tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57647196557644323032024-03-08T01:22:51.147-08:00Aggression Blog: Using Science to Reduce ViolenceThere is a need to communicate scientific findings in an accessible manner to the public. In this blog I strive to connect real life examples of extreme human violence to the latest research and to larger public policy issues, with the hope of spreading awareness of interventions that may reduce interpersonal violence.
The views expressed are mine and do not reflect those of my employers or other researchers cited unless expressly noted.
Leonardo Bobadillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12121927563952500834noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764719655764432303.post-18784023687628136932018-10-02T14:47:00.001-07:002018-10-05T11:29:14.550-07:00Restorative Justice and the #MeToo movement: The Kavanaugh hearings as a case study<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“All sexual assault victims should be able to decide for
themselves whether their private experience is made public.” Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, 9-26-18.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This important, yet underreported statement by Dr. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Blasey</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ford
during her </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4945864/Ford-Testimony-2018-09-26.pdf">testimony</a></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
as part of confirmation hearings to the Supreme Court for Judge Brett Kavanaugh,
exemplifies how the wishes of sexual assault victims are often at odds with the
law enforcement system that depends on the rapid reporting of crimes and a justice
system demands a </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment6.html">speedy, impartial trial
of the accused</a></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/01/most-violent-and-property-crimes-in-the-u-s-go-unsolved/">only
approximately 32.5% of all rapes/sexual assaults are reported</a></span>. This
low rate is the combination of complex factors. Contrary to the belief
expressed <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1043126336473055235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1043126336473055235&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fsoloish%2Fwp%2F2018%2F09%2F21%2Ftrump-asks-why-christine-blasey-ford-didnt-report-her-allegation-sooner-survivors-answer-with-whyididntreport%2F">even
by those in highest echelons of power</a></span>, severity of assault does not
always lead to report of assaults. In fact, severity could depress reporting
rates. Data from the BJS indicate that approximately 35% of the victims who did
not report the assault cited “<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvsv9410.pdf">fear of reprisal” or
that “authorities could not/would not do anything to help”</a></span> as
reasons for not reporting assaults. Unfortunately, there are scores of reports showing
that even in cases with abundant evidence, investigations are often not
rigorous if the perpetrator <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bill-cosby-timeline-htmlstory.html">is
well known and liked</a></span>, or <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/16/sports/errors-in-inquiry-on-rape-allegations-against-fsu-jameis-winston.html">influential
in the community</a></span>. In addition, after the report, victims who are
often minors, are frequently <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/07/10/how-a-16-year-old-rape-victim-becomes-an-internet-meme/?utm_term=.f2f52ef995c1">ridiculed</a></span>
and sabotaged by members of their community, even by those <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/us/steubenville-school-superintendent-indicted-in-rape-case.html">supposed
to protect them</a></span>, or more egregiously, have even been <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/opinion/sunday/sexual-assault-victims-lying.html">threatened
with, or persecuted themselves</a></span>.
In addition, in some cases where the perpetrator is convicted, the
sentences can be extremely lenient even for <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/man-kidnap-choke-masturbate-woman-alaska-anchorage-prison-pass-justin-schneider-a8553941.html">crimes
with elements linked to high risk for recidivism</a></span>, further eroding
trust of potential victims in the system that is supposed to protect them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The aforementioned issues are magnified when the cases involve
adolescents, alcohol intoxication, and like Dr. Blasey Ford’s case, they are
decades in the past. These cases are particularly thorny because of valid concerns
regarding the <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/health/memory-rape-trauma-survivors.html">reliability</a></span>
and <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4409058/">malleability</a></span>
of memory for traumatic events, and is compounded by fears of political
motivations, and of false accusations, which the data suggest occur in <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/Publications_NSVRC_Overview_False-Reporting.pdf">a
small fraction of the cases</a></span>. Importantly, Dr. Blasey Ford’s case has
arisen as part of a supreme court nomination during a time of powerful partisan
division, and under the more intense scrutiny of sexual allegations brought
upon by the <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/sexual-misconduct">#MeToo movement</a></span>. In
short, this case collects almost every controversial issue associated with
sexual abuse reporting and has resulted in a process that is far removed from
Dr. Blasey Ford’s expressed desire for privacy. How then can a victim achieve a
measure of justice for crimes that may have occurred decades ago and for they
may not want to bring up publicly due to very valid concerns for their safety in
an intensely public case? How can it be done in a way that lets victims “decide
whether their private experience is made public” and not be re-traumatized while
also respecting the rights of the accused who must be <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/presumption_of_innocence">presumed
innocent</a></span>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One answer is that in our current system, the victim cannot.
Regardless of whether you believe Dr. Ford’s, or Judge Kavanaugh’s version of
the events (<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/01/poll-kavanaugh-ford-opinion-854860">or
don’t know what/who to believe</a></span>)<sup> 1</sup>, for those of us who
see ourselves as strong supporters of the rights of victims <i>and</i> the accused, the congressional
hearings were a reminder of the deep flaws of our <i>retributive justice</i> system. This system relies on an adversarial
process in which the state pursues the accused and imposes punishment with
little input from the victim. The congressional hearings were an almost surreal, steroidal version of the adversarial system at work: A<i><u> prosecutor</u></i> selected by <i><u>supporters</u></i> of the <i><u>alleged perpetrator</u></i> interviewed <i><u>a potential victim</u></i> of sex abuse <i><u>on national TV(!)</u></i>. Such as system
incentivizes competition between defense and prosecution. Prosecutions are sometimes
not pursued if they are not perceived as “winnable” <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/opinions/arlington-texas/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.647a0da60f3f">even
if there is substantial evidence</a></span> to support them. In other high
profile cases, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/us/08duke.html">wrongful prosecutions</a></span>
and <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/25/local/la-me-rape-dismiss-20120525">convictions</a></span>
follow due to community pressure and/or if the accused fit a certain profile
and narrative. In retributive justice systems, rehabilitation is only seen as a
secondary or tertiary goal to control and punishment of behavior resulting in a
self-defeating system from an <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2928219">economic</a></span>
to a <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/03/12/young-black-and-male-in-america/a-failing-criminal-justice-system">social</a></span>
perspective. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, there is an alternative. I want you to take an
imaginary time travel trip to 2012, when Dr. Blasey Ford disclosed in therapy
that she had been sexually assaulted as an adolescent. Imagine that at that
time, she had been able to find a <i>private,
neutral</i> intermediary who would be willing to contact Judge Kavanaugh and
mediate a meeting. In this meeting, the parties would be able to present
evidence for and against the event. The victim would be able to state the
lasting damage that the assailant left, and the assailant could express their
remorse. Both parties could mutually arrive at a peaceful, <i>private</i> and proactive resolution that includes ways for the
assailant to make appropriate remands.
Sounds far fetched? It is
not. These are the basic premises of <span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><a href="http://restorativejustice.org/#sthash.UpALQxsy.dpbs">Restorative Justice</a></i></span><i> </i>(RJ), an approach strongly influenced
by cultural and spiritual traditions of conflict resolution among the
indigenous peoples of Oceania and North America, and reintroduced and
formalized as an approach in the United States largely </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">based</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> on the work of </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Little-Restorative-Justice-Books-Peacebuilding/dp/1561483761">Howard
Zehr</a></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Restorative Justice’s focus is broader than mediation. It aims
“to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific
offence and to collectively identify and address harms, needs and obligations,
in order to heal and put things as right as possible.” (Zehr, 2002). Restorative
justice principles and approaches underlied the “Truth and Reconciliation
Commission” which </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-04-06/south-africas-imperfect-progress-20-years-after-truth-reconciliation-commission">helped
South Africa</a></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> move away from apartheid. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Restorative Justice approaches have,
startlingly, helped victims and perpetrators of genocide in Rwanda move forward
in reconciliation villages and live peacefully and <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/world/africa/rwandans-carry-on-side-by-side-two-decades-after-genocide.html?_r=0">collaboratively
as neighbors</a></span>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the United States, RJ approaches have been used in
various <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/implementing/balanced.html">juvenile justice
systems</a></span>. This last point is important. The
alleged offenses by Judge Kavanaugh occurred when he was an adolescent and perhaps
others, allegedly, as a young adult. The best data available on the <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2375127">trajectory
of the approximately 10% of men in college who engage in sexually abusive
behavior</a></span> indicates that 93% of them engaged in it for a time-limited
pattern, and only 2.1% showed an increase in abuse. This is not to minimize the
enormous suffering that these men inflict on their victims. But for those of us who are strong advocates
of criminal reform and believers in <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/04/21/bank-robber-turned-georgetown-law-professor-is-just-getting-started-on-his-goals/?utm_term=.be9fcf599cac">change
and redemption</a></span>, these data point to RJ as a viable way for victims
to find justice and redress from people who arguably may have changed, and <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/vio.2014.0022#utm_campaign=vio&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pr">may
not see themselves as abusers</a></span>. Recently, Beth Jacob wrote <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/09/28/feature/i-considered-exposing-my-rapist-then-i-thought-about-his-wife/?utm_term=.9ba660ca6e80">a
poignant piece</a></span> in the Washington Post about how she found the man
who raped her years ago when she was a college student but she decided not to
report because “…as I inventory potential consequences, I know my silence will
go on protecting me and…my rapist’s wife by not naming him, I spare us both. I
remain safe from scrutiny and from reliving another brutalizing round of doubt.” Hers is a powerful statement on the double
suffering of victims. Would it not be better if there was a system for Beth to
approach her alleged abuser, provide a way for her to state her injury, for him
to state his remorse and propose appropriate redress without destroying lives
but improving them in a way that is satisfactory to both? Would not that be a better alternative? Would
not that be justice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It certainly feels that way to me. Importantly, some data support this feeling.
Systematic studies on the effects of RJ are still relatively few, but they
indicate that victims and offenders report greater sense of satisfaction with
the resolution compared to retributive justice, offenders tend to have greater
compliance with court requirements, there may be reductions in offender
dangerousness and recidivism and it reduces cost of judicial punishment while
fostering citizenships and sense of community (Latimer, et al., 2005). This is
of particular importance for sexual offenses because greater accountability,
but also sense of belonging and community in part of offenders are linked to
lower recidivism rates. Considering that many of the #MeToo victims may be
dealing with the sequelae of abuse that occurred many years ago, as statutes of
limitations may have run out, or may have deep personal reasons to not seek
recourse in the retributive justice system, RJ can provide an avenue for them.
It could provide a private way that many victims would prefer, to seek redress
that helps them heal, and have the added bonus of providing offenders with the
possibility of expressing remorse and address their wrong, a possibility that
many <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/copaken-kavanaugh/571042/">may
be very willing to do</a></span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I cannot pretend to know how Judge Kavanaugh may have
reacted if in 2012 if he had been approached by Dr. Blasey Ford in a RJ context.
But it is likely that it would have been better than the current state of affairs.
It almost certainly would have been better for Dr. Blasey Ford whose life was literally
turned upside down as she had flee her home, receive death threats, and be on
receiving end of a campaign of smears, to testify at a hearing where she “did
not want to be” and “terrified” her. No
victim deserves to be put on actual or a metaphorical trial for their behavior decades
ago as minors, in a public forum filled with political grandstanding, for the
nation to observe in a process that from a victims’ advocate and law
enforcement perspective <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/health/dr-ford-sexual-assault.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article">may
have been more hurtful than helpful</a></span>. We must provide a better alternative
for future victims who report abuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the momentum of #MeToo continues, more and more victims will
formally and informally report their abuse, and we will continue to have these
same issues play over and over. This has deep repercussions not just for the
victims but for the accused and society at large. Much <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-are-all-christine-ford-or-brett-kavanaugh/2018/09/29/d19253ec-c36c-11e8-b338-a3289f6cb742_story.html?utm_term=.55dd12a7943d">is
being written</a></span> about the deep identification that many felt with one
of the protagonists during the hearings, and of surveys indicating that anxiety
of “trials by public opinion,” and being “presumed guilty until proven
innocent” <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-trauma-for-a-man-male-fury-and-fear-rises-in-gop-in-defense-of-kavanaugh/2018/10/01/f48499a2-c595-11e8-b2b5-79270f9cce17_story.html?utm_term=.e97296f5e88d">animates
much of the opposition</a></span> to the #MeToo movement. Many have also
written about <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/09/19/649626030/can-the-men-accused-of-sexual-assault-in-the-metoo-movement-return-to-public-lif">what
is “enough punishment”</a></span> for the (mostly) men who have lost their
careers as result of allegations but not being charged with a crime. Once
again, perhaps RJ can provide a way to address these concerns. If there is a
system by which accuser and accused can mutually agree to convene without the
prying eye of a public that may be detrimental to fact-finding and resolution, then
fears of injustice driven by non-stop, ratings-driven news coverage could
subside. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Similarly, I do not know what is “enough” punishment especially
in cases that result in formal charges and in those that do not, but have
social and labor repercussions. I do
know that victims of these cases are perhaps in the best position to make that
judgment and should be included in such resolutions. I also know, that at some point, an offender
must be allowed to <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-the-predator-shane-black-steven-wilder-striegel-20180906-story.html">reintegrate</a></span>
into society. Not doing so denies justice and the data shows, it increases risk
for all of us. Ethical and <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/famous-abusers-seek-easy-forgiveness-rosh-hashanah-teaches-us-repentance-is-hard/2018/09/06/c2dc2cac-b0ab-11e8-9a6a-565d92a3585d_story.html?utm_term=.0a037d48e4ef">religious
traditions</a></span> that have proscriptions on the role of repentance and
forgiveness are part of the foundation of RJ.
Having both victim and offender arrive at a consensus of what is enough
contrition and repentance to obtain forgiveness is a close to justice as we may
be able to be in an era where retributive justice may be an unavailable or
undesirable recourse. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I’m proposing is an alternative that may bring a
measure of comfort, justice and restoration that our current, flawed
retributive system does not for many people, especially for those with old
wounds that they do not care to revisit in a public forum. The current system
has failed many abused and accused, why not try a better alternative?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<sup><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">1</span></sup><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
issue of whose version of the events is accurate is not a point that will be of
discussion here. A very good <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/opinion/blasey-kavanaugh-assault-allegations-truth.html">“This
I Believe”</a></span> comes close to what I considered may be the most balanced
opinion on the case. An FBI investigation has been launched as of this writing,
ideally it will produce helpful evidence. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Note of thank you to <a href="https://kgordonlab.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Dr. Katherine Gordon</a> for comments on a draft, and my first doctoral student, Dr. Allison Foerschener, now a post-doctoral researcher at the Florida Department of Corrections whose passion for RJ go me interested in it. </span>Leonardo Bobadillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12121927563952500834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764719655764432303.post-1182457608386784232015-10-03T00:25:00.002-07:002016-06-12T09:26:05.514-07:00Changing Media Reporting Practices to Reduce Mass Shootings in the U.S<br />
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The Papageno Effect and Spree Murder-Suicide<o:p></o:p></div>
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As news with details about <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/oregon-umpqua-community-college-shooting/index.html"><strike>yesterday’s shooting in Oregon emerge</strike></a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/13/us/orlando-nightclub-shooting.html" target="_blank">today's shooting in Orlando</a> there
will be much speculation regarding the shooter’s motivation and what should be
done to prevent future incidents. As I have been thinking and <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9335683&fileId=S0140525X13003361">writing
a about this issue</a> in the past year, I’m becoming more convinced that the apparent
motivations of the shooters may not matter as much as most people may think, and
the main solutions that are usually proposed (namely gun control and improved
mental health) may be unfeasible, or will not work as desired. That is not to
say that nothing can be done. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>Already there are reports about <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/oregon-shooter-reportedly-asked-people-if-they-were-christian-before-firing/">possible
religious motive</a> and political figures on one side of the political
spectrum are calling for restrictions to firearms while others say that “<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/presidential-candidates-offer-support-victims-umpqua-community-college/story?id=34183319">it
sounds like another mental health problem</a>.” These two positions are technically
correct, and yet neither of them may present a solution to the current problem.
First of all: Yes, the available evidence convincingly shows that restrictions to
means like guns <a href="http://actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/sites/actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/files/Reducing%20a%20Suicidal%20Persons%20Access%20to%20Lethal.pdf">reduce
suicide</a> and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/07/gun-violence-study-chicago/1969227/">gun
related</a> death rates, while increased access to mental health resources <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16669716">has similar effects</a>. However,
in our current political climate, legislation that will lead to restrictions to
guns access is unlikely to pass. Some of the most horrible mass shootings
by civilians have already occurred. Kindergartners have been killed,
movie-goers ambushed, and yet, legislation to restrict guns in these States has
stalled or resulted in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/us/colorado-lawmaker-concedes-defeat-in-recall-over-gun-law.html?_r=0">successful
recall votes of legislators who support them</a>. In fact, even research on the
effect of guns on mass violence <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/12/gun_violence_research_nra_and_congress_blocked_gun_control_studies_at_cdc.html">has
been blocked</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Similarly, mental health funding has <a href="http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2014/12/15/some-states-retreat-on-mental-health-funding">stalled
or decreased</a> in many states even in the face of <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/september/fbi-releases-study-on-active-shooter-incidents/pdfs/a-study-of-active-shooter-incidents-in-the-u.s.-between-2000-and-2013">increasing
mass shootings</a>. Of note, while increased access to improved mental
health resources may aid the most severely mentally ill individuals, <a href="http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/mental-illness-and-violence">they
are not at higher risk</a> to commit these type of mass shootings. While some of these shooters, but definitely not the majority, have had <i>some</i> contact with mental health services, they were not severely
mentally ill. Indeed, that is one of the biggest challenges in these cases. These men
have carried themselves with a veneer of normalcy and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Collier_Township_shooting">were well
adapted</a> or even <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/father-of-virgin-killer-elliot-rodger-describes-his-familys-american-horror-story">privileged</a>,
making their detection nearly impossible by health services and law enforcement.
In fact, we can cite that currently, the NSA and other intelligence and law
enforcement agencies are engaged in one of the most detailed, technologically
advanced, and all-encompassing security surveillance efforts in history. And yet,
despite these efforts, they have been unable to prevent these tragedies
even when many of these shooters have a heavy online presence in which they
detail their frustrations, desires, <a href="http://gawker.com/here-is-what-appears-to-be-dylann-roofs-racist-manifest-1712767241">ideology</a>
and even their <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14267007">plans</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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To be fair, I’m not pointing the inability of these
agencies to prevent these shootings as an indictment of their efforts. Rather I mention it to highlight
the incredibly difficult task of predicting violent human behavior even with very
intrusive resources, and to make a call to find creative solutions
that are not constrained by political and practical difficulties. In short, not
relying on the usual responses to mass shootings: Restricting guns which is a
political non-starter, and/or massively increasing mental health screenings
and/or law enforcement surveillance which is unrealistic and would probably miss
their target anyway.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead, one possible way to alleviate this problem (not a
solution because it is unlikely to solve it altogether), is a public health
approach that has shown promise in suicide interventions in Europe. In the
early 1980s, there were a series of sensationally publicized suicides of
persons who jumped onto the subway in Vienna. As a response, the Austrian
Association for Suicide Prevention made an appeal for the media to change the
quantity and quality of reporting of these suicides. The association guidelines
included tips such as not including pictures of grieving relatives, not putting
the word "suicide" on the headline, and including numbers for helplines in the
articles. Fortunately, a lot of the Austrian media heeded the suggestions, and as
they started publicizing stories of people who had found alternatives
to suicide, the rates <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17464734">went
down</a>. More recent research suggests that types of reporting on suicides
were differentially linked to suicide rates. Specifically, articles that
focused on individuals who adopted coping strategies to deal with suicidal
crises were linked to lower suicide rates, while articles in which experts were
interviewed and there was a focus on epidemiological facts was associated with
increases in suicide. The researchers dubbed the increase and decreases in suicide
linked to type of reporting the <a href="http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/197/3/234.long">Werther and Papageno
effects</a> respectively, and they may be helpful in stemming the current spree-shooting-suicide
crisis in the U.S. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>There is already some evidence that the Papageno effect may have been helpful in decreasing suicides in the U.S.
After Kurt Cobain’s suicide, there was a concerted effort by media outlets and
notably MTV to not glamourize his suicide and give helpline numbers. As a
result, the usual contagion effect associated with celebrity suicides was
neutralized and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/14/upshot/the-science-behind-suicide-contagion.html">reversed
in Seattle</a>. In the case of mass-shooters, if we go one extra step, and
conceive them as individuals who are in psychological distress, just like any
other suicidal person, we could harness the Papageno effect to reduce their
incidence. Currently, the media coverage of mass-shootings are focused on
sensationalizing the shooting. The aftermath of shootings are filled with footage of grieving victims, and police responding with sirens blaring. There are loud, dramatic condemnations of the shooter, and close ups of their social media photos
often showing them defiantly staring at the camera, while holding a
weapon. Based on the evidence about the Werther effect cited above, this is perhaps the worst way to report
these events. There is very little emphasis on help resources for persons who
may be experiencing the same struggles and may be watching. There are no hopeful stories
about people who have felt alienated from society (e.g., ex-skinheads or gang members who
renounce their affiliation) but have overcome it to become functioning
members of society.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Changing the current reporting practices of these events is
particularly important because there is good evidence to suggest that men who
engage in mass shootings have followed and idealized previous mass shootings. On their diaries many talk about “outdoing” previous shooters, and/or fantasize about the coverage and “<a href="http://www.acolumbinesite.com/quotes1.html">respect</a>” they will
receive in the aftermath. This is why I mean that the apparent motive of the shooter may not be as
relevant. Whether the shooter espouses frustration about lack of sexual
experience and misogyny (e.g., Rodgers, Soldini), xenophobia or racism (e.g., Brevik,
Roof), or general misanthropy (Harris, Klebold), these motives are not a
satisfactory explanation for their behavior. Many people have those attitudes
and yet, they do not engage in murder-suicide. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The men who engage in mass shootings followed by suicide have
arrived at a point in which they feel murder-suicide is the only way to gain
the notoriety they crave, and escape the psychological pain they are in. With
the current shooting in Oregon, there is already evidence that the shooter
wrote online about Vester Flanigan (who recently shot a reporter and cameraman on live TV before killing himself ) in admiring tones, and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11906041/Chris-Harper-Mercer-what-do-we-know-about-the-Oregon-gunman.html">remarked
about the infamy he gained</a>. If we modify the content of reports on mass
shootings f<a href="https://www.afsp.org/news-events/for-the-media/reporting-on-suicide">ollowing
guidelines already provided by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention</a>
(AFSP), and supplement the reports with information about mental resources that
potential future shooters (who, to be sure, are in genuine psychological
distress) can access, and importantly do not glorify these events, we may be
able to make meaningful reductions in the incidence and lethality of these
events.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>These changes would require collaboration from
media outlets and may be interpreted by some people as an affront to the first
amendment to spare the second. These are valid points but what I <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/media/2012/07/how-media-shouldnt-cover-mass-murder">and
others</a> are proposing is not to stop reporting and informing the public.
Rather what is being proposed is a slight change on how the same information is
conveyed, and what is emphasized. Incidentally, these changes are not
without precedent in the U.S. Media
blackouts and moratoria are requested and honored in a routine basis when reporting deaths of service men and women, and in matters
of national security. Mass
murder-suicide is a national security issue. <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/10/1/9437187/obama-guns-terrorism-deaths">More
Americans have been killed since 2001 by gun violence than by terrorism</a>. If
this does not merit a similar treatment in the media, not just out of respect
for the victims and their families, but because it might save lives, then what
will?<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>We all grieve these tragedies in different
ways. In my case, it has reinforced my desire to use the tools of our science
to help ameliorate them. But the problem is too big for one person, or
two, or whole laboratories of social scientists. Enacting these changes in
reporting requires citizen engagement to solicit media outlets to make them
(e.g., through petition drives in social media, making calls to stations after
these events to follow the AFSPs recommendations, and even potential boycotts
of programming). They also require us to enlist the help of legislators who can
foster a lawful environment in which reporting is done in the best interest of
public health. We do not allow nudity or curse words in broadcasts,
surely we can muster the will to encourage media outlets to report something as
serious as murder-suicide with the gravitas is deserves and not as a fictional
police-drama with melodramatic music and camera angles. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><u1:p></u1:p>From a research perspective, there is much work to
be done too. Many a dissertation could be written about whether sensationalistic
coverage of mass shootings are related </span>geographically to their subsequent
incidence. Or, from a more localized, clinical perspective, whether there is increased
suicide/homicide ideation among persons with highly antagonistic views of the
world after viewing these reports. In addition, we know precious
little on the kind of interventions that may best work for persons who have
these tendencies and what might stop them if they seek help. The needs
are great, but so is our resourcefulness and desire to help and the faster we do , the more lives we may save.</div>
Leonardo Bobadillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12121927563952500834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764719655764432303.post-15973435987486790592015-05-31T23:30:00.000-07:002018-11-29T19:58:38.730-08:00The Problem with Calling People “Evil” Even if They Engage in Heinous Crimes<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">A primary aim of this blog wil be to explore, and hopefully explain in accessible terms, why some people engage in extreme antisocial behavior ranging from individual crimes like sexual homicide </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.0799999237061px; white-space: pre-wrap;">and murder suicide, to collective crimes like</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> terrorism and genocide, strictly using current scientific findings, rather than moralistic or religious terms. </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This approach is a reaction to proposals by some mental health practitioners and theoreticians (e.g., </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Anatomy-Evil-Michael-Stone/dp/1591027268" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Michael H. Stone M.D</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) who have proposed that certain acts are so heinous that persons who commit them can only be described as “Evil”. This type of language and imagery has captured significant popular media attention (from programs in the </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1066032/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Discovery Channel starring Dr. Stone</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, to </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129175964" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NPR</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and the </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/health/psychology/for-the-worst-of-us-the-diagnosis-may-be-evil.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NYTimes</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While Dr. Stone’s books and shows do cite scientific terminology and neurobiology findings about antisocial behavior, the practice of describing heinous acts and persons who commit them as “Evil” or “Monsters” may do more harm than good. These terms frame people and their actions in mythological terms that elicit fear or morbid curiosity (as evidenced by the popularity of the shows), or in the worst cases, the desire among <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/09/forsythia-owen-sentenced-murder_n_7248292.html">misguided vigilantes</a> to “get rid” of the “evil” people (a particularly sobering prospect given the <a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/causes-wrongful-conviction">high rates of wrongful conviction</a> and growing <a href="http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row">numbers of persons exhonerated while in death row</a>). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While calling some criminals "Evil" may also sell books or boost ratings, it does not lead us to view people who engage in these behaviors as complex individuals with problems that can be solved. Instead, it appeals to an instinct that wants to ogle and perhaps eliminate, but certainly not understand, and much less help, offenders. Ironically, it could be said that it brings out the “inner monster” out of the agog spectator. Characterizing people who engage in heinous crimes as “monsters” or “evil” may satisfy an inner sense of justice or even self-superiority but it does not lead to long-term answers, and that is highly problematic for our society.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another problem of characterizing people as “evil” is that it ignores a hard truth: Throughout history there have been many people who have been kind, caring, responsible, even heroic, who also engaged in acts that evoke revulsion. A brief look at history finds currently revered figures who also engaged in what we would consider crimes against humanity. One of my favorite examples is Andrew Jackson, whose role in the Battle of New Orleans during the war of 1812 propelled him into the presidency of the U.S. His more colorful exploits include surviving being shot during a duel and killing his opponent, and opening the White House to the public for his inauguration which increased his popularity but also </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">probably trashed t</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">he White House. On a much darker front, his frontiersman ethos was tinged with virulent anti-Native American sentiment and he was instrumental in crafting and enacting policy which led to the forcible expulsion of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=25&page=transcript">thousands of Native Americans from ancestral lands</a><u> </u></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and their eventual death</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He was also an ardent </span><a href="http://www.somers.k12.ct.us/~pgoduti/documents/JacksonsHonor.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">proponent of slavery</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and he personally owned hundreds of slaves. On the other hand, he also adopted two Native American orphans and grieved heavily the death of his wife. </span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e3fe26b2-ada0-0e26-05e2-1ed5b57f2454"></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Was Andrew Jackson "Evil" or a "Monster"? Not surprisingly, </span><a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/20/indian-killer-andrew-jackson-deserves-top-spot-list-worst-us-presidents-98997" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">some would argue as much</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, while others </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/American-Lion-Andrew-Jackson-White/dp/0812973461" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">would not</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I would argue that his actions were driven by multiple complex factors including his own upbringing as an orphan and child soldier, as well as the period in history in which he lived. With the benefit of more than 150 years of hindsight, this may appear as a non-controversial, self-evident point. However, I would further argue that we must employ the same multifactorial,complex view of persons who because of their crimes are currently qualified as “Evil.” Understandably, conceptualizing persons who have committed sexual homicide as complex, and worthy of careful, non-judgmental analysis is far more difficult than doing it for the 7th president of the United States. Nonetheless,in future entries, I hope to continue to explain why it is important for all of us to do so.</span></div>
Leonardo Bobadillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12121927563952500834noreply@blogger.com2