Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

‘Commonsense’ or ‘Life Experience’: Jurors’ Perceptions of Guilt

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Closing the Justice Gap for Adult and Child Sexual Assault

Abstract

Unlike other criminal offences, the main defences to a sexual assault charge include: (i) that no sexual act took place; or (ii) where lack of consent is an element of the offence, the defendant committed the sexual act but did so with the complainant’s consent; or (iii) the defendant had a mistaken but honest belief in consent (see further Chapter 7).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Directed by Sunny Bergman, produced by Valerie Shuit, screened on the SBS channel on free-to-air TV in Australia on 17 September 2017 (see http://www.sbs.com.au/news/video/340983363943/Slut-Phobia).

  2. 2.

    Gamma-hydroxybutyrate or GHB is an illegal intoxicant.

References

  • Abbey, A. (2011). Alcohol’s role in sexual violence perpetration: Theoretical explanations, existing evidence and future directions. Drug and Alcohol Review, 30, 481–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abbey, A., Ross, L. T., McDuffie, D., & McAuslan, P. (1996). Alcohol and dating risk factors for sexual assault among college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20, 147–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abbey, A., Zawacki, T., Buck, P. O., Clinton, A. M., & McAuslan, P. (2004). Sexual assault and alcohol consumption: What do we know about their relationship and what types of research are still needed? Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 9, 271–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atara, Y. (2015). Trauma from an enactive perspective: The collapse of the knowing-how structure. Adaptive Behavior, 23, 143–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benedet, J. (2014). Sexual assault cases at the Alberta Court of Appeal: The roots of Ewanchuk and the unfinished revolution. Alberta Law Review, 52, 127–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bordini, S., & Sperb, T. M. (2013). Sexual double standard: A review of the literature between 2001 and 2010. Sexuality & Culture, 17, 686–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bovin, M. J., Jager-Hyman, S., Gold, S. D., Marx, B. P., & Sloan, D. M. (2008). Tonic immobility mediates the influence of peritraumatic fear and perceived inescapability on posttraumatic stress symptom severity among sexual assault survivors. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 21, 402–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryan, A. E. B., Norris, J., Abdallah, D. A., Stappenbeck, C. A., Morrison, D. M., Davis, K. C., … Zawacki, T. (2016). Longitudinal change in women’s sexual victimization experiences as a function of alcohol consumption and sexual victimization history: A latent transition analysis. Psychology of Violence, 6, 271–279.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, L. P., Murad, M. H., Paras, M. L., Colbenson, K. M., Sattler, A. L., Goranson, E. N., … Zirakzadeh, A. (2010). Sexual abuse and lifetime diagnosis of psychiatric disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 85, 618–629.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collin-Vézina, D., Daigneault, I., & Hébert, M. (2013). Lessons learned from child sexual abuse research: Prevalence, outcomes, and preventive strategies. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 7, 1753–2000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cossins, A. (2015). Female criminality: Infanticide, moral panics and the female body. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danielson, C. K., Macdonald, A., Amstadter, A. B., Hanson, R., de Arellano, M. A., Saunders, B. E., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2010). Risky behaviors and depression in conjunction with—or in the absence of—lifetime history of PTSD among sexually abused adolescents. Child Maltreatment, 15(1), 101–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K. C., Stoner, S. A., Norris, J., George, W. H., & Masters, N. T. (2009). Women’s awareness of and discomfort with sexual assault cues: Effects of alcohol consumption and relationship type. Violence Against Women, 15, 1106–1125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K. C., George, W. H., & Norris, J. (2004). Women’s responses to unwanted sexual advances: The role of alcohol and inhibition. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28, 333–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devine, D. J., & Caughlin, D. E. (2014). Do they matter? A meta-analytic investigation of individual characteristics and guilt judgments. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 20, 109–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehring, T., & Quack, D. (2010). Emotion regulation difficulties in trauma survivors: The role of trauma type and PTSD symptom severity. Behavior Therapy, 41, 587–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feild, H. S. (1979). Rape trials and jurors’ decisions: A psycholegal analysis of effects of victim, defendant, and case characteristics. Law and Human Behavior, 3, 261–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fusé, T., Forsyth, J. P., Marx, B., Gallup, G. G., & Weaver, S. (2007). Factor structure of the Tonic Immobility Scale in female sexual assault survivors: An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 265–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galliano, G., Noble, L. M., Travis, L. A., & Puechl, C. (1993). Victim reactions during rape/sexual assault: A preliminary study of the immobility response and its correlates. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8, 109–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Girard, A. L., & Senn, C. Y. (2008). The role of the new ‘date rape drugs’ in attributions about date rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23, 3–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grubb, A., & Turner, E. (2012). Rape myth acceptance, gender role conformity and substance use on victim blaming. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17, 443–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heidi, J. M., Marx, B. P., & Forsyth, J. P. (2005). Tonic immobility and childhood sexual abuse: A preliminary report evaluating the sequela of rape-induced paralysis. Behavior Research and Therapy, 43, 1157–1171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jimenez, J. A., & Abreu, J. M. (2003). Race and sex effects on attitudinal perceptions of acquaintance rape. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 252–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, T. J., Wendel, J., & Hamilton, S. (1998). Social anxiety, alcohol expectancies and drinking-game participation. Addictive Behaviors, 23, 65–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonas, S., Bebbington, P., McManus, S., & Meltzer, H. (2011). Sexual abuse and psychiatric disorder in England: Results from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Psychological Medicine, 41, 709–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanin, E. J. (1985). Date rapists: Differential sexual socialization and relative deprivation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 219–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilpatrick, D. G., Acierno, R., Resnick, H. S., Saunders, B. E., & Best, C. L. (1997). A 2-year longitudinal analysis of the relationships between violent assault and substance use in women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 834–847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilpatrick, D. G., Resnick, H. S., Ruggiero, K. J., Conoscenti, L. M., & McCauley, J. (2007). Drug-facilitated, incapacitated, and forcible rape: A national study. Charleston, SC: National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klettke, B., Hallford, D., & Mellor, D. (2016). Perceptions of credibility of sexual abuse victims across generations. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 44, 91–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klippenstine, M. A., Schuller, R. A., & Wall, A.-M. (2007). Perceptions of sexual assault: The expression of gender differences and the impact of target alcohol consumption. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 2620–2641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaFree, G. D., Reskin, B. F., & Visher, C. A. (1985). Jurors’ responses to victims’ behaviour and legal issues in sexual assault trials. Social Problems, 32, 389–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lalor, K., & McElvaney, R. (2010). Child sexual abuse, links to later sexual exploitation/high-risk sexual behavior, and prevention/treatment programs. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 11, 159–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Littleton, H., Grills-Taquechel, A., & Axsom, D. (2009). Impaired and incapacitated rape victims: Assault characteristics and post-assault experiences. Violence and Victims, 24, 439–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, K. R., Wasarhaley, N. E., Golding, J. M., & Simcic, T. (2013). Who bought the drinks? Juror perceptions of intoxication in a rape trial. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28, 3205–3222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marx, B. P., Forsyth, J. P., Gallup, G. G., Fusé, T., & Lexington, J. M. (2008). Tonic immobility as an evolved predator defense: Implications for sexual assault survivors. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 15, 74–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nurius, P. S., Norris, J., Macy, R. J., & Huang, B. (2004). Women’s situational coping with acquaintance sexual assault. Violence Against Women, 10, 450–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogden, P., & Minton, K. (2000). Sensorimotor psychotherapy: One method for processing traumatic memory. Traumatology, 6, 149–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Hare, T., Shen, C., & Sherrer, M. (2010). High-risk behaviors and drinking-to-cope as mediators of lifetime abuse and PTSD symptoms in clients with severe mental illness. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 255–263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polusny, M., & Follette, V. (1995). Long-term correlates of child sexual abuse: Theory and review of the empirical literature. Applied and Preventative Psychology, 4, 143–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuller, R. A., & Wall, A.-M. (1998). The effects of defendant and complainant intoxication on mock jurors’ judgments of sexual assault. Pyschology of Women Quarterly, 22, 555–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schutte, J. W., & Hosch, H. M. (1997). Gender differences in sexual assault verdicts: A meta-analysis. Journal of Social Behavior & Personality, 12, 759–772.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott-Ham, M., & Burton, F. (2005). A study of blood and urine alcohol concentrations in cases of alleged drug-facilitated sexual assault in the UK over a 3-year period. Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine, 13, 107–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegmund, A., & Wotjak, C. T. (2007). A mouse model of posttraumatic stress disorder that distinguishes between conditioned and sensitised fear. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 41, 848–860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simms, C. M., Noel, N. E., & Maisto, S. A. (2007). Rape blame as a function of alcohol presence and resistant type. Addictive Behaviors, 32, 2766–2776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spohn, C., & Holleran, D. (2001). Prosecuting sexual assault: A comparison of charging decisions in sexual assault cases involving strangers, acquaintances, and intimate partners. Justice Quarterly, 18, 651–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanko, E., & Williams, E. (2009). Reviewing rape and rape allegations in London: What are the vulnerabilities of the victims who report to the police? In M. Horvath & J. Brown (Eds.), Rape: Challenging contemporary thinking (pp. 207–228). Collumpton, UK: Willan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steel, J., & Herlitz, C. (2005). The association between childhood and adolescent sexual abuse and proxies for sexual risk behavior: A random sample of the general population of Sweden. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1141–1153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, D. N., & Jacquin, K. M. (2010). Juror perceptions in a rape trial: Examining the complainant’s ingestion of chemical substances prior to sexual assault. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 19, 853–874.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Temkin, J., & Krahé, B. (2008). Sexual assault and the justice gap: A question of attitude. Oxford: Hart Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Testa, M., & Parks, K. A. (1996). The role of women’s alcohol consumption in sexual victimization. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 1, 217–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Testa, M., Van Zile-Tamsen, C., & Livingston, J. A. (2007). Prospective prediction of women’s sexual victimization by intimate and nonintimate male perpetrators. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 52–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trickett, P. K., Noll, J. G., & Putnam, F. W. (2011). The impact of sexual abuse on female development: Lessons from a multigenerational, longitudinal research study. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 453–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, S. E., Karabatsos, G., & Koss, M. P. (1999). Alcohol and sexual assault in a national sample of college women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 603–625.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dorn, R. A., Mustillo, S., Elbogen, E. B., Dorsey, S., Swanson, J. W., & Swartz, M. S. (2005). The effects of early sexual abuse on adult risky sexual behaviors among persons with severe mental illness. Child Abuse and Neglect, 29, 1265–1279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Volchan, E., Souza, G. G., Franklin, C. M., Norte, C. E., Rocha-Rego, V., Oliveira, J. M., … Freire Coutinho, E. S. (2011). Is there tonic immobility in humans? Biological evidence from victims of traumatic stress. Biological Psychology, 88, 13–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wall, A., & Schuller, R. (2000). Sexual assault and defendant/victim intoxication: Jurors’ perceptions of guilt. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 253–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, K., Danielson, C. K., McCauley, J. L., Saunders, B. E., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Resnick, H. S. (2012). National prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder among sexually revictimized adolescent, college, and adult household-residing women. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69, 935–942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, K., Resnick, H. S., Danielson, C. K., McCauley, J. L., Saunders, B. E., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2014). Patterns of drug and alcohol use associated with lifetime sexual revictimization and current posttraumatic stress disorder among three national samples of adolescent, college, and household-residing women. Addictive Behaviors, 39, 684–689.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, A. A., & Bornstein, B. H. (2006). The effects of victim’s substance use and relationship closeness on mock jurors’ judgments in an acquaintance rape case. Sex Roles, 54, 547–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Honorary Professor and former Professor of Law and Criminology Faculty of Law , University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Anne Cossins

Authors
  1. Anne Cossins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Cossins .

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Cossins, A. (2020). ‘Commonsense’ or ‘Life Experience’: Jurors’ Perceptions of Guilt. In: Closing the Justice Gap for Adult and Child Sexual Assault. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-32051-3_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-32051-3_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-32050-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-32051-3

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation