Event Details
Webinar: Dispelling Sexual Assault Myths through Expert Testimony
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Date: November 20 12:00pm - 1:15 PST
FREE WEBINAR
Facilitated by NCVLI’s Alison Wilkinson J.D., this webinar discusses common victim behaviors and sexual assault dynamics and their impact on fact finders’ assessments of victim credibility and reviews the relevant law permitting the introduction of expert testimony to explain victim behaviors in sexual assault cases. Participants are guided through the process of deciding whether to introduce expert testimony and how to summarize the most effective use of expert witnesses to educate judges and juries about common victim behaviors. In addition, this presentation identifies ways to work with experts to prepare a case for trial even where testimony will not be introduced. Participants will be encouraged, through the use of hypothetical case problems, to draw on their own experience and re-examine current attitudes and practices by employing active case evaluation and preparation.
Presenter Biographies
Joyce Lukima
Ms. Lukima currently serves as the Vice President of Services for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape/National Sexual Violence Resource Center. She has worked with victims of violence and sexual assault for more than 20 years. Ms. Lukima conducts and organizes workshops, training and conferences to provide skill development for professionals’ assisting victims of sexual assault. She acts as faculty member for the National Institute on the Prosecution of Sexual Violence a project of AEquitas: the Prosecutors Resource on Violence Against Women. Ms. Lukima holds a Masters Degree in Psychology from Angelo State University.
Jennifer Gentile Long, JD
Jennifer Gentile Long serves as the Director of AEquitas: The Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women. She has worked with prosecutors and allied professionals, both nationally and internationally on issues related to sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, and human trafficking for more than a decade. In addition to presenting on topics related to violence against women and children, she has authored several articles, a monograph, and a book chapter, and has peer reviewed numerous publications. Ms. Long is the former Director of the National Center for the Prosecution of Violence Against Women (NCPVAW) at the American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI), the research and technical assistance division of the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA). Before her appointment as Director of NCPVAW, she worked as a Senior Attorney at APRI/NDAA. Ms. Long graduated from Lehigh University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Fels School of Government.
This project was supported by Grant No. 2012-TA-AX-K030 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
