Behavioral Sciences & the Law最新文献

Some attorneys and legal scholars argue that medicalizing transgender plaintiffs (i.e., introducing plaintiff diagnoses and/or medical procedures) in discrimination cases will enhance favorable plaintiff outcomes. Research and theory linking biological essentialism (i.e., believing social groups reflect biologically-rooted, stable categories) to prejudice, however, suggests that medicalizing transgender plaintiffs might not help them win cases and might instead backfire and harm their case outcomes. To test these competing hypotheses, we coded all published cases involving alleged transgender discrimination (N = 124) from 1974 to 2021. Importantly, we addressed limitations of existing research that narrowly defined transgender plaintiff medicalization exclusively via diagnosis by documenting various other forms of medicalization beyond diagnosis. Contrary to legal scholars' claims and attorney intuitions, medicalization did not predict favorable outcomes for transgender plaintiffs. In fact, various forms of medicalization beyond diagnosis predicted negative plaintiff case outcomes. We discuss the implications of this research for informing scientific theory and legal practice.

The current changes to the treatment recommendations and the diagnostic categorization of trans* identities in the ICD-11 require a new consideration of past therapeutic methods and approaches. The depathologization of trans* lives in the ICD-11 finally enables trans* people to access psychotherapeutic services more freely, as the compulsory therapy that has thus far been required for access to transition-related treatments, as well as the so-called “diagnosis” and “treatment” of “transsexuality”, have been removed. Trans* people will nevertheless be interested in qualified psychotherapeutic treatment options. Due to the decades-long discrimination and treatment in the health system that has disregarded the human rights of trans* people, a trans*-affirmative approach is necessary, one that takes into account the context of the treatment and critically reflects upon one's own position as a health professional. This affirmative and self-reflective approach provides the basis upon which therapeutic concerns and topics related to a life lived in accordance with a self-determined (gender) identity, related needs, and the fulfillment of those needs, can be discussed. The consequences of experiences of discrimination, violence and exclusion are, moreover, important elements of therapy that require a structural and social contextualization in order to address internalized trans*-negativity and to empower trans* people in their self-assertion.

Gender-affirming care is treatment that recognizes and affirms the gender identity of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals. Though not all TGD people choose to surgically transition, gender-affirming surgeries (GAS) are an important part of many TGD people's transition. GAS can include a wide array of procedures aimed at aligning an individual's physical characteristics and gender identity. This review describes the most common procedures considered to be GAS, detailing important relevant considerations for each procedure. These include transfeminine procedures (i.e., breast augmentation, penile inversion vaginoplasty, orchiectomy, tracheal shave, and facial feminization); transmasculine procedures (i.e., chest masculinization, hysterectomy, phalloplasty, and metoidioplasty); and other procedures (i.e., fertility preservation and hair removal). Patient outcomes and the legal landscape for GAS are also discussed to contextualize these procedures within largest discourses surrounding gender-affirming care.

Sexual homicides (SHs) demand nuanced research for effective prevention, treatment, risk assessment and theoretical insights. Intimate-partner sexual homicides (IPSHs), comprising approximately 20% of SHs, have received limited attention. This study compares IPSHs (n = 56) and non-intimate partner sexual homicides (NIPSHs) (n = 236) in Australia and New Zealand by investigating offender, victim, and crime-scene characteristics. While IPSH perpetrators were typically older, separated, and had prior domestic violence convictions, victims were more often non-white with histories of domestic violence and substance use. Although crime-scene locations and post-offence behaviours differed, similar crime scene behaviours were displayed across offender groups, which seemed to be routed in different underlying motives. Whereas drivers of IPSH commonly were grievance and anger, associated with offences occurring after arguments, drivers for NIPSH were more often sexual deviance and sadism. Overall, IPSH encompasses aspects of domestic violence, homicide, and sexual violence, distinguishing it from SH.

Rape followed by murder against children and adolescents is one of the most serious existing crimes. The autopsies of victims of violent crimes can provide fundamental findings for the investigative process and the pursuit of justice. This research conducts a descriptive analysis of the most important findings from the autopsies of 27 cases of children and adolescents who died in Chile between 1998 and 2021 as a result of rape followed by homicide (n = 27), as well as from the judiciary rulings of these cases to gather information related to the perpetrators. It was found that the victims of this crime are mostly girls with an average age of 10, while the perpetrators are primarily single men aged 29 on average, most of whom have not finished high school. A significant relationship was found between the location of the crime and the cause of death and signs of sexual contact, the marital status of the perpetrator and the cause of death, the age of the perpetrator and signs of sexual contact, and the relationship between victim and perpetrator and signs of sexual contact.

Few studies have examined victim participation in parole processes, particularly in countries that have specific procedures for hearing victims' statements in post-conviction proceedings. This study, through in-depth interviews, explores the experiences of seven indirect victims of child sexual homicide, identifying their needs and expectations in a justice system lacking formal mechanisms for their involvement. Results emphasize the necessity for official information for families and the consequent frustration from the absence of formal participation. Parole application becomes a new challenge to the ongoing grieving process, leading to distress responses that may require specialized care. Recommendations about formal mechanisms for victim notification, participation and support during the parole process are noted to acknowledge their experience and emotional impact.

This special issue of Behavioral Sciences & the Law presents six articles that focus on various issues related to social media in forensic mental health evaluations. These eclectic articles provide updated information about social media's use and navigating difficult ethical concerns. Ranging from violence risk assessment to disability evaluations, the up-to-date information in this special issue allows the forensic evaluator to be more prepared when they inevitably encounter information from social media. As social media continues to grow, both in terms of overall use and the number of available platforms, forensic clinicians will need to remain cognizant of the ways these data can be appropriately utilized as collateral data.

Stalking can be defined as a pattern of fixated, repeated, and unwanted behaviours. Stalking is not an isolated incident and was associated to sexual violence. While the relationship between sexual violence and stalking is scarcely explored, no studies have tested the relationship between stalking and sexual homicide, which both involves elements of obsession. The aim of this paper was to study the relationship between stalking and sexual homicide using an exploratory case study analysis of 7 males convicted for sexual homicide. Results revealed: (1) The presence of obsession prior to the homicide; (2) The victims were ex-intimate partners or acquaintances; (3) The victims were followed several times prior to the index offence; (4) Stalking elements were not always considered by the authorities, which has led to an escalation of behaviours. This study expands our understanding between stalking and sexual violence, supporting the design of prevention and treatments.

The current study was conducted to confirm the characteristics in sexual homicide and to explore variables that effectively differentiate sexual homicide and nonsexual homicide. Further, newer methods that have received attention in criminology, such as the machine learning method, were used to explore the ideal algorithm for classifying sexual homicide and patterns for sexual homicide in Korea. To do this, 542 homicide cases were analyzed utilizing eight algorithms, and the classification performance of each algorithm was analyzed along with the importance of variables. The results of the analysis revealed that the Naive Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors, and RF algorithms demonstrate good classification accuracy, and generally, factors such as relationships, marriage, planning, personal weapons, and overkill were identified as crucial variables that distinguish sexual homicide in Korea. In addition, the crime scene information of the crime occurring in the dark (at night) and body disposal were found to have high importance. The current study proposes ways to enhance the efficacy of crime investigation and advance the research on sexual homicides in Korea through a more scientific understanding of sexual homicide that has not been thoroughly explored domestically.