This paper examines the theory behind and some examples of the relationships between gender, language, cognition and perception in the context of the criminal justice system. In particular, we consider the language of domestic violence and sexual assault and how words and communication styles...

How do principles or notions concerning fairness of proceedings tend to play out in Australian rape trials? We look at two types of legislative provisions pertaining to evidence in chief and cross-examination that have been altered in the last three decades in Australia. They were enacted to...

This article seeks to draw conclusions about the potential impact of the Crimes Amendment (Abolition of Defensive Homicide) Act 2014 (Vic). We do so by considering whether defensive homicide served as a safety net in the 2014 case of Director of Public Prosecutions (Vic) v Williams. The article...

This chapter examines the collection and dissemination of sentencing data in Australia, with particular emphasis on the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It considers recent developments in the ACT, including the proposed development of a sentencing database and recent sentencing policy...

The suspended sentence has been described as the lsquo;Sword of Damocles' and praised as a means of exploiting the deterrent effects of prison while avoiding some of its human and financial costs. The deterrent value of suspended sentences is said to derive from the fact that the consequences of...

Within the ‘what works' literature, recidivism is typically embraced as the sole or primary outcome measure of success for offender intervention programs. Often, no account is taken of other important measures for evaluating program success. As such, our understanding of what works is based...

Unexplained wealth laws are a relatively recent development in confiscation law, which require a person who lives beyond their apparent means to justify the legitimacy of their financial circumstances. Unexplained wealth laws are currently in place in the Northern Territory and Western...

Confiscation of illegally obtained proceeds of crime is a key strategy for disrupting criminal activity, especially serious and organised crime. Confiscation of this nature serves a number of purposes. First, it seeks to deter crime by reducing its profitability, as well as diminishing...

We first identified that in recent sexual misconduct matters, female teachers received lighter sentences than their male counterparts. Could this be a reflection of community attitudes that minimize the criminality of a female teacher having sexual relations with a male student who is under the...

Differences have been found in elements of rape and in its impact on the victim based on her relationship to the offender. This paper examines these by looking at the differences in responses to and by the survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and in their willingness to disclose or report the...