Chapter Eleven Special Victim Populations

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 2 HIV/AIDS Victims Medical Aspects HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Two types of HIV HIV-1 is the most common and deadly type of HIV HIV-2 acts the same way as HIV-1 but reproduces more slowly Five phases in the HIV infection Asymptomatic incubation period Acute primary infection Asymptomatic phase Symptomatic phase AIDS case

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 3 – Three most common routes of HIV transmission Sexual transmission Blood-to-blood transmission Mother-to-child transmission

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 4 Victim Service Issues HIV/AIDS disease is a medical condition and is considered confidential information Victim service providers may not disseminate the medical status of a victim suffering from this disease without their express permission Create a safe and open environment for discussion Reassure victim that professional is not sitting in judgment on them or their lifestyle Review the victim’s risk of infection and motivation for being tested Victim service providers should never deliver the victim’s HIV/AIDS test results

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 5 Specific Victim Populations Victims of rape Child victims Family violence victims HIV+ persons who are victimized

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 6 Disabled Victims Disabled victims have the same rights as any other victims; however, they remain one of the largest categories of victims to be neglected by our criminal justice system. This is because they are not afforded the same type of access, legitimacy, or respect as other victims.

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 7 Legal Issues A disabled person is one who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of that individual, or that person has a record of such impairment, or that person is regarded as having such an impairment The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was enacted by Congress to protect the employment and accessibility rights of persons suffering from disabilities. Any agency receiving any type of governmental funding must comply with the provisions contained in the ADA.

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 8 Types of Victimization One researcher reported 60 percent of all persons who have mental disabilities become victims of crime sometime during their life 60 percent of all hearing-impaired women will be victims of sexual assault Another researcher reported Disabled individuals in institutions are twice as likely as those in the community to be abused There is reason to believe that substantial numbers of disabled persons are victims of domestic abuse Hearing-impaired women have a high probability of becoming victims of domestic violence Higher risk of child abuse if the child has a disability

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 9 Emerging Issues The Legal Process Victim Support Risk Reduction and Prevention Institutional Abuse

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 10 Gay and Lesbian Victims History Homosexual behavior can be traced back to ancient Greece, where homosexuality was viewed as natural in many segments of Greek society Not considered socially deviant behavior until the time of Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine, both of whom argued that it was unnatural because it did not lead to conception 1980, the DSM-III-R reclassified homosexual behavior as an alternative sexual lifestyle rather than deviant behavior

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 11 Definitions Homosexuality is the manifestation of sexual desire toward a member of one’s own sex Gay is a male homosexual or a socially integrated group oriented toward and concerned with the welfare of homosexuals Lesbian is a female homosexual.

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 12 Gays and Lesbians as Victims of Crime Research, surveys, studies, and community-based analyses of gay and lesbian victimization have all indicated that gay men and lesbian women are victimized at a higher rate than the general population Intimate Violence Gay and lesbian couples face the same kind of violence that occurs in a heterosexual relationship Family violence is any act or omission by persons who are cohabitating that results in serious injury to other members of the family. This includes gay and lesbian abuse

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 13 Legal Aspects of Gay and Lesbian Abuse Gay and lesbian victims face additional hurdles when they attempt to prevent further abuse by their partners Obstacles include outdated, and sometimes homophobic, attitudes by law enforcement officers, attorneys, and even members of the judiciary system The laws in sixteen states do not cover same-sex, nonrelated cohabitants

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 14 Prisoners as Victims Estimated that the number of inmates who have been sexually assaulted by other inmates over the past twenty years is in excess of one million New inmates are more vulnerable to prison rape Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 establishes a zero tolerance for rape and sexual assault in prisons

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 15 Violence in Schools Theories Social Learning Theory Delinquency is learned through peer-group interactions The Exchange Theory Persons act according to a system of rewards or punishments Violence in the Media Theory Violence is an everyday part of our environment in the media

Victimology: Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives, 3 rd ed. Wallace and Roberson © 2011 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 16 Types of Violence in Schools Bullying Occurs when a victim is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more persons Fighting The physical attack of one person by another or others Gangs Age-graded peer groups that exhibit some permanence, engage in criminal activity, and have some symbolic representation of members Sexual Assault One of the biggest problems facing middle school to college campuses Homicide Fewer than 1% of all homicides among school aged children occur on or around school grounds. However, nearly two- thirds of school associated deaths were those of students