Jan Jordan

Will any woman do

Assumptions are often made that women police officers will respond more sympathetically to rape complainants than their male colleagues. In the research study presented here, 48 women complainants of rape and sexual assault expressed their views of the extent to which they considered the gender of the interviewing officer to be important and commented on the ways in which the men and women involved with their case interacted with them. The results showed that, overall, gender per se was not the determining factor of complainant satisfaction. Professionalism, warmth and sensitivity were the qualities most desired and these were not exclusively associated with gender. This suggests that not only is it possible for some male officers to be sensitive victim interviewers, but also that being female does not automatically denote possession of the key attributes required for victim interviewing. Some rape complainants, however, expressed a strong preference for women officers. This places the onus on the police not simply to provide a woman officer – the “any woman will do” scenario – but to ensure the availability of trained and experienced women and men officers.

Here we go round the review-go-round: Rape investigation and prosecution—are things getting worse not better?

Abstract Despite numerous reviews, reports and commissions of inquiry, the investigation and prosecution of rape cases remains fraught. Victims are still ambivalent about reporting incidents of sexual violence, while those who do often struggle to be believed and have their cases progress through justice systems. This paper explores some of the reasons why promised reforms materialise so rarely into tangible benefits for the majority of rape complainants, and focuses on six areas: reporting, attrition, adversarial justice systems, victim support, specialisation and attitudes. These are canvassed with particular reference to examples from England and New Zealand demonstrating the barriers to substantive reform and the ways in which gender inequalities and patriarchal beliefs continue to impact upon both the prevalence of sexual violence as well as state responses to its occurrence. The paper contains a cautionary message regarding the potential dangers involved in accepting the rhetoric of reform while the underlying realities remain little changed.

“Back Off Buddy, This Is My Body, Not Yours”: Empowering Girls Through Self-Defense:

Although growing recognition is being given to the benefits of teaching self-defense skills to college women, very little research attention has considered the impacts of providing such courses to school-aged girls. This article presents the findings from a large-scale evaluation of self-defense programs provided to three different age groups of schoolgirls from diverse backgrounds in New Zealand, drawing on survey responses from the girls themselves, supplemented by qualitative data provided by key informant interviews with their school and self-defense teachers. The findings provide clear evidence of the many positive benefits that can result for girls of all ages who participate in feminist self-defense courses taught by carefully trained instructors with a strong empowerment focus.

“Don’t Ever Give Up!” Resisting Victimhood Through Self-Defense:

Whether or not women should physically resist a male attacker has been a long-contested issue. This article enters this debate drawing on findings from an evaluation of a feminist self-defense course. It locates these data within a broader historical context to question dominant discourses around ideal femininity and explore the potential for empowerment such courses can offer, particularly for women deemed at high risk. It draws on qualitative data from interviews with course participants ( n = 15), community stakeholders ( n = 15), and self-defense instructors ( n = 7), as well as quantitative data from pre-post course evaluations ( n = 115). Findings are presented to demonstrate how participants and stakeholders from a diverse range of womens groups experienced the program. Evidence is presented that the participation not only resulted in increased self-defense skills but importantly also the confidence and attitude to put these skills into action, if required. Factors identified as critical to the success of these courses are explored, and the implications are assessed in relation to both prevention and empowerment.

“Get Out of My Home and Don’t Come Back!” Empowering Women Through Self-Defense:

Can self-defense courses empower those already victimized? This article explores the potential for self-defense courses to have specific efficacy in the prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV). It draws on interview (n = 36) and pre- and postevaluation (n = 44) data from two studies: (a) evaluation of a pilot study of a feminist empowerment self-defense course designed specifically for women’s refuge/shelter clients (Violence Prevention Project [VPP]) and (b) evaluation of women’s self-defense courses collected as part of a larger evaluation study (Skills for Safety). The overwhelmingly positive findings from both studies suggest greater consideration be offered to providing further collaborative refuge/self-defense courses for women victimized by IPV.

Conclusion: True ‘lies’ and ‘false’ Truths

What worth the word of a woman? This book has considered this question through an examination of police responses to rape complainants, analysing these within the social and historical contexts of ideologies pertaining both to the nature of women and the nature of rape. The results of the police file analysis, presented in Chapter 4, provided insights into police decisionmaking, which were expanded upon in the material obtained from interviews with detectives (presented in Chapter 5). These data were examined and analysed against the backdrop of the historical legacy of patriarchal thinking about women and rape, outlined in Chapter 2. High levels of belief in women lying about rape have their origins in these myths and assumptions, and are enhanced further within a male-dominated police culture characterised by sexism and suspiciousness. The strain that such mistrust can place on police—complainant relationships became apparent when the victims of a serial rapist, who seldom face difficulties in establishing their credibility with the police, appraised their experiences of policing (Chapter 6). A fundamentally positive and trusting relationship between police officers and a rape complainant will provide a solid base to ensure ongoing victim cooperation, even if individual police officers do not always deliver ‘perfect’ policing in the victim’s eyes.

‘She stings while she delights’: Rape Definitions and Representations

To understand current manifestations of the credibility conundrum necessitates awareness of the broader social and historical context surrounding women’s experiences of rape. The material presented in this chapter derives from an examination of both historical and contemporary literature on rape, as well as providing a brief review of changing representations of the nature of women. Issues pertinent to definitions of rape are presented first, in order to provide an overview of the principal subject matter at the heart of this book. However, the ways in which rape has been defined in law have reflected dominant ideological discourses, a key strand of which involves underlying assumptions and beliefs concerning the nature of women. Accordingly, the second section of this chapter explores these representations of women, with particular emphasis on perceptions of women’s veracity, since this impacts significantly on responses to women as rape complainants.

Having ‘a nose for it’: How Investigators Investigate

There are comparatively few studies that have involved interviewing detectives specifically about their involvement in sexual assault investigations. Those studies have yielded interesting results, although have typically involved small sample sizes (e.g., Gregory and Lees, 1999; Temkin, 1997, 1999).

‘Getting it right’: Reviewing Police Responses to Rape

The results of the research presented in this book give cause for concern. They demonstrate the continuing impact of negative patriarchal beliefs and attitudes about women in the New Zealand police organisation and on the responses of some police to rape and sexual assault complainants.

‘Have you really been raped?’ Criminal Justice System Responses

The responses of criminal justice system agencies to women rape complainants have reflected patriarchal legacies of thinking and representation. Legal discourse has reinforced views of women as inherently deceitful, their word as typically flawed. For a raped woman to have her allegation believed inevitably meant having her very person put on trial along with the offence. This chapter begins by reviewing legal and court initiatives before focussing on police responses to women rape victims. Relevant international literature is presented along with the results of a New Zealand study which sought to evaluate the impacts of recent reforms on women’s experiences of reporting and trial processes.