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Stealthing Being Legal In US Excuses Sexual Abuse For Millions

Jennifer Long, CEO and founder of AEquitas, a non-profit which aims to improve justice in sexual violence, says with an incident that begins with consensual sexual activity but then becomes non-consensual, like stealthing, justice can become somewhat of an uphill battle for survivors.

‘Sometimes people will say, well, it’s not as harmful to a victim, because they’ve already consented to something. That’s a problematic value judgment because survivors have individual experiences and we can’t calculate the harm,’ Long explains.

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Investigator paid for sex acts with potential trafficking victims at SC spas on your dime

Jane Anderson, a former prosecutor in Miami and current attorney advisor for AEquitas, a nonprofit aimed at improving prosecution practices related to human trafficking, said she’s never seen anything like this investigation — noting law enforcement essentially hired someone to commit a crime.

“There’s sort of an upside, which is that he is at least documenting it because I think we hear from survivors that this level (of sex acts) happens more often than we know about,” she said, “… but it was very obvious that this was unnecessary and totally gratuitous.”

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Men Who Rape Their Wives Can Still Get Away With It in Many States

“There’s still just misogynistic beliefs of what marriage entitles you to,” said Jane Anderson, an attorney adviser at AEquitas. “These laws tend to validate those beliefs on some level—that consent looks different if you’re married, or consent isn’t as necessary if you’re married, or it has to be highly violent for it to really count.”

Prosecutions for raping a spouse are a relatively recent legal invention. Under English common law, a wife literally belonged to her husband, according to Holly Fuhrman, senior associate attorney adviser at AEquitas; it wasn’t possible to sexually assault your property. It’s a concept typically attributed to a man named Sir Matthew Hale, a British 17th-century justice who surmised that a woman’s wedding vows meant she’d given her consent to sex. Forever.

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Forced Criminality: Understanding Human Trafficking Through the Lens of Utah’s Victor Rax Case

 As human trafficking awareness has risen across the United States and the globe, there are still blind spots that prevent law enforcement from recognizing the exploitation of the most vulnerable people in the their communities. To bridge this disconnect, law enforcement must learn to see abusive and exploitative circumstances through a human trafficking lens, even if those circumstances do not match how movies, television shows, or even well-meaning awareness campaigns portray human trafficking within the United States. The reality of human trafficking is that it most commonly involves an offender who positions themselves as trustworthy and then identifies, recruits, and exploits vulnerable individuals to turn a profit. These same tactics used to identify, recruit,, and coerce victims are also designed to allow the trafficker to escape accountability. However, as Utah’s case against the prolific trafficker Victor Rax illustrates, when law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service professionals collaborate, human trafficking in all its forms can be identified, offenders can be arrested and charged, and victims can be supported to start rebuilding their lives.Forced Criminality Through the Lens of the Victor Rax Case

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Confronting Racial Bias Against Black and African American Victims in the Prosecution of Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Human Trafficking

The history of racial discrimination against Black Americans in the United States created structural barriers and inequalities that Black women continue to face as victims of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, and human trafficking.. The article offers examples of how racial bias has shaped the criminal justice response to these crimes and provides prosecutors with tangible tools for eradicating biases against Black victims. Confronting-Racial-Bias-Against-Black-and-African-American-Victims

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The Problem-Solving Prosecutor: Modern Variations on the Crime Strategies Unit

This comprehensive document provides guidance on developing or enhancing intelligence-driven prosecution through a Crime Strategies Unit (CSU), or through processes that accomplish goals similar to those of a CSU. Based in part on interviews with prosecutors, crime analysts, and other specialists in the field, the guide discusses building foundational partnerships, methods for gathering data and intelligence, and ways in which data can inform and support investigations and prosecutions.

 

The Problem-Solving Prosecutor- Modern Variations on the Crime Strategies Unit

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Proactive Prosecution: Protecting the Record and Overcoming Pre-Trial Issues During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised new issues and exacerbated persisting challenges for prosecutors, who are consistently faced with the task of preparing cases that are victim-centered, sensitive to constitutional guarantees, and resilient to vulnerabilities on appeal. Virtual hearings and other accommodations made to criminal justice processes in light of COVID-19 implicate concerns related to the rights of victims and defendants, as well as the public’s right to open and accessible proceedings. Issues related to pre-trial detention and potential continuances also take on new dimensions during the pandemic. Furthermore, the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, and the complexity it adds to cases, lends itself to the litigation of novel defense motions and challenges. An effective response to this unprecedented time requires proactive consideration of statutes and case law and also engages fundamental principles of pre-trial practice.

This webinar addresses potential legal issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses strategies to prepare for defense challenges and mitigate appellate exposure.

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Women’s Law & Public Policy Fellowship Program at Georgetown Law

Malorie Palmer joins AEquitas, where she will be working to improve access to justice in gender-based violence and human trafficking cases. Malorie is driven by a fierce commitment to preventing and prosecuting sex crimes. Graduating with a joint J.D/M.S.W. (Masters in Social Work) from Indiana University’s McKinney School of Law in 2020, Malorie has already approached the issue from multiple legal vantage points. Whether seeking civil protection orders at Indiana Legal Services, or convictions on behalf of survivors of gender-based violence at Indiana Prosecuting Attorney’s Council, Malorie draws on her M.S.W. to deliver more than legal outcomes. She connects her clients to the care and services they need in order to access meaningful relief. Her fellowship year will be spent refining her skills as an advocate for survivors, and learning from others in the field in order to effectively reduce gender-based violence.