The Use of Victim Impact Statements in Sentencing for Sexual Offences PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download The Use of Victim Impact Statements in Sentencing for Sexual Offences PDF full book. Access full book title The Use of Victim Impact Statements in Sentencing for Sexual Offences by Rhiannon Davies. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Rhiannon Davies Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1000360881 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 127
Book Description
Drawing on extensive research from Australia, this book examines the experiences of sexual offence victims who submit a victim impact statement. Victim impact statements are used in sentencing to outline the harm caused to victims. There has been little research on the impact statement experiences of sexual offence victims. This book fills this gap, examining the perspectives of six adult female victims and 15 justice professionals in Australia. This is supplemented by analysis of 100 sentencing remarks, revealing how courts use such statements in practice. This book examines victims’ experiences of preparing and submitting statements, justice professionals’ experiences of working with victims to submit statements, and the judicial use of impact statements in sentencing. It identifies an overarching lack of clarity around the purpose of impact statements, which affects the information that can be included and the way they can be used by the court. It consequently explore issues associated with balancing the expressive and instrumental purposes of such statements, and the challenges in communication between professionals and victims of crime. The findings highlight several issues with the operation of impact statement regimes. Based on these findings, the book makes recommendations to clarify such regimes, to improve communication between justice professionals and victims of crime, and to enhance the therapeutic goals of such statements. An accessible and compelling read, this book is essential reading for all those engaged with victimology, sentencing, and sexual violence.
Author: Rhiannon Davies Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1000360881 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 127
Book Description
Drawing on extensive research from Australia, this book examines the experiences of sexual offence victims who submit a victim impact statement. Victim impact statements are used in sentencing to outline the harm caused to victims. There has been little research on the impact statement experiences of sexual offence victims. This book fills this gap, examining the perspectives of six adult female victims and 15 justice professionals in Australia. This is supplemented by analysis of 100 sentencing remarks, revealing how courts use such statements in practice. This book examines victims’ experiences of preparing and submitting statements, justice professionals’ experiences of working with victims to submit statements, and the judicial use of impact statements in sentencing. It identifies an overarching lack of clarity around the purpose of impact statements, which affects the information that can be included and the way they can be used by the court. It consequently explore issues associated with balancing the expressive and instrumental purposes of such statements, and the challenges in communication between professionals and victims of crime. The findings highlight several issues with the operation of impact statement regimes. Based on these findings, the book makes recommendations to clarify such regimes, to improve communication between justice professionals and victims of crime, and to enhance the therapeutic goals of such statements. An accessible and compelling read, this book is essential reading for all those engaged with victimology, sentencing, and sexual violence.
Author: Tracey Booth Publisher: ISBN: 9781760020484 Category : Criminal justice, Administration of Languages : en Pages : 194
Book Description
Prominent criminologist, David Garland, has argued that VISs have led us into 'unfamiliar territory where the ideological grounds are far from clear and the old assumptions an unreliable guide'. A victim impact statement (VIS) is a highly nuanced and individual narrative that can operate as both an informational device in the sentencing process and an expressive mechanism for crime victims. From the law perspective, VISs provide the court with details of harm caused by the offence and the consequences of the offending in order to further purposes of sentencing. As an expressive mechanism, VISs offer victims the opportunity and space to express their feelings, tell their personal story of the aftermath of crime, and be heard by the court, the offender, and the wider community. Though a well-established feature of contemporary sentencing hearings (at least in superior courts) VISs remain controversial in common law jurisdictions. The 'non-legal' nature of VISs has generated uncertainty in relation to the functioning of the sentencing hearing and concerns have been raised that VISs are: inconsistent with established legal values, detrimental to the offender's entitlement to a fair hearing, detrimental to victims' wellbeing, and harmful to the integrity of the legal proceedings. Accommodating Justice: Victim Impact Statements in the Sentencing Process explores the complex territory where VISs, the law and legal institutions intersect with a focus on the requirements of fairness, most particularly in the courtroom. And it does so from multiple perspectives: courts, offenders and victims. The book draws from a range of theoretical and doctrinal sources as well as empirical studies from Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. An ethnographic study of the performance of VISs in homicide sentencing hearings in the NSW Supreme Court woven through most chapters provides an innovative and evidence-based approach to the issues.
Author: Mary Lay Schuster Publisher: UPNE ISBN: 1555537588 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 249
Book Description
This volume examines sentencing hearings in criminal court and the presentation of victim impact statements, as well as child protection cases in juvenile court and the recommendations of guardians ad litem (GALS). Through interviews, observations, and textual analysis, all deeply grounded in an innovative court watch program, the authors illuminate the most effective persuasive practices of victim advocates and GALS as they help protect the rights and needs of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse. Mary Lay Schuster and Amy D. Propen offer nuanced interpretations of these strategies in the courtroom setting and provide an understanding of how to develop successful advocacy for vulnerable parties in the legal arena.
Author: Elizabeth A. Sheehy Publisher: University of Ottawa Press ISBN: 0776619772 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 833
Book Description
Sexual Assault in Canada is the first English-language book in almost two decades to assess the state of sexual assault law and legal practice in Canada. Gathering together feminist scholars, lawyers, activists and policy-makers, it presents a picture of the difficult issues that Canadian women face when reporting and prosecuting sexual violence. The volume addresses many themes including the systematic undermining of women who have been sexually assaulted, the experiences of marginalized women, and the role of women’s activism. It explores sexual assault in various contexts, including professional sports, the doctor–patient relationship, and residential schools. And it highlights the influence of certain players in the reporting and litigation of sexual violence, including health care providers, social workers, police, lawyers and judges. Sexual Assault in Canada provides both a multi-faceted assessment of the progress of feminist reforms to Canadian sexual assault law and practice, and articulates a myriad of new ideas, proposed changes to law, and inspired activist strategies. This book was created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Jane Doe’s remarkable legal victory against the Toronto police for sex discrimination in the policing of rape and for negligence in failing to warn her of a serial rapist. The case made legal history and motivated a new generation of feminist activists. This book honours her pioneering work by reflecting on how law, legal practice and activism have evolved over the past decade and where feminist research and reform should lead in the years to come.
Author: Anthony Bottoms Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317436784 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 317
Book Description
In recent years far more attention has been paid to victims of crime both in terms of awareness of the effect of crime upon their lives, and in changes that have been made to the criminal justice system to improve their rights and treatment. This process seems set to continue, with legislative plans announced to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim. This latest book in the Cambridge Criminal Justice Series brings together leading authorities in the field to review the role of the victim in the criminal justice system in the context of these developments.
Author: Robert C. Davis Publisher: SAGE ISBN: 1412936578 Category : Family & Relationships Languages : en Pages : 369
Book Description
This edition provides up-to-date reports on criminal victimization including current trends, the emotional impact of crime, the needs and problems of certain victims, and victim participation in the criminal justice system.
Author: Margaret M. Wright Publisher: UBC Press ISBN: 0774841141 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 202
Book Description
In the 1980s, Canada witnessed a public outcry over child sexual abuse cases. Elected officials sought a remedy through legal reforms. Amendments were made to the Criminal Code of Canada and sexual assault was redefined. The word "rape" was replaced with a continuum of categories intended to reflect the full range of sexually intrusive behaviours. Margaret Wright examines how the courts have dealt with child sexual abuse cases since then. She demonstrates that although the laws may have changed, their interpretation still depends on the social construction of children and on judges' own understanding of what constitutes child sexual abuse.
Author: Marilyn McShane Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1135633576 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 392
Book Description
Volume 6 in the 6-volume series titled Criminal Justice: Contemporary Literature in Theory and Practice. This compilation of articles attempts to fill gaps in existing resources with some of the best current statements on the topic. Subjects include the characteristics of victims, the effects of crime on victims, and some contemporary theories of victimization. Also included are evaluations of a variety of victim-oriented policies and programs, such as victim assistance, peace-making, and victim-impact statements. This title will be of great utility to students, scholars, and others with interests in the literature of criminal justice and criminology.
Author: Rhiannon Davies
Author: Rhiannon Davies
Author: Tracey Booth
Author: Mary Lay Schuster
Author: Elizabeth A. Sheehy
Author: 
Author: Jolene C. Hernon
Author: Anthony Bottoms
Author: Robert C. Davis
Author: Margaret M. Wright
Author: Marilyn McShane