Louise Ellison

Of ‘Normal Sex’ and ‘Real Rape’: Exploring The Use of Socio-Sexual Scripts in (Mock) Jury Deliberation:

This article explores a series of 27 jury deliberations, undertaken by volunteer members of the public, following their observation of a mini-rape trial reconstruction. While research with ‘real’ jurors is prohibited in England and Wales, previous social attitude and experimental studies have suggested that jurors in sexual assault trials may well be influenced by dubious stereotypes about rape, rapists and rape victims. In this article, the authors explore the relationship between these (mis)conceptions about rape and public expectations regarding socio-sexual conduct more broadly. The authors examine the scripts that were invoked, defended and relied upon by mock jurors in order to distinguish ‘normal’ (hetero)sexual seduction from rape. More specifically, this article explores participants’ expectations (both descriptive and normative) in relation to the communication of consent, the role of male initiative, and the location, timing of and parties to sexual intercourse, as well as the relevance of the use of physical force, the fact of the parties’ drunkenness or the nature of their respective post-coital conduct.

A ‘Special’ Delivery? Exploring the Impact of Screens, Live-Links and Video-Recorded Evidence on Mock Juror Deliberation in Rape Trials

This article discusses the findings of a study in which 160 volunteer members of the public observed one of four mini rape trial reconstructions and were asked to deliberate as a group towards a verdict. In a context in which research into the substantive content of the deliberations of real jurors is prohibited by the Contempt of Court Act 1981, these discussions were analysed to assess whether, and in what ways, perceptions of adult rape testimony are influenced by different modes of presentation. While lawyers and other observers have speculated about the possible undue effects of alternative trial arrangements on juror perceptions and the evaluation of evidence in rape trials, the issue has received scant empirical attention. In an effort to bridge this knowledge gap, this study investigated the influence upon mock jurors of three special measures currently made available in England and Wales to adult sexual offence complainants by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, namely (1) live-links; (2) video-recorded evidence-in-chief followed by live-link cross-examination and (3) protective screens. Following a careful and contextual exploration of the content of the mock juries’ deliberations, the researchers conclude that there was no clear or consistent impact as a result of these divergent presentation modes, suggesting that concerns over the use of special measures by adult rape complainants (at least in terms of juror influence) may be overstated.

Evidence in court: witness preparation and cross-examination style effects on adult witness accuracy.

Witnesses play a clear and pivotal role in the criminal justice system and there is an obvious public interest in identifying procedures that both undermine and maximize the quality of evidence received by the criminal courts. This paper reports an investigation into the effects of witness familiarization and cross-examination type on adult witness accuracy that situates outcomes in both legal and psychological context. 60 mock witnesses observed a crime event and each witness was then cross-examined by a practising barrister in a moot courtroom according to two conditions - either via a scripted complex version of cross-examination or by a simpler but equivalent scripted examination. Mock witnesses were also allocated to two further conditions - half the participants received a guidance booklet on cross-examination and the other half received no familiarization to the process. Study outcomes showed that familiarization of witnesses to cross-examination processes increased accurate responses and reduced errors. The guidance seemingly allowed accessibility to cognitive information that enabled witnesses to process information more effectively. On this basis, advance written information about the nature of the cross-examination and potentially misleading tactics used by advocates could help to immunize against negative lawyerly influence.

Meeting the mental health needs of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study

Objectives: This study aimed to understand the mental health needs of people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: what they were experiencing, what they wanted (or did not want) which might be described as ‘felt need’, what they had accessed or received (‘expressed need’) and how, from their perspective, their emotional needs might be more effectively met by health care services. Methods: Qualitative study with 14 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, where a member of the clinical team had recognised that the patient was suffering from associated emotional distress. Results: Three themes emerged: a sense of assuming a different identity as the disease challenged abilities, the experience of social isolation with fear of dependence and barriers the participants encountered acting as obstacles to coping, adapting and accessing treatments. There were mixed feelings about the value of talking about problems, with both psychological and physical barriers strongly militating against both expression of need and utilization of care offered. Conclusions: Innovative research and clinical care should be aimed towards development of skills, strategies and systems required to engage sensitively and negotiate needs for care, in a patient-centred manner, with people who do not necessarily see the need to ask for emotional support.

Taking Trauma Seriously: Critical Reflections on the Criminal Justice Process

Over the last two decades successive governments in England and Wales have stated a commitment to placing victims of crime at the heart of the criminal justice agenda. A raft of polices and reforming measures have been introduced with the declared aim of improving the experience and treatment of victims within the criminal process. Despite these developments, the government has recently conceded that the criminal justice process has continued to fall short—whether in relation to helping victims to recover in the aftermath of a crime or supporting them through the stresses of investigation and trial. In this article we argue that applying a trauma-informed lens to evaluate victim-centred initiatives helps to explain the failure of victim policy in England and Wales to fully deliver on its promise. We highlight the barriers that experiences of trauma can present to effective victim participation and the extent to which current trial processes are often liable to exacerbate rather than ameliorate trauma amongst a broad constituency of victims.

Challenging criminal justice? Psychosocial disability and rape victimization

In a context in which research evidence indicates high rates of alleged sexual victimization among adults with psychosocial disabilities, this article draws upon rape allegation data collected by the Metropolitan Police Service in April and May 2012, to explore some of the challenges that are posed to the criminal justice system by these types of complainants. Although the insights that can be generated from these data in relation to complainants with psychosocial disabilities are limited, in the context of this article it provides a valuable snapshot into contemporary patterns of rape victimization and attrition in England and Wales. It also serves as a useful stepping off point from which to highlight the need for more sustained critical research and reflection on the treatment of complainants, and the adequacy of police and prosecutor training and practice in this area.

Jury deliberation and complainant credibility in rape trials

Rethinking Rape Law provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of contemporary rape laws, across a range of jurisdictions. In a context in which there has been considerable legal reform of sexual offences, Rethinking Rape Law engages with developments spanning national, regional and international frameworks. It is only when we fully understand the differences between the law of rape in times of war and in times of peace, between common law and continental jurisdictions, between societies in transition and societies long inured to feminist activism, that we are able to understand and evaluate current practices, with a view to change and a better future for victims of sexual crimes. Written by leading authors from across the world, this is the first authoritative text on rape law that crosses jurisdictions, examines its conceptual and theoretical foundations, and sets the law in its policy context. It is destined to become the primary source for scholarly work and debate on sexual offences laws.

Review: Rape and the Legal ProcessTemkinJenniferRAPE AND THE LEGAL PROCESSOxford: Oxford University Press (2nd edn2002) 428pp, hb £60, pb £23

The first edition of Rape and the Legal Process was published in 1987. In the intervening years, far-reaching reforms bearing directly or indirectly on the conduct of rape trials have been introduced, yet much that characterises the prosecution of rape allegations has remained depressingly unchanged. Both realities underscore the timeliness of a second edition. The book’s central aim, in Temkin’s own words, is ‘to examine the difficulties entailed in regulating rape and to assess how they might best be overcome’. The book is divided into six chapters, with Chapters 2 and 3 focusing on implemented and proposed changes to the substantive law of rape. The evidential and procedural matters addressed in Chapters 4 and 5 are the principal focus of this review.