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Risk assessment tools used to assess justice-involved women have been predominantly developed using male offenders, with validations for females having mixed results. Female-specific risk assessment tools are not well established, and validations are limited. In terms of treatment, either programmes in various jurisdictions have been developed specifically for females, or addendums are available to assist in the facilitation of programmes initially developed for male offenders. The efficacy of these has been varied with gender-responsive programmes proving to be more successful in the reduction of reoffending if justice-involved women follow a gender-specific pathway to offending than if they follow a non-gender-specific pathway. This paper discusses gender differences in offending and provides an overview of assessment and treatment of justice-involved women in Australia, the UK, New Zealand and Canada. The assessment and treatment practices for justice-involved women are viewed through an evidence-based lens, and opportunities for future development are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decision of the South African Constitutional Court in AK v. Minister of Police has implications for law enforcement agencies that fail the victims of crime. In this matter, the plaintiff sued the Minister and others for damages after officers had failed to rescue her from the perpetrator(s) of a protracted sexual assault and to conduct an adequate criminal investigation afterwards. The judgment deals with a noteworthy psycholegal issue, namely, whether the police are liable for any harm resulting from the plaintiff’s continued trauma exposure beyond the moment a competent search would have likely resulted in her rescue, when her trauma exposure was already prolonged. In this paper, we consider whether the interpretation of the expert evidence is consistent with the relevant research. Research suggests the psychological harm caused by police negligence may have been more than a matter of extended trauma exposure but also of supplemental trauma appraisals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we outline a new way of thinking about the purpose and practice of mediation. We propose that mentalizing-inspired mediation can be an effective tool for understanding the interpersonal conflict behaviours that often perpetuate disputes, inhibit their resolution, and promote the likelihood of new disputes emerging in the future. By adapting the theory of mentalizing and the mentalization-based treatment (MBT) model, we introduce a scientifically grounded approach, which we call MBT-M, to inform and elevate mediation education and practice. MBT-M offers a neat and modern reframe on the purpose and practice of mediation as a process that can assist parties to identify, and recover from, impaired mentalizing in order to understand, or ‘mentalize’, the conflict behaviours that are preventing the meaningful resolution of their dispute. Future work will outline how the MBT-M model can offer a robust, evidence-based platform from which to guide mediation interventions, research and scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional thinking holds that most inmates who hunger strike do not desire to die. Rather, they want prison officials to concede to their demands. In this paper, I examine whether death by hunger strike can be classified as suicide. After reviewing definitions of suicide and suicidal intent, I conclude that some deaths by hunger strike can be readily classified as suicides. I further propose that conditional intention is a useful way to understand the complex motivations of hunger strikers. I close by discussing the implications of conditional intention for the assessment of suicidal intent among hunger strikers and for the duty of mental health providers to prevent suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]