Law

Responding to Sexual Victimization • Compare how society and the criminal justice system have responded historically to sexual assault victims and how that response is changing today. Victims and Society According to Powell (2016), a number of layers within society place barriers in front of victims. Using a public health model to discuss them, she […]

Rape and Sexual Assault Sexual assault is touching another person without that person’s consent and includes rape, groping, child sexual abuse, or the torture in a sexual manner. Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual penetration carried out without a person’s consent. The lack of consent is when physical force, coercion, or abuse

Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexual comments, sexist hostility (misogynistic jokes), and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature (EEOC, n.d.). It can include the promise of rewards for sexual favors. Sexual harassment was made illegal by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and

Characteristics of Sexual Victimization • Analyze the different types of sexual assault and harassment and victim statistics. Sexual violence is common. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS, 2015), a sexual assault happens every 98 seconds in the United States. One in six women and one in 33 men have experienced an attempted or

Victims Compensation Plans As discussed in Module 4, victimization costs a significant amount of money to victims and their families. These costs include medical expenses, mental health care, and lost wages, among other things. The cost of victimization can be a significant additional burden on victims, especially those who do not have healthcare. These costs

Compare types of restorative justice and victim compensation. The outcomes of engaging the formal CJS include opportunities to partake in both restorative justice as well as compensation programs. Both of these were mentioned briefly in prior modules. This section will expand on what they are, how they are implemented, and their effectiveness. Restorative Justice Restorative

Informal Help-Seeking In addition to formal lines of help-seeking, victims seek help through informal sources, such as family, friends, coworkers, and social services. Research (Barrett & St. Pierre, 2011) has shown that victims are much more likely to report victimization to family and friends (as high as 70 percent) and are more likely to engage

Formal Help-Seeking Formal help-seeking is getting help from the CJS, specifically the police, as well as other formal help like hospitals, doctors,and mental health professionals (McCart, Smith, & Sawyer, 2010). Formal help-seeking can either be driven by the victim contacting the police or medical services, a witness calling the police or medical services, or medical

Help-Seeking for Victims In addition to the victims’ rights movement, which has expanded the role of victims in the cases around their victimization, the body of knowledge is growing about how victims seek help, including triggering their rights within the CJS. Help-seeking is when a victim reaches out to others in order to get help

Evaluate the development of the victims’ rights movement, its effectiveness, and the ways it has helped victims seek justice. This section provides additional details of the victims’ rights movement in light of how it has helped victims, especially with regard to seeking help. It is important to understand how victims seek help, whether through formal