Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Series

Law and Gender

Rape

American University Washington College of Law

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Language Of Harm: What The Nassar Victim Impact Statements Reveal About Abuse And Accountability, Jamie Abrams, Amanda Potts Jan 2020

The Language Of Harm: What The Nassar Victim Impact Statements Reveal About Abuse And Accountability, Jamie Abrams, Amanda Potts

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This Article examines 148 Victim Impact Statements that were delivered to the
court in the Larry Nassar criminal sentencing. Larry Nassar was a doctor for the
United States Gymnastics Association and an employee of Michigan State University
who treated elite athletes, predominantly gymnasts. Nassar pleaded guilty to child
pornography and first-degree criminal sexual misconduct charges in Michigan. His
sentencing received worldwide attention as victims delivered impact statements
describing the harm and betrayal of his conduct. Using corpus-based discourse
analysis, this Article examines the complex strategies that the victims deployed to
describe who Nassar was (a doctor, a monster, a friend), …


The #Metoo Movement: An Invitation For Feminist Critique Of Rape Crisis Framing, Jamie Abrams Jan 2018

The #Metoo Movement: An Invitation For Feminist Critique Of Rape Crisis Framing, Jamie Abrams

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article invites feminists to leverage the #MeToo Movement as a critical analytical tool to explore the longevity of the enduring rape crisis framing of victim services. For nearly half a century, victims have visited rape crisis centers, called rape crisis hotlines, and mobilized rape crisis response teams to provide services and support. This enduring political and social framing around rape as a crisis is opaque, has prompted a political backlash, and risks distorting hard-fought feminist legal, social, and political battles. It has yielded underreporting, underutilization, and recurring risks of budgetary cuts. This model and terminology have gone virtually unchanged …


Boys, Rape And Masculinity: Reclaiming Boys’ Narratives Of Sexual Violence In Custody, Brenda V. Smith Jan 2015

Boys, Rape And Masculinity: Reclaiming Boys’ Narratives Of Sexual Violence In Custody, Brenda V. Smith

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article examines a little studied area at the intersections of masculinity, feminist studies, and criminal justice — sexual abuse of boys in custody by female staff. Professor Smith outlines the scope of the problem and discusses competing narratives that attempt to explain the phenomena: (1) female staff as “mother, sister, friend”; (2) adolescent development theory; (3) complex early childhood trauma; and (4) female authority and power. There is a gap in both masculinity and feminist theory in analyzing sexual aggression and power by women over boys. The talk article concludes with policy and practice prescription and recommendations for further …


Advances And Missed Opportunities In The International Prosecution Of Gender-Based Crimes, Susana Sacouto Jan 2007

Advances And Missed Opportunities In The International Prosecution Of Gender-Based Crimes, Susana Sacouto

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

INTRODUCTION: In the past decade, and particularly since 1998, there has been an incredible transformation in the treatment of sex-based and gender- based violence' in the fields of international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Before this, crimes committed exclusively or disproportionately against women and girls, in times of conflict, were largely either ignored, or at most, treated as secondary to other crimes. Despite the fact that rape and other forms of sexual violence had been widely reported during World War HI, for instance, the crime of rape was not expressly included in either the London Charter, establishing the International …


Rethinking Prison Sex: Self Expression And Safety, Brenda V. Smith Jan 2006

Rethinking Prison Sex: Self Expression And Safety, Brenda V. Smith

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article analyzes legislation and policies that limit prisoners' sexual expression and autonomy. The article juxtaposes prisoners interest in sexual expression against the interests of the state in regulating sex by and between prisoners. The article concludes that the state has an interest in regulating sex between inmates and staff and in regulating coerced or forced sex between inmates. In other instances prisons could accommodate prisoners' interest in sexual expression and achieve important goals such as better decisionmaking; improved relations with family and partners to aid community reentry; reduction of prison rape; and as inmate management.


Domestic Violence In The Haitian Culture And The American Legal Response: Fanm Ayisyen Ki Gen Kouraj, Mary Clark Jan 2006

Domestic Violence In The Haitian Culture And The American Legal Response: Fanm Ayisyen Ki Gen Kouraj, Mary Clark

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.


Rape In Wartime: Redress In United States Courts Under The Alien Tort Claims Act, Susana Sácouto Jan 1998

Rape In Wartime: Redress In United States Courts Under The Alien Tort Claims Act, Susana Sácouto

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.