In all, 48 types of impact were identified with victims experiencing an average of four types. Psychological impact was the most prevalent (91.5%). Several new forms of impact were identified including a variety of impacts on persons known to the victim (e.g., children, friends) in 35.3% of the sample. Increased diversity of stalking behavior was predictive of impact in all models (explaining 11% of the variance in total impact scores), except for physical impact which was not analyzed due to low prevalence. Stalking impact was prevalent and varied, suggesting that victims (and potentially those close to them) require trauma-informed support from clinicians. Future research should include the development of a stalking impact index to improve the consistency of research and clinical assessment of need.

Canterbury, UK: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2023. 26p.

By Gena K. Dufour, Charlene Y. Senn, and Nicole K. Jeffrey

Accurate measurement of sexual violence (SV) victimization is important for informing research, policy, and service provision. Measures such as the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) that use behaviorally specific language and a specified reference period (e.g., since age 14, over the past 12 months) are considered best practice and have substantially improved SV estimates given that so few incidents are reported to police. However, to date, we know little about whether estimates are affected by respondents’ reporting of incidents that occurred outside of the specified reference period (i.e., reference period errors). The current study explored the extent, nature, and impact on incidence estimates of reference period errors in two large, diverse samples of post-secondary students. Secondary analysis was conducted of data gathered using a follow-up date question after the Sexual Experiences Survey–Short Form Victimization. Between 8% and 68% of rape and attempted rape victims made reference period errors, with the highest proportion of errors occurring in the survey with the shortest reference period (1 month). These errors caused minor to moderate changes in time period-specific incidence estimates (i.e., excluding respondents with errors reduced estimates by up to 7%). Although including a date question does not guarantee that all time period-related errors will be identified, it can improve the accuracy of SV estimates, which is crucial for informing policy and prevention. Researchers measuring SV within specific reference periods should consider collecting dates of reported incidents as best practice.

Ontario, Canada: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2023. 26p.

By Tara N. Richards; Justin Nix; Bradley A. Campbell; Emily Wright; Caralin C. Branscum; Sheena L. Gilbert; Michaela Benson-Goldsmith; Emily K. Meinert

This final report for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Award 2019-MU-MU-0095 describes a research project that used a variety of methods to evaluate the activities undertaken by stakeholders in the Minnesota Sexual Assault Initiative (MN SAKI) project, including the following four goals: eliminating untested sexual assault kits (SAKs); building capacity for criminal justice agencies to test SAKs, pursuing all investigatory leads, providing victim referrals, and prosecuting cases resulting from testing; and strengthening victim services. The authors also completed a cost-benefit analysis of MN SAKI Project’s SAK testing efforts. The report provides details and outcomes regarding each of the project goals; it discusses SAK outcomes, costs, and benefits, and discusses the project findings and implications. The document's appendixes provide the following documents: Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Report on the MN Law Enforcement Agency Survey of Untested Rape Kits as Required by SF0878; MDT Interview Questions; Stakeholder Informed Consent Form; Victim Reaction Form; Victim-Survivor Experiences Interview Guide; Victim-Survivor Informed Consent Form; ViCAP Interview Guide; Minnesota Track-Kit Patient Guide; and Minnesota SAKI Victim-Survivor Notification Guide. 
Final report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2023. 218p.

By Gillian Isabelle Foster

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is known to affect an individual’s intimate relationships during adulthood. While previous reviews have focused on providing insight regarding the association between CM and various factors, there are still components that need to be updated in the literature. This systematic review provided young adults and researchers with accumulative, empirical evidence and updated the information in the existing literature regarding how childhood maltreatment consequently has an influence on IPV, depression, and intimacy problems in intimate relationships during adulthood. Platforms were systematically searched between the years 2019 and 2022. An initial search revealed a total number of 106 studies and thirty-one articles were included in the current systematic review. A mixed-methods approach was used for the analysis of the study. Results show that CM has a positive association with IPV, depression and intimacy problems. More studies need to focus on the following factors: neglect, narrower dynamics, and potential mediators.

Canada, University of Manitoba. 2024, 34pg

By  Iliadis Mary, Harris Bridget, Vakhitova Zarina, Woodlock Delanie, Flynn Asher, Tyson Danielle

Police body-worn camera (BWC) technologies—affixed to a vest, sunglasses or cap—are deployed by all Australian police agencies, including in frontline responses to domestic and family violence (DFV). This paper presents the findings from the first Australian study focused on how women DFV victim-survivors view and experience BWCs in police call-outs and legal proceedings. Informed by a national survey of 119 victim-survivors, it explores two key concerns relating to the potential consequences of BWC footage: (1) it may facilitate misidentification of the primary aggressor, and (2) perpetrators may use the BWC to present (false) evidence of themselves as blameless. 

Australia, Australian Institute of Criminology. 2024, 15pg

By Mladenova, Radmila

Drawing on a number of paradigmatic works of art, the book explores the motif of ‘gypsy’ child-theft and its visualisations. The analytical focus is on the colour coding of bodies in texts and images and their racialised/anti-gypsy uses. Offering a comprehensive survey of the motif’s adaptations to different visual media, the author elaborates on its multiple layers of meaning and functions. The analysis starts with a critical review of Cervantes’ tale “La gitanilla”, moving through seventeenth-century Dutch history painting to take a cursory look at nineteenth-century printed images, and end up with an annotated filmography of 49 cinematic works.

Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing (heiUP), 2019. 122p.