Understanding victims of interpersonal violence : a guide for investigators and prosecutors / Veronique N. Valliere.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Valliere, Veronique N., Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sexual abuse victims--Psychology.

Sexual abuse victims.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (177 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Routledge, 2019.

Summary:

"Understanding Victims of Interpersonal Violence: A Guide for Investigators and Prosecutors provides accessible information for criminal justice personnel "in the trenches" with victims of violence to aid in understanding and explaining their behavior. This guide sheds light on interpersonal violence victims' decisions and actions by providing context and naming factors that commonly impact victim responses. These include internal factors such as culture, religion, shame, and personality, as well as external factors like access to services, support systems, and resources. These factors inhibit or facilitate responses like disclosure, resistance, and participation (or lack thereof) in their prosecution. This book also explores the influence of the perpetrator, as well more deeply examining victim responses that typically offer challenges to investigators and prosecutors, like continued contact with the offender, lack of resistance, and issues in disclosure. Finally, the guide provides concrete tools to assist investigators in interviewing and for prosecutors to use during the prosecutorial process. This book is designed for investigators, prosecutors, advocates, criminal justice practitioners, and students of these subjects"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

SECTION 1 Victim Response to Interpersonal Violence

1 Victim Response to Assault: Is It "Counterintuitive" Behavior?

What Is "Counterintuitive" Behavior? Is There Such a Thing?

Persistence of Myths About Assault

When Rape Meets the Myth

What Are the Facts?

Why Do I Need to Know This?

Summary

References

2 "I Was in Shock:" Internal Factors Impacting Victim Response

Fear

Emotional Impact of Fear

Physiological Impact of Fear

Cognitive Biases and Unexpected Decisions

Loss Aversion

Confirmation Bias: "See, I Told You He Wasn't Like That"

Familiarity and Perception of Risk

Personal Control, Fear, and Risk

Habituation

Personalization of Risk

Culture and Religion

Culture: "That's Normal for Them

It's a Cultural Thing"

Religion: "But God Says . . ."

Beliefs and Values

It's a "Just World" or What Goes Around, Comes Around

Rape Myth Acceptance and Rape Scripts

Confusion About or Failure to Identify the Assault or Abuse

Relationship to the Perpetrator

Alcohol Use

Absence of Force or Violence

Blame, Shame, and Guilt

Vulnerability and Weakness

Prior History of Abuse/Assault

Socialization to Aggression and Conflict

Fear of Penalization

3 "Where Was I Supposed to Go?" External Factors That Influence Victim Response and Help-Seeking

Access to Services

Barriers to Help-Seeking During the Offense

Presence or Protection of Witnesses/Children

Opportunity for Escape

Experience With and Revictimization by the Law Enforcement or the Criminal Justice System

Consequences of Reporting

Consequences to Others/Offender

Retaliation

Loss

Societal Messages

Support System of Victim.

Other Post-Offense Influences on Victim Response

4 "I Will Not Be Denied:" Influence of the Offender on Victim Behavior

Influence on the Victim

Getting the Victim to Cooperate: Why Did She Allow It?

Identifying and Exploiting Vulnerability

Building Attachment

Being Nice

Promising to Change: Creating Hope

Creating Confusion by Acting Normal

"Grooming" or Preparing the Victim to Be a Victim

Past Experience With the Offender

Influence of the Offender on the Community

Creating the Public Persona

Controlling the Information

Creating a Victim's Reputation and Setting Up Retaliation

Deception After the Disclosure

5 "I Should Have Kicked His Ass:" Male Victims of Intimate Violence

"Be a Man:" Traditional Masculinity and Societal Messages

Having a Penis

Shame and Stigma

Victim Blaming

Minimization of Assault

SECTION 2 Common Types of Victim Responses

6 "What Was I Supposed to Say?" Issues in Disclosures of Assault

General Issues to Remember About Memory

Delayed Disclosure

Types of Disclosure and the Process of Telling

Interactional Component of Disclosure

Trauma and Disclosure

Triggers for Disclosure

Opportunity and Social Support

Increased Needs of the Victim

Increased Knowledge of the Victim

Removal From the Perpetrator or Changes in the Abuser's Behavior

Trauma and Memory

Recantation

Secondary Victimization as a Result of Disclosure

7 "But I Love Him:" Continued Contact With the Offender

Relationships as the Weapon of the Offender

Access to the Victim

Provides Excuses and Explanations for the Abuse

Used Against the Victim

Establishes Status Issues.

Why Doesn't She Leave? The Meaning of the Relationship to the Victim

Practical Matters

Confusion and Disbelief About the Act and Actor

Wants to Be Normal and Safe Again

Loves the Offender and Fears the Loss

Thinks the Danger Can Be Controlled

Danger

Suggestions for Interviews

8 "Nah, I'm Good:" Understanding Victim Resistance

Let's Just Talk: Verbal Resistance

Tie Them Really Tight: Nonverbal Resistance

Freeze, Flight, or Fight

Freeze

Flight

Fight

Barriers to Resistance

Children or Protection of Others

Prior History of Abuse

Inability to Resist

9 "Commit to Courage:" Conclusions and Suggestions

Appendix A: Questions Instead of "Why?"

Appendix B: Sample Voir Dire Questions

Appendix C: Interviewing Victims for Sentencing

Index.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-000-73423-4

1-000-73409-9

0-367-82324-1

9780367823245

OCLC:

1111655271