Browsing by Author "Rumney, Phil"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    A Comparative Analysis of Operation Bluestone: A Specialist Rape Investigation Unit - Summary Report
    (2019-06-14) Rumney, Phil; McPhee, Duncan; Fenton, Rachel; Williams, Anneleise; Solle, Josie
    This summary report sets out the findings of an evaluation into the performance of a specialist rape investigation unit and a non-specialist comparator.
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    The construction of consent in cases of male rape and sexual assault
    (Ashgate, 2004) Morgan-Taylor, Martin; Rumney, Phil
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    The Evidential Value of Electronic Communications Data in Rape and Sexual Offence Cases
    (Sweet and Maxwell, 2020) Rumney, Phil; McPhee, D.
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    Perceptions of consent in male rape: evidence and inclusive policymaking
    (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016-04-28) Rumney, Phil; Hanley, Natalia
    Interest in evidence-based policy making in the UK and elsewhere has been documented over many years. There has also been much attention given to the issue of sexual violence from policy makers – virtually all of this attention has been gendered in the sense that it has focused on female victims and male perpetrators. Given the gendered nature of rape this is hardly surprising. However, to say that sexual violence and victimisation is a gendered phenomenon is not to suggest that males are invulnerable to sexual violation. Indeed, the empirical data makes clear that ‘each and every body is permeable and appropriable’. While the inclusion of males within the legal definition of rape under English law occurred more than twenty years ago, policy development has not been similarly re-framed. It is the contention of this chapter that policy makers have failed to appropriately consider the experience of adult male victim-survivors as part of the UK government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy and what is needed is an examination of female and male sexual victimisation at the policy level. This chapter will use findings from an empirical study of attitudes towards adult male rape, along with other data to examine the way in which myths and assumptions shape understandings of adult male rape and the credibility of complainants. It will be argued that given that one of the objectives of the VAWG strategy is to change attitudes and behaviours in the context of female victim-survivors, a similar approach is needed for males. This chapter points to the various ways in which this neglect of male victim-survivors causes harm and why awareness raising and challenging problematic attitudes is important. It concludes by arguing for gender inclusive policy making in the context of sexual violence.
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    A police specialist rape investigation unit: a comparative analysis of performance and victim care
    (Taylor & Francis, 2019-04-25) Rumney, Phil; McPhee, Duncan; Fenton, Rachel; Williams, Anneleise
    This article examines quantitative and qualitative data in an analysis of the workings of a specialist rape investigation unit and compares its performance with a non-specialist investigative approach. This is the first study to examine the work of a specialist rape investigation unit in this way. The research finds that the specialist unit outperformed the non-specialist investigative approach in many, though not all performance measures, including charging and ‘reached court’ rates in rape cases, retention of cases characterised by complex victim vulnerability, allocation of Sexual Assault Investigation Trained (SAIT) officers, rate of referral to Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA) and accuracy of crime recording. Further, police officer interview data suggest that team working and support, communication and a sense of common purpose were distinctive features of the specialist unit, when contrasted to experience of working in a non-specialist policing environment. These findings have policy and resource implications for the policing of rape and the need to achieve the best possible investigative standards in sexual offence cases, including the provision of appropriate care and addressing the needs of highly vulnerable victims. The article concludes by arguing that there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that investigative specialism is a crucial element in the police response to rape.
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    Purported False Allegations of Rape, Child Abuse and Non-Sexual Violence: Nature, Characteristics and Implications
    (Sage, 2017-12-01) Rumney, Phil; McCartan, Kieran
    The subject of false rape allegations is shrouded in anxiety, confusion and misunderstanding. Despite a growing body of quality research, there continue to be significant gaps in our knowledge about the topic, including the phenomenon of false allegations beyond rape and other sexual offences. The purpose of this article is to seek to deepen our understanding by examining a unique data set comprising 701 cases involving individuals who purport to have been the subject of false accusations of rape, child sexual abuse, child abuse/neglect and other forms of wrongdoing. This article aims to provide an insight into the nature and characteristics of these allegations and explore the implications of the data for several research and policy questions. It will also critically examine some of the current literature and scholarly claims in this area, particularly around the prevalence of false allegations and critique claims that discussion of this topic is dangerous and best avoided. Finally, the article sets out a future research agenda in which the complex issues raised by false allegations can be carefully considered, and the scale, impact and pathways to accusation can be better understood.
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    Rape, inequality and the criminal justice response in England: The importance of age and gender
    (Sage, 2019-07-16) Lilley Walker, Sarah-Jane; Rumney, Phil; Hester, Marianne; McPhee, Duncan; Williams, Anneleise; Bates, Lis; Patsios, Demi
    This article draws upon quantitative and content analysis of 585 reports of rape recorded within two police force areas in England in 2010 and in 2014 tracking individual incidents to eventual outcome to examine the impact, if any, of intersecting inequalities on trajectories affected by certain types of sexual violence case and more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system compared to men and older women, they were not necessarily more likely to achieve a conviction. The findings also confirm that some of the most vulnerable victims-survivors of sexual violence, especially those with poor mental health, are still not achieving criminal justice. Victims-survivors from Black and minority ethnic group or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer groups are underrepresented within the criminal justice system, implying these groups are not seeking a criminal justice response in the same way as ‘white’ heterosexual victims-survivors.
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    Torturing Terrorists: Exploring the Limits of Law, Human Rights and Academic Freedom
    (Routledge, 2014-11-13) Rumney, Phil
    This book considers the theoretical, policy and empirical arguments relevant to the debate concerning the legalisation of interrogational torture. Torturing Terrorists examines, as part of a consequentialist analysis, the nature and impact of torture and the implications of its legal regulation on individuals, institutions and wider society. In making an argument against the use of torture, the book engages in a wide ranging interdisciplinary analysis of the arguments and claims that are put forward by the proponents and opponents of legalised torture. This book examines the ticking bomb hypothetical and explains how the component parts of the hypothetical are expansively interpreted in theory and practice. It also considers the effectiveness of torture in producing ‘ticking bomb’ and ‘infrastructure’ intelligence and examines the use of interrogational torture and coercion by state officials in Northern Ireland, Algeria, Israel, and as part of the CIA’s ‘High Value Detainee’ interrogation programme. As part of an empirical slippery slope argument, this book examines the difficulties in drafting the text of a torture statute; the difficulties of controlling the use of interrogational torture and problems such a law could create for state officials and wider society. Finally, it critically evaluates suggestions that debating the legalisation of torture is dangerous and should be avoided.
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    The use of syndrome evidence in rape trials
    (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002) Morgan-Taylor, Martin; Rumney, Phil