Implications of Victim-Oriented Developments in the Criminal Justice System for Female Victims (From International Victimology, P 177-191, 1996, Chris Sumner, Mark Israel, et al., eds. - See NCJ-169474)

• NCJ Number: 169493
• Author(s): K Warner
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This paper focuses on several victim-oriented developments that affect women in particular.

Abstract

Changes to the law and procedure in the area of rape and domestic violence have modified rules in such a way as to minimize the chance of guilty parties being acquitted. Changes to rape laws include the following: expansion of the definition of rape to include acts not previously covered; immunity of husbands from prosecution for rape has been abolished in most jurisdictions; laws of evidence have been altered by removing the requirement of corroboration; courts are to forbid questions and exclude evidence pertaining to the general reputation of the complainant as to chastity and evidence of the sexual history of the complainant with persons other than the accused is admissible only with the permission of the court if it is relevant to issues in the case. Domestic violence laws now: provide for protection orders; make breach of a protection order a criminal offense and automatic grounds for arrest; clarify and extend police powers to enter a dwelling where violence is suspected to have occurred; provide for compellability of spouses as witnesses in domestic violence offenses; and encourage pressing charges by the police rather than requiring the victim to do so. References