Ph.D student : Jennifer Boirot
University of Versailles-St-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Center for Sociological Research on Law and Criminal Justice Institutions (CESDIP)
This work was supported by grants from the European Institute of Expertise and Expert (EEEI).
In order to answer these questions, we first need to clarify what we mean by “forensic psychiatry” and “sexual crimes”. We must return, in the introduction, to the History of Forensic Psychiatry as well as to specific criminal law concerning sexual offences in each country studied. Means :
– Literature searches, reading scientific articles, studying criminal law and criminal procedure.
In order to understand the forensic psychiatry practice, we need to make, in each country studied, some :
– Consultations with criminal files and forensic psychiatric reports for rape cases.
-Semi-structured interviews with forensic psychiatrists, judges, prosecutors.
-Observations of trials and forensic psychiatric examinations.
- Semi-structured interviews :
|
Profession Country |
Forensic Psychiatrists |
Judges |
TOTAL |
| France |
15 |
8 |
23 |
| Romania |
8 |
6 |
14 |
| Sweden |
4 |
2 |
6 |
| England |
9 |
1 |
10 |
| Spain |
7 |
5 |
12 |
| TOTAL |
43 |
22 |
65 |
- Observations :
|
Country |
Trial Hearings observations |
Obs. Forensic psychiatric examination in situ |
Obs. Expertise (Court Records) |
TOTAL (observations) |
| France |
4 |
– |
50 (*) |
54 |
| Romania |
– |
2 |
5 |
7 |
| Sweden |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| England |
1 (two days) |
– |
3 |
4 |
| Spain |
4 |
3 |
8 |
15 |
| TOTAL |
10 |
6 |
68 |
84 |
(*) : Training/Dissertation for the Master Degree (2009)
FIELDWORKS CARRIED OUT DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS :
My Ph.D is a five country comparison (France, England, Romania, Spain and Sweden) of the uses of Forensic Psychiatric evidence regarding offender/offence characteristics during sexual violence trials.
For three years, I have conducted research both in France, but also in each of the countries studied :
- October 2009 – June 2011 : Work in France (readings, interviews, preparation of research stays abroad)
- 1st July 2011 – 30th September 2011 : Romania, city of Iasi and Bucharest.
University « Alexandru Ioan Cuza » in Iasi ; under the supervision of Professor Calin Scripcaru, Professor of Psychiatry and Manager of Socola Hospital in Iasi, and Professor Toader Tudorel, Dean of the University of Law in Iasi and Judge of the Constitutional Court of Bucharest.
Scholarship : Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie.
- 20th November 2011 – 20th December 2011 : Sweden, city of Gothenburg and Stockholm.
Grants : Center for Sociological Research on Law and Criminal Justice Institutions (CESDIP, UMR CNRS)
- 4th February 2012 – 30th March 2012 : England, city of London
University : Partnership with « Middlesex University », with the « Crime and Conflict Research Center », London ; under the supervision of Vincenzo Ruggiero, Professor of Sociology, Director of the Crime and Conflict Research Centre and Dr Miranda Horvath, Senior Lecturer of Forensic Psychology.
Grants : European Institute of Expertise and Expert (EEEI) and Groupe Européen de Recherche sur les Normativités (GERN, UMR CNRS)
- 20th May 2012 – 15th June 2012 : Spain, city of Barcelona
University : Collaboration with Sara Pons, Lawyer and member of ESADE Business&Law Schools, Institute of Forensic Evidence and Probative Law (IPDP), Barcelona ; and Rafael Orellana, President of the Catalan Association of Judicial Expert and Forensic, Barcelona.
Grants : European Institute of Expertise and Expert (EEEI)
ABSTRACT :
Since few years, we can notice a change in the way the media, the political and judicial actors deal with sexual offences. Little by little, the mentality of the society on this type of crimes has evolved ; the word of the victims has been released.
Justice and authorities have become aware of the reality of these crimes, and they had to react in order to adapt the criminal justice response : reform of criminal law, new sentences, and laws to prevent recurrence…
Face to these changes and to the desire to better understand the sexual crimes in order to manage the deviant more efficiently, the place and the role of forensic psychiatrists have increased.
