Jan Jordan

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

The use of local and nationwide lockdowns has been a necessary public health measure in the battle against the spread of COVID-19. Lockdowns have affected the higher education landscape by requiring university staff to shift their face-to-face teaching to either fully online, or blended, delivery modes. This shift to online delivery presents a pedagogical challenge for teachers of sensitive topics, such as sexual violence. Teaching about sexual violence safely requires a careful, considered and trauma-informed approach, usually established through building trust and rapport with students in the classroom. Building trust and rapport in the online environment, however, requires a redevelopment of traditional teaching approaches to ensure student safety. This reflexive commentary provides an overview of our experience when required to quickly teach an undergraduate criminology course about sexual violence in an online environment, brought about by a sudden lockdown due to COVID-19. We ...

... However, while certain strands of thinking may be dominant within particular arenas within the police culture, the latter is not monolithic and homogeneous (Chan, 2003; Silvestri, 2003; Waddington, 1999). ... Prokos, Anastasia and Padavic, Irene (2002). ...

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 ...

In the year 2000, many of the New Zealand public were outraged at publicity that a historic charge of rape had been made against then Cabinet Minister Dover Samuels. Others were sceptical, and believed their perspective was supported by the police’s decision that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the accused, who was loudly proclaiming his innocence. Samuels admitted that he had been sexually involved with a teenage girl in his care, and helped her to obtain an abortion, but disputed that he had raped her. In a speech made to his Parliamentary colleagues, Samuels proclaimed: I find the offence of rape or sexual abuse of women and children abhorrent and repugnant. There is only one offence more abhorrent, repugnant or contemptible, and that is for a person or persons to fabricate the allegation of rape knowing that the person being accused is completely innocent. (Quoted in The Dominion, 26 July 2000) According to this view, and consistent with the material outlined in pre...

Man/woman; right/wrong; reason/emotion; truth/lies. Dichotomous thinking polarises that which defies polarisation. Yet the crime of rape has been legally defined for centuries in ways which uphold a rigid rape/not rape distinction. Moreover, the societies within which such definitions have been promulgated have reflected patriarchal privileging, with the gender class ‘men’ being equated with rightness and the ‘truth’ and the gender class ‘women’ regarded as wrong, full of falsities and lies. The long history of men’s violence towards, and subjugation of, women depended in large part on a woman’s protests and accusations being silenced. Little wonder, then, that women came to doubt the worth of their words and the value of their selves. In the quest for survival, the quest for credibility assumed increasing significance.

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.

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).

... I also extend my appreciation to the New Zealand Federation of University Women for providing the grant vii Page 10. used for tape transcription, and to the wonderful transcribers: Tracy Anderson, Marianna Churchward, Sandy Taylor and Brenda Watson. ...

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.

In 1998, serial rapist Malcolm Rewa stood trial for a total of 45 counts involving 27 women whom he had attacked between 1987 and 1996, with all but two of these attacks occurring within suburbs of Auckland city. His trial lasted three months, at the end of which Rewa was convicted on a majority of counts, mostly for Sexual Violation by Rape, against 25 of the women.

Being recognized as a rape survivor has often been interpreted as implying a linear progression from the negative state of victimisation, experienced in the presence of the offender, to a stronger, more positive state, typically facilitated by external support mechanisms. Drawing primarily on interviews conducted with women victimised by New Zealand serial rapist, Malcolm Rewa, this article challenges the concept of a journey 'from victim to survivor' by considering the multiple ways in which these women sought to protect themselves and survive during the attack while also experiencing aspects of their postattack involvement with individuals and agencies as further victimisation. The article concludes by outlining some initial implications regarding what this may mean for professionals working with victim/survivors of sexual violence.

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 di...

The notion that women lie about rape is a prevalent belief with pervasive influence. This thesis comprises a series of studies aimed at elucidating understanding of the ways in which this belief affects police officers' responses to women who report rape. The thesis begins by examining the historical context within which rape came to be defined as a crime, and considers the impact of dominant assumptions regarding the 'nature' of women on the formation of rape laws. Factors affecting criminal justice system responses to women who report rape are identified, considering in particular the ways in which these have been influenced by views of women's inherent deceitfulness. Having established the ideological and socio-political framework, attention then shifts to a consideration of rape in contemporary New Zealand. The views of rape complainants regarding their experiences of reporting rape and sexual assault to the police are presented, highlighting the centrality of &#...

The notion that women lie about rape is a prevalent belief with pervasive influence. This thesis comprises a series of studies aimed at elucidating understanding of the ways in which this belief affects police officers' responses to women who report rape. The thesis begins by examining the historical context within which rape came to be defined as a crime, and considers the impact of dominant assumptions regarding the 'nature' of women on the formation of rape laws. Factors affecting criminal justice system responses to women who report rape are identified, considering in particular the ways in which these have been influenced by views of women's inherent deceitfulness. Having established the ideological and socio-political framework, attention then shifts to a consideration of rape in contemporary New Zealand. The views of rape complainants regarding their experiences of reporting rape and sexual assault to the police are presented, highlighting the centrality of 'being believed'. Quantitative and qualitative data are presented from an analysis of police sexual assault investigation files and are used to highlight the factors affecting police officers' perceptions of complainants' credibility. The file analysis is complemented by material derived from interviews with sexual assault investigators, which explores further the issue of allegedly false rape complaints. The final study presented documents the experiences of a group of rape victims who largely conform to the police stereotype of the 'perfect victim'. In this chapter, women who were attacked by serial rapist Malcolm Rewa reflect on the ways in which they were treated by the police. Their accounts are useful in highlighting the potential for positive police-complainant relationships when the issue of the victim's credibility is not the dominant concern. Taken together, these studies provide a series of different perspectives on police responses to reports of rape. The results indicate that concerns about the victim's credibility continue to dominate reporting procedures, and that negative stereotypes concerning lying, vengeful women remain influential. Recent attempts by the police to improve women's experiences of rape investigations are acknowledged, but the overall conclusion suggests that the scope for positive change will remain limited while such negative stereotypes prevail.

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 women's 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 ident...

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.

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.