Tag

victim

COUNTERING Counterintuitive Testimony (Adult, handout)

Often prosecution utilizes a counterintuitive “expert” to explain away problematic behaviors on the part of the complaining witness. Dr. Simpson offers a CLE training and 85-page handout on how to effectively challenge their expert.

Seven specific strategies for cross
A cure for a non-problem
Accounting for true, unfounded, or false sexual assault claims
Symptoms are not falsifiable
Motivations for intentional false reporting
Failure to account for confounding variables
Confirmation bias
The devil is in the details.
Critique of:
Freeze-Flight-Fight and Tonic Immobility
Acting normal following the alleged assault
Delayed disclosure
Continued relationship with the accused
Inconsistent, piecemeal, changing or incomplete memories
Recantation

Abstracts of Research Articles related to Alcohol Blackouts.

This document compiles research abstracts and excerpts concerning alcohol-related blackouts and sex-offense allegations. It covers definitions and types of blackouts, alcohol and memory, prevalence and correlates, blood-alcohol elimination, and legal questions about memory and responsibility, with studies and commentary cited throughout.

VICTIM: Reaction

This resource examines victims’ responses to sexual assault and the use of related expert testimony in legal settings. It summarizes research on trauma diagnoses, disclosure and minimization, PTSD symptoms, and factors associated with survivors’ reported psychological responses over time.

VICTIM: Trauma Bonding

This resource discusses trauma bonding and social support in the context of traumatic experiences and victimization. It summarizes research on parental bonding and post-rape symptoms, reviews social support and oxytocin in trauma research, and describes the Stockholm hostage case associated with the popular term ‘Stockholm syndrome.’

CHILD: Suggestibility

Children’s suggestibility can be shaped by factors such as age, prior knowledge, interviewer bias, repeated questions, and exposure to misinformation. The resource reviews research on children’s memory and forensic interviews, including findings that changing details of an experienced event may differ from planting or erasing an event memory.

CHILD: Forensic Interviewing

Principles of child forensic interviewing include preparation, developmentally appropriate practice, and careful attention to how information is elicited. The DOJ bulletin summarizes interview stages and cautions about repeated or duplicative questioning, while a research review addresses assumptions about children’s testimonial accuracy.

VICTIM: Munchausen Syndrome and Sexual Abuse Allegations

The literature reviewed here addresses Munchausen syndrome by proxy in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse, including diagnostic, legal, and professional-bias concerns. A review of 451 reported cases describes serious harms to some children, while its authors caution that published cases are a non-random sample and call for broader evidence.

CHILD: Age-Discordant Sexual Relationships and Adolescent Girls

The cited research examines age-discordant sexual relationships involving adolescent girls and adult men. One study considers girls’ recalled explanations for entering these relationships and contextual factors in the United States, while related research considers sexual motives, relationship settings, and links with sexual risk-taking.

VICTIM: Tonic Immobility / Freezing

The articles examine freezing and tonic immobility as responses discussed in threat and sexual-assault research. They review freezing as a defensive response involving behavioral inhibition and heart-rate changes, distinguish it from active fight-or-flight responses, and discuss tonic immobility in research concerning sexual assault and its reported effects.

CHILD: Bias in Forensic Child Interviews

The study investigates how evaluator attitudes may contribute to bias in forensic child sexual abuse assessments. It surveyed child-maltreatment professionals and identified attitudes related to sensitivity, specificity, and skepticism toward children’s reports, finding that these attitudes helped explain differing credibility judgments across decision exercises.