Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Unintended Side Effects of Increased DNA Capabilities

法医DNA分析在无数案件中迅速伸张了正义，并被证明在识别强奸犯方面特别有用。由于法医DNA证据对性犯罪的调查特别有用，新技术的发展无疑促进了对性侵犯的起诉。然而，很少有人注意到的是，法医DNA技术日益普及所带来的意想不到的后果可能同时无意中阻碍了对性侵犯的起诉，特别是在非陌生人/熟人强奸的案件中。在身份是问题的强奸案件中，定罪的可能性增加，这可能会使检察官的注意力、资源甚至热情转向起诉陌生人，而不是非陌生人/熟人的强奸案件。这可能会阻碍甚至逆转20世纪60年代和70年代女权主义和反强奸运动在承认和起诉非陌生人/熟人强奸方面取得的进展。这是一项关于科技对性侵案件起诉的社会影响的研究。对美国县检察官办公室14年来的成人强奸指控案件进行纵向分析，将有助于确定技术是否对犯罪产生了意想不到的后果，这种犯罪的定义在历史上是可扩展的，在一定程度上取决于社会刻板印象和普遍持有的性别适当行为观念。此外，在参与县和周边地区对参与法律系统对强奸指控的反应的个人进行深入访谈，将补充对强奸起诉的定量分析。研究人员试图衡量技术创新对非陌生人/熟人强奸社会问题的持续社会建构的影响。

Forensic DNA analysis has provided swift justice in countless crimes and has proven particularly useful in identifying rapists. Because forensic DNA evidence is especially useful for the investigation of sexual crimes, the development of the new technology has undoubtedly facilitated the prosecution of sexual assaults. Less noticed, however, has been the possibility that unanticipated consequences of the increasing availability of forensic DNA technology may, at the same time, inadvertently discourage the prosecution of sexual assaults, especially in cases of non-stranger/acquaintance rape. The increased likelihood of convictions in rape cases where identity is the issue may shift prosecutorial attention, resources and even enthusiasm towards the prosecution of stranger rather than non-stranger/ acquaintance rape cases. This could potentially retard or even reverse the progress made by the feminist and anti-rape movements of the 1960s and 70s to recognize and prosecute non-stranger/acquaintance rape. This is a study of the social impact of technology on the prosecution of sexual assault cases. A longitudinal analysis of alleged cases of adult rape brought before a U.S. County Attorney's Office over a 14-year time period will help to determine if there are unintended consequences of technology on a crime whose definition is historically malleable and which is, in part, dependent on social stereotypes and commonly held notions of gender appropriate behavior. In addition, in-depth interviews with individuals involved in the legal system's response to rape claims, both in the participant county and the surrounding area will complement the quantitative analysis of rape prosecutions. The researchers seek to measure the impact of technological innovation on the ongoing social construction of the social problem of non-stranger/acquaintance rape.