Sexual Violence on Trial provides a contemporary critical examination of the investigation, prosecution and cultural contexts of sexual violence. It draws on Northern Ireland as a case study, while also drawing on experiences from other jurisdictions across the United Kingdom and island of Ireland.
Rachel Killean is Senior Lecturer in Law at Queen's University Belfast.
Eithne Dowds is Lecturer in Law at Queen's University Belfast.
Anne-Marie McAlinden is Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at Queen's University Belfast.
Foreword
Part I: The Criminal Justice Process
1 Sexual Offence Trials in Northern Ireland: The Cultural and Legal Dimensions
Rachel Killean, Eithne Dowds and Anne-Marie McAlinden
2 Reflections on Practice: Experiences of Providing Care to Victims in the Rowan Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Northern Ireland
Gail Jackson
3 Sexual Crime - A Policing Perspective
Zoe McKee
4 Serious Sex Offences in England and Wales: Defending the Indefensible
Jeremy Dein and Luke Marsh
5 Supporting Victims through the Trial Process
Geraldine Hanna
6 Sexual Offence Trials: The Practical Challenges for a Judge Tasked to Deliver Justice.
Judge Patricia Smyth
Part II: Social and Cultural Influences
7 Asking for It: How Rape Myths Can Prejudice Trials and Potential Solutions
Rosie Cowan
8 Forced to Penetrate Cases: Deconstructing Myths and Stereotypes
Siobhan Weare
9 Harmful Sexual Behaviours Among Children and Young People On-Line: Cultural and Regulatory Challenges
Elizabeth Agnew and Anne-Marie McAlinden
10 Exploring Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Practitioners Perspective
Sonya McMullan
11 A Hierarchy of Masculinity and Sexuality: Gendering the Police, and the Obfuscation of Policing Sexual Violence Against Non-Heterosexual Victims
Aliraza Javaid
Part III: Comparative Perspective
12 Regulation of Media and Social Media Comment on Rape Trials: Achieving Best Practice
Susan Leahy
13 Rethinking Affirmative Approaches to Consent: A Step in the Right Direction
Eithne Dowds
14 Legal Representation for Sexual Assault Complainants
Rachel Killean
15 Restorative Justice after Sexual Violence: An International Perspective
Marie Keenan
16 Challenges in the Investigation and Prosecution of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences in Scotland
Michele Burman and Sandy Brindley
Part IV: Alternative Perspectives and Future Reforms
17 Contextualising Violence: An Anti-Carceral Feminist Perspective
Gillian McNaull
18 Breaking the Silence to End the Violence: 'Speaking Out' as Feminist Strategy
Tanya Serisier
19 Cultural Scaffolding and the Long View of Rape Trials
Olivia Smith
20 Putting Sexual Violence on Trial: Challenges and Future Directions
Eithne Dowds, Anne-Marie McAlinden and Rachel Killean
Index