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Sexual Violence on Trial provides a contemporary critical examination of the investigation, prosecution and cultural contexts of sexual violence. It draws on Northern Ireland as a case study, while also drawing on experiences from other jurisdictions across the United Kingdom and island of Ireland.

Public and academic debates concerning the high-profile 'Belfast/Rugby Rape Trial' and the subsequent Gillen review of the arrangements to deliver justice in serious sexual offence cases have been mirrored at a global level with movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp. This book brings together the perspectives of practitioners and academics to discuss contemporary challenges surrounding the societal and legal framing of sexual violence. It examines key aspects of the criminal justice process including the challenges of supporting victims; of responding to a range of forms of sexual violence such as rape, peer abuse, intimate partner violence and forced-to-penetrate cases; as well as alternative perspectives and future reforms. It also considers broader debates including balancing the interests of victims and defendants; the impact of cultural myths and stereotypes; the challenges of the digital age; models of consent; legal representation for victims and anonymity and publicity surrounding trials.

Written by leading authorities in the field, Sexual Violence on Trial will be of great interest to students and scholars of Criminology, Law and Sociology.

Table of Contents


Foreword

Part I: The Criminal Justice Process

1 Sexual Offence Trials in Northern Ireland: The Cultural and Legal Dimensions
Rachel Killean, Eithne Dowds and Anne-Marie McAlinden

2 Reflections on Practice: Experiences of Providing Care to Victims in the Rowan Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Northern Ireland
Gail Jackson

3 Sexual Crime - A Policing Perspective
Zoe McKee

4 Serious Sex Offences in England and Wales: Defending the Indefensible
Jeremy Dein and Luke Marsh

5 Supporting Victims through the Trial Process
Geraldine Hanna

6 Sexual Offence Trials: The Practical Challenges for a Judge Tasked to Deliver Justice.
Judge Patricia Smyth

Part II: Social and Cultural Influences
7 Asking for It: How Rape Myths Can Prejudice Trials and Potential Solutions
Rosie Cowan

8 Forced to Penetrate Cases: Deconstructing Myths and Stereotypes
Siobhan Weare

9 Harmful Sexual Behaviours Among Children and Young People On-Line: Cultural and Regulatory Challenges
Elizabeth Agnew and Anne-Marie McAlinden

10 Exploring Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Practitioners Perspective
Sonya McMullan

11 A Hierarchy of Masculinity and Sexuality: Gendering the Police, and the Obfuscation of Policing Sexual Violence Against Non-Heterosexual Victims
Aliraza Javaid

Part III: Comparative Perspective

12 Regulation of Media and Social Media Comment on Rape Trials: Achieving Best Practice
Susan Leahy

13 Rethinking Affirmative Approaches to Consent: A Step in the Right Direction
Eithne Dowds

14 Legal Representation for Sexual Assault Complainants
Rachel Killean

15 Restorative Justice after Sexual Violence: An International Perspective
Marie Keenan

16 Challenges in the Investigation and Prosecution of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences in Scotland
Michele Burman and Sandy Brindley


Part IV: Alternative Perspectives and Future Reforms

17 Contextualising Violence: An Anti-Carceral Feminist Perspective
Gillian McNaull

18 Breaking the Silence to End the Violence: 'Speaking Out' as Feminist Strategy
Tanya Serisier

19 Cultural Scaffolding and the Long View of Rape Trials
Olivia Smith

20 Putting Sexual Violence on Trial: Challenges and Future Directions
Eithne Dowds, Anne-Marie McAlinden and Rachel Killean


Index