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Great Amherst Mystery

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The Great Amherst Mystery was a notorious case of reported poltergeist activity in Amherst , Nova Scotia , Canada between 1878 and 1879. It was the subject of an investigation by Walter Hubbell, an actor with an interest in psychic phenomena, who kept what he claimed was a diary of events in the house, later expanded into a popular book. The case was dismissed as a hoax by skeptical investigators.

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56-409: The Amherst Mystery centred on Esther Cox, who lived in a house with her married sister Olive Teed, Olive's husband Daniel and their two young children. A brother and sister of Esther and Olive also lived in the house, as did Daniel's brother John Teed. According to Hubbell's account, events began at the end of August 1878, after Esther Cox, then aged 18, was subjected to an attempted sexual assault by

112-496: A bystander in risky situations. The program includes a brief empathy induction component and a pledge to intervene in the future. Several studies show strong evidence of favorable outcomes including increased bystander efficacy, increased willingness to intervene as a bystander, and decreased rape myth acceptance. The MVP: Mentors in Violence Prevention was written by Jackson Katz. This program focuses on discussing

168-472: A condom during intercourse without the consent of the sex partner, known as stealthing , may be treated as a sexual assault or rape in some jurisdictions. Sexual harassment is intimidation , bullying or coercion of a sexual nature. It may also be defined as the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. The legal and social definition of what constitutes sexual harassment differ widely by culture. Sexual harassment includes

224-527: A control group. Further research also shows that people who saw the Men's and Women's Program reported more efficacy in intervening and greater willingness to help as a bystander after seeing the program. Several additional studies are available documenting its efficacy. Bringing in the Bystander was written by Victoria Banyard. Its focus is on who bystanders are, when they have helped, and how to intervene as

280-787: A cultural shift, with a focus on student activism, to achieve awareness and prevention nationwide. UC Berkeley, NCAA and Viacom have publicly announced their partnership. Additionally, CODIS checks whether the qualifying offense sample, DNA taken from an offender for committing a crime, was also a sexual assault. If a person committed sexual offenses in the past, this system would reveal a pattern of serial sexual offending. Using CODIS to compare backlogged rape kit tests can lead to prevention of future sexual assaults. A United Nations report compiled from government sources showed that more than 250,000 cases of rape or attempted rape were recorded by police annually. The reported data covered 65 countries. The annual recorded sexual assaults per capita for

336-444: A huge capacity for damage to a child. Often, sexual assault on a child is not reported by the child for several of the following reasons: In addition, many states have criminalized sexual contact between teachers or school administrators and students, even if the student is over the age of consent. Domestic violence is violence or other abuse by one person against another in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. It

392-576: A letter from Arthur Davison who admitted that Hubbell "painted the facts up to make the book sell". A play based on the story, Guilty! The Story of the Great Amherst Mystery , was written by Charlie Rhindress and premiered at Live Bait Theatre in Sackville, New Brunswick in 1991. In 2012, former Cumberland County Museum Curator Laurie Glenn Norris authored a book further investigating the mystery entitled Haunted Girl: Esther Cox and

448-424: A male bystander who did not intervene when a woman was in danger. An emphasis is placed on encouraging men to be active bystanders, rather than standing by when they notice abuse. The bulk of the presentation is on processing hypothetical scenarios. Outcomes reported in research literature include lower levels of sexism and increased belief that participants could prevent violence against women. The Green Dot program

504-446: A male friend at gunpoint. This left her in great distress, and shortly after this the physical phenomena began. There were knockings, bangings and rustlings in the night, and Esther herself began to suffer seizures in which her body visibly swelled and she was feverish and chilled by turns. Then objects in the house took flight. The frightened family called in a doctor. During his visit, bedclothes moved, scratching noises were heard and

560-585: A partner were more likely than people who had not experienced this violence to report frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty sleeping, activity limitation, poor physical health, and poor mental health. Due to rape or sexual assault, or the threat of, there are many resulting impacts on income and commerce at the macro level. Excluding child abuse, each rape or sexual assault costs $ 5,100 in tangible losses (lost productivity, medical and mental health care, police/fire services, and property damage) and $ 81,400 in lost quality of life. This issue has been addressed in

616-564: A psychiatric treatment for victims of sexual assault. With regard to long term psychological treatment, prolonged exposure therapy has been tested as a method of long-term PTSD treatment for victims of sexual abuse. After the assault, victims may become the target of slut-shaming to cyberbullying . In addition, their credibility may be challenged. During criminal proceedings, publication bans and rape shield laws may operate to protect victims from excessive public scrutiny. Negative social responses to victims' disclosures of sexual assault have

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672-557: A sexual assault occurs when someone touches any part of another person's body in a sexual way, even through clothes, without that person's consent. In the United States , the definition of sexual assault varies widely among the individual states. However, in most states sexual assault occurs when there is lack of consent from one of the individuals involved. Consent must take place between two adults who are not incapacitated and consent may change, by being withdrawn, at any time during

728-507: A sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment." In the United States: Mass sexual assault takes place in public places and in crowds. It involves large group of people surrounding and assaulting

784-450: A strong desire for revenge , a desire to "fix" the problem and/or move on, and a rationalization that "it wasn't that bad". While sexual assault, including rape, can result in physical trauma, many people who experience sexual assault will not suffer any physical injury. Rape myths suggest that the stereotypical victim of sexual violence is a bruised and battered young woman. The central issue in many cases of rape or other sexual assault

840-667: A wide range of behaviors from seemingly mild transgressions to serious forms of abuse. Some forms of sexual harassment overlap with sexual assault. In the United States, sexual harassment is a form of discrimination which violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): "Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of

896-429: Is Hubbell himself; for what use would his book have been if it had not told of amazing occurrences? There is no corroboration by others of the incidents he claims to have observed, only his own sworn affidavit (reproduced on the cover of the 1888 edition) that he actually 'saw and heard the phenomena as stated'. Larson also wrote that Hubbell's first edition of his book asserted that his story had been fully corroborated by

952-486: Is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse , groping , rape (forced sexual penetration, no matter how slight), drug facilitated sexual assault , and the torture of the person in a sexual manner. Generally, sexual assault is defined as unwanted sexual contact. The National Center for Victims of Crime states: Sexual assault takes many forms including attacks such as rape or attempted rape, as well as any unwanted sexual contact or threats. Usually

1008-700: Is most strongly related to the development of suicidality and trauma-related disorders (including post-traumatic stress disorder ), as well as the development of bipolar and obsessive–compulsive disorders . Experiencing sexual assault also increases the risk of developing anxiety disorders , major depressive disorder , eating disorders , addiction , or other psychopathologies . Individuals who develop psychological disorders following sexual assault have increased frequency and severity of psychopathology compared with individuals who have not experienced sexual assault. Family and friends of individuals who have been sexually assaulted experience emotional scarring, including

1064-514: Is strongly correlated with sexual assault. Not only can domestic abuse be emotional, physical, psychological and financial, but it can be sexual. Some of the signs of sexual abuse are similar to those of domestic violence. About 30 percent of people age 65 or older who are sexually assaulted in the U.S. report it to the police. Assailants may include strangers, caretakers, adult children, spouses and fellow facility residents, although perpetrators of elder sexual assault are less likely to be related to

1120-445: Is whether or not both parties consented to the sexual activity or whether or not both parties had the capacity to do so. Thus, physical force resulting in visible physical injury is not always seen. This stereotype can be damaging because people who have experienced sexual assault but have no physical trauma may be less inclined to report to the authorities or to seek health care. However, women who experienced rape or physical violence by

1176-632: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 18% of women surveyed had experienced a completed or attempted rape at some time in their lives. Of these, 22% were younger than 12 years and 32% were between 12 and 17 years old when they were first raped. In the U.K., attempted rape under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 is a 'sexual offence' within section 31(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. The removal of

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1232-550: The Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research (Vol XIII, 1919) made a detailed case for trickery by Esther Cox while in a dissociative state . Prince noted that Esther's male friend who had attempted to rape her was Bob McNeal and the alleged poltergeist activities of "Bob Nickle" only began a week after the assault. Egon Larsen who summarized the evidence examined by Dr. Prince commented: All

1288-516: The Supreme Court . In his dissenting opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court case U.S. v. Morrison , Justice Souter explained that 75% of women never go to the movies alone at night and nearly 50% will not ride public transportation out of fear of rape or sexual assault. It also stated that less than 1% of victims collect damages and 50% of women lose their jobs or quit after the trauma. The court ruled in U.S. v. Morrison that Congress did not have

1344-426: The Great Amherst Mystery . In 2015, the book's publisher announced that it had sold the film rights for the book to a project led by director Larysa Kondracki . Sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent , or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It

1400-473: The U.S. Justice Department (Bureau of Justice Statistics) found that from 1995 to 2013, men represented 17% of victims of sexual assault and rape on college campuses, and 4% of non-campus sexual assaults and rapes. LGBT LGBT identifying individuals, with the exception of lesbian women, are more likely to experience sexual assault on college campuses than heterosexual individuals. Hereward Carrington Too Many Requests If you report this error to

1456-416: The United States military also is a salient issue. Some researchers assert that the unique professional and socially-contained context of military service can heighten the destructive nature of sexual assault, and, therefore, improved support is needed for these victims. The victims of sexual assault: Age By gender A study from 2011 finds that, The National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by

1512-500: The attempt was abandoned. She returned to Amherst once more, working for a man named Arthur Davison, but after his barn burned down he accused her of arson and she was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison, although she was released after only one. After this, the phenomena ceased for good. Esther Cox subsequently married twice, having a son by each of her husbands. She moved to Brockton, Massachusetts with her second husband and died on 8 November 1912, aged 52. Hubbell's book

1568-622: The authority to enact part of the Violence Against Women Act because it did not have a direct impact on commerce. The Commerce Clause of Article I Section VII of the U.S. Constitution gives authority and jurisdiction to the Federal government in matters of interstate commerce. As a result, the victim was unable to sue her attacker in Federal Court. Sexual assault also has adverse economic effects for survivors on

1624-428: The case of parental incest. Approximately 15 to 25 percent of women and 5 to 15 percent of men were sexually abused when they were children. Most sexual abuse offenders are acquainted with their victims. Approximately 30 percent of the perpetrators are relatives of the child – most often brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts or cousins. Around 60 percent are other acquaintances such as friends of

1680-463: The child, and increased risk for future interpersonal violence perpetration among males, among other problems. Sexual assault among teenagers has been shown to lead to worse school performance, an increase in mental health problems, and social exclusion . Sexual abuse by a family member is a form of incest . It is more common than other forms of sexual assault on a child and can result in more serious and long-term psychological trauma , especially in

1736-469: The cottage, including clergymen, heard banging and knocking and witnessed moving objects, often when Esther herself was under close observation. In December Esther fell ill with diphtheria . No phenomena were observed during the two weeks she spent in bed, nor during the time she spent recuperating afterwards at the home of a married sister in Sackville, New Brunswick . However, when she returned to Amherst

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1792-436: The evidence collected by Dr. Prince seems to indicate that Esther was more than just unstable: that she was a psychopath suffering from symptoms of a split personality: that she herself, or rather part of her, played 'poltergeist': furthermore, that most so-called eyewitness accounts were of little scientific value; and that there was only one beneficiary of the whole fraud: Walter Hubbell... The most unreliable witness, naturally,

1848-423: The family, babysitters, or neighbors. Strangers are the offenders in approximately 10 percent of child sexual abuse cases. Studies have shown that the psychological damage is particularly severe when sexual assault is committed by parents against children due to the incestuous nature of the assault. Incest between a child and a related adult has been identified as the most widespread form of child sexual abuse with

1904-714: The forensic testing process because law enforcement officials develop preconceived notions about the victims willingness to participate in the investigation. Sexual harassment and assault may be prevented by secondary school , college, workplace and public education programs. At least one program for fraternity men produced "sustained behavioral change". At least one study showed that creative campaigns with attention grabbing slogans and images that market consent are effective tools to raise awareness of campus sexual assault and related issues. Several research-based rape prevention programs have been tested and verified through scientific studies. The rape prevention programs that have

1960-472: The genitals to a child, displaying pornography to a child, actual sexual contact against a child, physical contact with the child's genitals, viewing of the child's genitalia without physical contact, or using a child to produce child pornography , including live streaming sexual abuse . The effects of child sexual abuse include depression , post-traumatic stress disorder , anxiety , propensity to re-victimization in adulthood, physical injury to

2016-450: The inhabitants of Amherst and from strangers from distant towns but there was no evidence for this because not a single statement was verified by any witness mentioned by name. Hubbell quoted from some newspapers but upon investigation these turned out to trace to Hubbell himself. Larson stated that Hubbell had embellished facts to make his book sell more copies and the book served as excellent publicity for his acting career. Larson also quoted

2072-454: The last available year is shown below for individual countries. Definition of sexual assault differs between countries. The U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey states that on average there are 237,868 victims (age 12 or older) of sexual assault and rape each year. According to RAINN , every 107 seconds someone in America is sexually assaulted. Sexual assault in

2128-479: The male victims as a group sustained more physical trauma and were more likely to have been a victim of multiple assaults from multiple assailants. It was also stated that male victims were more likely to have been held captive longer. In the U.S., rape is a crime committed primarily against youth. A national telephone survey on violence against women conducted by the National Institute of Justice and

2184-531: The micro level. For instance, survivors of sexual assault often require time off from work and face increased rates of unemployment. Survivors of rape by an intimate partner lose an average of $ 69 per day due to unpaid time off from work. Sexual assault is also associated with numerous negative employment consequences, including unpaid time off, diminished work performance, job loss, and inability to work, all of which can lead to lower earnings for survivors. The ability to test backlogged sexual assault kits and have

2240-548: The most common diseases like chlamydia , gonorrhea , trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis ) and a blood serum is collected to test for STIs (such as HIV , hepatitis B and syphilis ). Any survivor with abrasions are immunized for tetanus if five years have elapsed since the last immunization. Short-term treatment with a benzodiazepine may help with acute anxiety and antidepressants may be helpful for symptoms of PTSD , depression and panic attacks. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has also been proposed as

2296-515: The mysterious events began again, this time involving the outbreak of fires in various places in the house. Esther herself now claimed to see the "ghost", which threatened to burn the house down unless she left. In January 1879 Esther moved in with another local family, but the manifestations around her continued and were witnessed by many people, some of whom conversed with the "ghost" by questioning and rapped answers. Some were curious and sympathetic; others believed Esther herself to be responsible for

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2352-556: The original "ghost", claimed to have been a shoemaker in life, and others identified themselves as "Peter Cox", a relative of Esther's, and "Maggie Fisher". After the visit to Saint John, Esther spent some time with the Van Amberghs, friends with a peaceful farm near Amherst and then returned to the Teeds' cottage in the summer of 1879, whereupon the phenomena broke out again. It was at this point that Walter Hubbell arrived, attracted by

2408-714: The other gender and engaging in conduct such as groping, manual penetration, and frottage , but usually stopping short of penile rape. Aside from physical traumas, rape and other sexual assault often result in long-term emotional effects, particularly in child victims. These can include, but are not limited to: denial , learned helplessness , genophobia , anger , self-blame , anxiety , shame , nightmares , fear , depression , flashbacks , guilt , rationalization , moodswings , numbness , hypersexuality , loneliness , social anxiety , difficulty trusting oneself or others, and difficulty concentrating. Sexual assault increases an individual's risk to developing psychopathology. It

2464-591: The phenomena, and she met with some hostility locally. Esther was frequently slapped, pricked and scratched by the "ghost", and on one occasion was stabbed in the back with a clasp knife. Interest in the case grew as the news spread, and in late March Esther spent some time in Saint John, New Brunswick , where she was investigated by some local gentlemen with an interest in science. By now, several distinct "spirits" were apparently associated with Esther and communicating with onlookers via knocks and rappings. "Bob Nickle",

2520-401: The potential to lead to post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Social isolation , following a sexual assault, can result in the victim experiencing a decrease in their self-esteem and likelihood of rejecting unwanted sexual advances in the future. Victims have already been through a traumatic assault and it can be exacerbated the unwillingness of law enforcement to move their case along in

2576-612: The publicity surrounding the case, and moved into the Teed cottage as a lodger to investigate the phenomena. Hubbell spent some weeks with Esther and her family, and reported having personally witnessed moving objects, fires and items appearing from nowhere and claimed that he saw phenomena occur even when Esther herself was in full view and obviously unconnected with them. He also claimed to have witnessed attacks on Esther with pins and other sharp objects, and to have seen her in several of her fits of extreme swelling and pain. He communicated with

2632-445: The results uploaded into CODIS is cost effective in terms of reducing the costs associated with sexual assaults' by spending the money on testing evidence. In the emergency room , emergency contraceptive medications are offered to women raped by men because about 5% of such rapes result in pregnancy. Preventative medication against sexually transmitted infections are given to victims of all types of sexual assault (especially for

2688-415: The sexual act. Sexual assault can be defined as violation of consent according to standards of substantive equality or formal equality . Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities (regardless of the outcome), indecent exposure of

2744-665: The strongest empirical data in the research literature include the following: The Men's and Women's Programs, also known as the One in Four programs, were written by John Foubert. and is focused on increasing empathy toward rape survivors and motivating people to intervene as bystanders in sexual assault situations. Published data shows that high-risk persons who saw the Men's and Women's Program committed 40% fewer acts of sexually coercive behavior than those who did not. They also committed acts of sexual coercion that were eight times less severe than

2800-475: The two terms are technically distinct in most jurisdictions. Sexual assault typically includes rape and other forms of non-consensual sexual activity. Abbey et al. state that female victims are much more likely to be assaulted by an acquaintance, such as a friend or co-worker, a dating partner, an ex-boyfriend or a husband or other intimate partner than by a complete stranger. In a study of hospital emergency room treatments for rape, Kaufman et al. stated that

2856-417: The various named "spirits" by rapping, and listed three others: "Mary Fisher", "Jane Nickle" and "Eliza McNeal", who were also manifesting themselves as part of events. With Hubbell's professional help, Esther Cox embarked on a speaking tour, attracting audiences who paid to see her and hear her story. However, she met with some hostile reactions and, after she was heckled one night and a disturbance broke out,

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2912-465: The victim than perpetrators of other types of elder abuse. The term groping is used to define the touching or fondling of another person in a sexual way without the person's consent. Groping may occur under or over clothing. Outside of law, the term rape ( sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person's consent) is often used interchangeably with sexual assault. Although closely related,

2968-425: The words "Esther Cox, you are mine to kill" appeared on the wall by the head of Esther's bed. The following day the doctor administered sedatives to Esther to calm her and help her sleep, whereupon more noises and flying objects manifested themselves. Attempts to communicate with the "spirit" resulted in tapped responses to questions. The phenomena continued for some months, and became well known locally. Visitors to

3024-474: Was published in 1879 and proved popular, selling at least 55,000 copies. The Amherst case was also investigated by the British paranormal researcher Hereward Carrington , who took statements from surviving witnesses of the events in 1907 and published them, along with a detailed account of the case, in 1913. Other researchers looked at the case more critically than Hubbell: in particular, Dr. Walter F. Prince in

3080-658: Was so effective that it spread to other cities. "The number of reported sexual assaults fell by 10 per cent last year in Vancouver, after the ads were featured around the city. It was the first time in several years that there was a drop in sexual assault activity." President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden introduced in September 2014 a nationwide campaign against sexual assault entitled "It's on us". The campaign includes tips against sexual assault, as well as broad scale of private and public pledges to change to provoke

3136-532: Was written by Dorothy Edwards. This program includes both motivational speeches and peer education focused on bystander intervention. Outcomes show that program participation is associated with reductions in rape myth acceptance and increased bystander intervention. The city of Edmonton, Canada, initiated a public education campaign aimed at potential perpetrators. Posters in bar bathrooms and public transit centers reminded men that "It's not sex when she's wasted" and "It's not sex when he changes his mind". The campaign

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