This one decision could upend her life, starting her on a path that might expose her worst or most terrifying moments to the world, and force her to relive them day after day. “It’s a very daunting and a very personal decision,” says Jane Anderson, a former sex-crimes prosecutor who now works for AEquitas, a group that advises prosecutors on sexual-assault cases. And by law, the odds are against her: “The system isn’t designed to support victims. The system is designed to provide defendants with their constitutional rights.”
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.
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.”
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.
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
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
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
Crime Strategies Units: Quick Guide
This brief overview of The Problem-Solving Prosecutor: Modern Variations on the Crime Strategies Unit summarizes the core elements of intelligence-driven prosecution models.
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.
Innovative Prosecution Solutions for Combating Violent Crime: Grant Opportunities for Prosecutors
AEquitas and the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) hosted a pop-up webinar to discuss application eligibility and the process for applying for FY’21 Innovative Prosecution Solutions for Combating Violent Crime (IPS) funding. The presentation focused on program requirements and highlighted examples of successful proposals.
