This book provides an in-depth analysis of sexual assault in the military from historical and contemporary perspectives, offering suggestions that could change the existing culture and approaches that will reduce or eliminate sexual assault in the armed forces. Sexual assault has been an aspect of the U.S. military historically and is today widely recognized as a significant problem with far-reaching repercussions. How does sexual assault negatively impact not only the victims themselves but also the U.S. military's strength, readiness, and morale? This book answers these questions and documents the problems with reporting and prosecuting sexual assault complaints within our armed forces, examines the current policy and laws to identify what changes are needed, and analyzes recent efforts to prevent sexual assault. Author Rosemarie Skaine introduces the subject with a historical perspective that covers women, men, gays and lesbians, and non-military personnel as the subjects of sexual assault and provides readers with clear definitions of sexual harassment and sexual assault. The chapters explain how sexual assault negatively affects the military's performance as a whole, thereby serving to undermine national security; and covers preventative approaches and legislation intended to change the current military culture. The book also includes a bibliography, tables of key figures, and footnotes and endnotes that fully document the data presented. Provides fact-based analyses of one of the most pressing issues facing today's U.S. military that will aid informed policy guidance for policymakers in the military as well as those in higher education-another institution grappling with the challenges of eradicating sexual assault Written by a noted author on topics regarding issues surrounding women who serve in today's military Presents input from military contributors who add credibility and invaluable insight into the problem of sexual assault within the U.S. military

What are the root causes of sexual violence in war? From times of antiquity through the most recent conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, the Congo, and Syria, rape and other forms of sexual violence have been a consistent feature of war. Analyses of these more recent conflicts have prompted a surge of research into rape as a weapon of war and prompted a number of international and national initiatives to address this form of violence. This work has helped to identify rape as a deliberate tool of war-making rather than simply an inevitable side effect of armed conflict. However, much of what has been written on rape as a weapon of war has suggested that the underlying causes stem from a single motivation-whether individual, symbolic, or strategic. This singular focus has led to disagreement in the field about how we can understand the causes and consequences of sexual violence in war and about how to respond to this atrocity. Sara Meger argues that it is this approach to sexual violence in war that has rendered ineffective recent attempts by the UN, national governments, and aid and advocacy organizations to address it. Rather than identifying conflict-related sexual violence as an isolated phenomenon, this book argues that sexual violence is a form of gender-based violence (perpetrated against both men and women) and a manifestation of unequal gender relations that are exacerbated by the social, political, and economic conditions of war. She looks at trends in the form and function of sexual violence in recent and ongoing conflicts to argue that, in different contexts, sexual violence takes different forms and is used in pursuit of different objectives. Taking a political economy perspective she argues that these variations can be explained by broader struggles over territory, assets, and other productive resources of contemporary armed conflicts. As it is a reflection of global political economic struggles, she argues that sexual violence in war can't be addressed only at the local level, but must be addressed through regional and international policy. She concludes by providing some initial ideas about how this can be done via the UN and national governments.

Sexual abuse, a topic still struggling to break free of its social taboos, is an issue that must be addressed, assessed, and discussed in order to further efforts for prevention and treatment. Social, Psychological, and Forensic Perspectives on Sexual Abuse is an important resource that comprehensively examines the prevalence, assessment, causes, and impacts of sexual violence from cultural, legal, psychosocial, theoretical, and medical viewpoints. Discussing difficult but relevant issues including forensic assessment, legal ramifications, mental health, risk assessment, and effects on family life, this book is geared towards researchers, mental health professionals, clinicians, and special educators seeking current research on prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation in sexual abuse.

Religion and Sexuality in Zimbabwe highlights the complex interplay between religion and sexuality in Zimbabwe. It shows how religion both facilitates and complicates the expression of sexuality in Zimbabwe. Approaching religion from a broader perspective, this volume reviews the impact of African Indigenous Religions and Christianity in its varied forms on the construction and expression of sexuality in Zimbabwe. These contributors examine the role of indigenous beliefs, as well as interpretations of sacred texts, in the understanding of sexuality in Zimbabwe. They also address themes relating to sexual diversity and sexual and gender-based violence. Overall, this book sheds light on the ongoing relevance and strategic role of religion to contemporary discourses on human sexuality.

Rose West was, on the face of it, a mother living with her family in a semi in Gloucester. But behind closed doors, she was a monstrous killer who, with husband Fred, killed at least a dozen women and girls, including her own daughter Heather, sixteen, and stepdaughter, Charmaine, eight.

Rose was sadistic as both a mother and killer, and all her victims as well as her own children were subjected to horrific sexual violence and torture. Rose did paid sex work in the family home with husband Fred peeping through the holes he had made in the wall and listening on an intercom. They modified the house to take in lodgers and then preyed on them, as well as other young women hitching a lift or waiting for a bus.

In 1972, aged seventeen, Caroline Owens, who had been hired as a nanny, was drugged, attacked and raped, but managed to escape. But she could not bring herself to testify, so the Wests remained free.

Two decades would pass before Rose’s dark secrets were discovered when nine of the victims’ bodies were dug up in the garden and beneath the cellar at the West’s home at 25 Cromwell Street. And now, three decades after this grim discovery, the workings of Rose West’s twisted mind remain as mysterious as who played what role in this husband-and-wife folie à deux.

In recent years, international attention has been recurrently drawn to violence against civilians including sexual violence during war as a means of furthering military or political goals. The ongoing issue of comfort women has been debated not only among Asian countries including Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines but also in numerous international forums.This book examines the system of military comfort women in Asia and the Pacific created and maintained by Japan during World War II. It uses the comfort women system as a lens for exploring the ways in which body, sexuality and identity are deployed in the creation of patriarchal relations, ethnic hierarchies, and colonial/nationalist power. This book analyzes the role and nature of the comfort women system as a mechanism of social control by the colonial state. This requires the examining of sexuality and body politics, the social background of the victims, wartime working conditions, and regulation of soldiers' sexuality.This book aims to contribute to both the academic community and the community of civic groups through a work that spans the dimensions of history, theory and activism.

Creating a safe and trusting environment is a pivotal concern within any professional setting. By increasing awareness and providing accurate information, misbehavior problems can more easily be prevented. Sexual Misconduct in the Education and Human Services Sector is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly research on effective guidelines and frameworks for ensuring appropriate professional conduct, and presents innovative methods for the proper training of employees. Focusing on imperative concepts and applicable real-world examples, this book is ideally designed for managers, researchers, and professionals interested in the prevention of inappropriate behavior in the workplace.

A contemporary, fact-filled resource on the historical, legal, medical, and political aspects of a wide variety of sexual crimes. Authoritative and informative, Sexual Crime: A Reference Handbook offers a thoroughly up-to-date report on an issue of extraordinary urgency. It is an expert introduction to a variety of often misunderstood crimes. Sexual Crime begins with a background chapter outlining the causes and definitions of sexual crime, legal and cultural attitudes over the past three centuries, and common myths surrounding this sensitive subject. It then offers wide ranging coverage of issues, including date rape, crimes involving male victims, rape in prison, female perpetrators, medical treatments, political ramifications, and other contemporary issues. A chronology of events related to sexual crime from colonial times to present, as well as a Facts and Data chapter with a range of informative statistics and excerpts of pivotal legal decisions Biographical sketches of nearly 35 activists, scholars, policymakers, and other notable figures involved in the efforts to fight sexual crimes

Mary, a caseworker at an agency for intellectually challenged people, meets her new client Chris, whose family wants to put him in a group home. As she gets to know him, Mary begins to question Chris's diagnosis.

Even as his life circumstances appear to improve, with a job and a new home, Chris seems to get worse. After a series of disasters, including a suicide attempt, leave him homeless, Mary takes Chris to stay with her family temporarily. That's when the memories come pouring out.

This true story provides a unique view of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both from the perspective of a sexual abuse victim recovering the memories of his experiences and from the day-to-day observations of the person helping him through it. This grim topic is addressed with love, courage, and even humour, and Chris's journey to recovery offers insights into the effects of PTSD and the strategies for dealing with its symptoms.

The Psychology of Stalking is the first scholarly book on stalking ever published. Virtually every serious writer and researcher in this area of criminal psychopathology has contributed a chapter. These chapters explore stalking from social, psychiatric, psychological and behavioral perspectives. New thinking and data are presented on threats, pursuit characteristics, psychiatric diagnoses, offender-victim typologies, cyberstalking, false victimization syndrome, erotomania, stalking and domestic violence, the stalking of public figures, and many other aspects of stalking, as well as legal issues. This landmark text is of interest to both professionals and other thoughtful individuals who recognize the serious nature of this ominous social behavior.
Key Features
* First scholarly book on stalking ever published
* Contributions from virtually all major researchers in field
* Discussion of what to do when being stalked
* Uses examples from recent publicized cases

Because women are more likely to seek professional help, and because they are more likely to be the victims of abuse by people in positions of power, women who do seek professional assistance may end up being victims of sexual exploitation by the very people from whom they seek help. Unlike other problems which primarily affect women, such as rape and domestic violence, this issue has received little public attention and has had little success in building a social movement to combat it. Bohmer analyzes the social construction of this unique problem and the response it has received from individuals, groups, and various institutions, such as the law and the regulatory process. Bohmer explains why this problem has a different history from other problems facing primarily women, and why it has not had much success in stirring social movement for addressing the problem.

Using other issues of feminist concern, Bohmer connects the problem of professional sexual exploitation to issues of gender and power and shows the ways in which women seeking help are punished for doing so. In addition, the available self-help groups and organizations are examined in light of their benefits and relative lack of success in combating the problem. The legal and regulatory systems in place are also discussed in terms of the ways in which society responds to new social problems as they receive public attention.