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Taking the Stand Rape Survivors and the Prosecution of Rapists
Amanda Konradi
Book Code: C9718
ISBN: 0-275-99718-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-99718-2
240 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 10/30/2007
List Price: $49.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
  • Endorsement From Patricia Yancey Martin,
    Chair & Daisy Parker Flory Professor of Sociology,
    Florida State University:     This report of 47 women's accounts of their experiences with rape prosecution is thoroughly grounded, highly insightful, and deeply moving. Konradi's personal experience of a rape at age 23 helps her empathize with her informants and lets them fully recount their stories. Readers are taken step-by-step through the prosecutorial process--from deciding to report to the authorities to deciding whether to testify in court--in ways no other study has done. The book extends research by Holmstrom and Burgess from the 1970s by exploring prosecutorial dynamics in more depth and showing the "emotion management strategies" survivors employ. A tremendous plus are Konradi's practical suggestions for procedural and policy changes to improve rape survivors' experiences during prosecution. Prosecutors and advocates as well as survivors and their supporters will benefit from reading and relying upon this excellent book.
Description: Rape is one of the most under-reported crimes in the U.S., and yet it is one of the most vicious, devastating, and violent of all crimes. But getting justice for victims has not always been easy. Often the victim is criminalized, demonized, sexualized, or otherwise attacked for her own part in the rape. But over the years, laws have changed and prosecuting rapists has become more common. Taking the Stand describes the criminal prosecution of rapists from the perspective of the women who survived their violence and explores if, when, and how the criminal justice process can work for them. Walking through the various responses rape victims have had to the criminal justice process, Konradi's vivid analysis provides new information to help raped women decide whether and how they should participate in prosecution, to help friends and family assist them, and to improve criminal justice practice for crime victims generally. Taking the Stand follows 47 rape survivors of varied ages and ethnicities, from the terror and trauma of rape through reporting to law enforcement, police investigation and indictment, hearings for probable cause and trials, plea bargaining, and sentencing. It focuses on women's experiences throughout the process and demonstrates how every experience is different. The problems that rape survivors face in the criminal justice process are not simply the result of the adversarial nature of court, defense tactics, or their own emotional reactions to violent sexual domination. Problems emerge from: (1) the social networks in which survivors are situated, (2) their variable access to emotional and financial resources, (3) their lack of knowledge about the formal and informal practices of courtrooms, (4) their lack of structural power in the criminal justice process, and (5) standard procedures employed by prosecutors and police. By recognizing individual differences in rape survivors, and their rape experiences, criminal justice personnel can better serve victims, and by understanding the layers of criminal investigation and prosecution, survivors and their families can play a more active role on their own terms in an effort to bring about justice. A rape survivor herself, Konradi exposes in the raw language of the victims the very sensitive nature of the topic and the personal obstacles survivors face. By addressing each stage of the criminal justice process, she makes it easier for those who seek justice to make decisions and choose behaviors that will positively affect their outcomes and their personal experiences with the system.
LC Card Number: 2007027859
LCC Class: KF9329
Dewey Class: 345
PDF Catalogs:
Praeger Public Library Spring 2008.pdf
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