Ethics and Professionalism in Forensic Anthropology

Ethics and Professionalism in Forensic Anthropology serves as the first major discussion of ethics and professionalism within the field of forensic anthropology. While there have been some publications on ethics within forensic anthropology (e.g., Walsh-Haney and Lieberman 2005; France 2012; Passalacqua, Pilloud, and Gruters 2014), they are limited in scope and reach. This text serves as a general discussion on ethics, ethical guidelines, and how to act in an ethical and professional matter, while also including comprehensive discussions on topics that are seriously lacking in forensic anthropology. Finally, it sets the stage for further discussions on ethics and professionalism in forensic science.

While there are several volumes that deal with ethics in the forensic sciences in general (e.g., Barnett 2001; Bowen 2009; Upshaw Downs and Ranadive Swienton 2012), and one that deals with ethics in biological anthropology (Turner 2005), there is no volume that deals specifically with ethics in forensic anthropology. As the forensic sciences in general attempt to organize and professionalize their disciplines after the 2009 NAS report, discussions of ethics and qualifications within each subdiscipline are needed.