The controversial idea of females being sex offenders is represented by the proportion of women in jail or accused is most likely disproportionate to reality. In the United Kingdom for example, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation estimates that up to 64,000 women are sex offenders, yet fewer than 2 percent of the people on the sex offenders registry are women (Townsend & Syal, 2009). Female sex offenders are often ignored and under reported due to gender roles that portray men who were assaulted or who believe they were assaulted as weak. Additionally low female offender percentage is due to police and other professionals not treating male rape victims as a serious concern. In addition, media portrayals of sexual assault and rape create an everyday …show more content…
In the case of male sex offenders, society treats them as guilty until proven innocent. This is due to the prevalence of stereotypes in which the public is shown stories of male only sexual offenders. In the case of female sex offenders, often the assailants crime is portrayed as romantic in nature and the victim is seen as lucky to have been with an older woman (Sanghani, 2015). Arousal is more easily expressed by the male body, therefore it is assumed that since men had an erection and achieved orgasm that they enjoyed it, it could be used as a sign of consent. Using biological functions as a way to determine if someone enjoyed a sexual assault, society ultimately dismisses the assault. The idea that a man could enjoy an assault comes from the underlying stereotypes of …show more content…
Feminist criminological thought is used to examine how the patriarchal society that we live in negatively affects men and women. Weiss (2010) found that men who are victims of sexual crimes often end up confused as to whether they were assaulted and if they should report it or not. Men are confused because of the gender roles in which the patriarchal society subjects them too. Masculinity tells men that they are more powerful and should always be ready for sexual relations with females. Javaid (2015) examined police responses to the male victims that do report the crimes that were committed. Javaid (2015) and Denov’s (2001) findings were very similar in that police officers do not treat male rape seriously. They believe that no man would say no to sex and that they themselves would want to be sexually assaulted by a female. Frei (2008) states that due to the gender roles in society, the media reports extensively on the few female sex offenders that are charged. They show the women as sick and perverted since she deviated from her stereotypical role of a care giver. Finally Hayes and Baker (2014) found that judges give female sex offenders much less time in jail than male sex offenders. This is because the gender roles of women are not violent and are nurturing and loving which is how the judges interpret the attack. They perceive
One of the most common depictions of sex offenders within the media is that of the ‘predator’, shown as committing heinous and violent crimes. This portrayal focuses on the most serious and volatile cases, depicting a man with predatory behaviour, deemed monstrous, perverted and sexually deviant. Media sources generalise stories within this area of crime, forming a stereotypical image of sex offenders which deflects reality.. Various studies have shown the media's representation of these types of offenders is exaggerated and overstated, with the use of emotive language to perpetuate a negative image. Terms such as ‘monstrous’ are dehumanizing, leading to the perception of these individuals as lacking in humanity.
Krakauer uses the example of Missoula police chief, Mark Muir; Muir states, “The rate of false rape claims is around 50 percent” (Krakauer, 116). Muir uses the 2009 article, “False Rape Allegations: An Assault on Justice,” by Bruce Goss, to justify his reasoning. However, the studies used by Goss, have been discredited and highly criticized by other academics. Lisak criticized Eugene J. Kanin’s study, “False Rape Allegations,” one of the studies Goss used in his article, stating that Kanin’s article is an opinion piece, not a scientific study (Krakauer, 117). Despite being debunked, Kanin’s and McDowell’s, the other study Goss uses, their studies are still often used to persuade people that American society suffers from
For many of years, many researchers and the justice system have seen a big increase in women being incarcerated. As stated in the article "Should the Criminal Justice System Treat female Offender Differently," by Jill L. Rosenbaum many of the offenses by women are less violent and most likely be “status offense. ”As we notice the increase in women and a decrease in men, we wonder if there a psychological reason for this discovery. Should women be treated differently?
The article explains how sexual assault continues to be a problem until this very day. When someone is sexually assaulted, it is very hard for them to cope with the fact that someone has touched them in the wrong way. For the ones who commits the assault, it will only become worse for them. A National Study says, “The main source of inmates’ knowledge of prison sex appears to come from their conversations with other inmates”(Response to the Prison Rape Elimination Act). Some inmates could portray the role of acting as if they are there for the victim to talk to, but there are other things that could result from this.
Misconceptions can lead to affected perceptions of consent towards sexual activity. A common misconception is that majority of sexual assault victims are not known to their offender. A survey done in 2021 by the ABS shows that 83% of sexual assault victims within that year knew their offender, this dispels the misconception of the common rape scenario of stranger danger and instead provides an insight that victims knew the perpetrator prior to the offence. Another misconception is that women cannot be sexually assaulted by their spouse, though this may be historically accurate under common law, the Crimes (Sexual Assault) Amendment Act 1981 later criminalised the martial rape immunity. A misunderstanding related to consent is that lack of physical or verbal resistance is an indication of consent.
Did you know that there are roughly 165,824,620 women currently alive in the United States as of this year, women make up about 50.6% of the population? But did you also know that there are 219,000 women locked up in our current Criminal Justice System? Where nationally, we lock up 8 times the amount of woman than we do men. That’s a lot of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts locked up. Many of these woman that are currently incarcerated have at some point in their lives experienced some sort of mental, physical, and sexual abuse.
Public Sex Offender Registers: The Concept of Community Notification Community notification laws authorise the public disclosure of a convicted sex offender’s information, (such as their name, address, offending history, car registration etc.) to anyone who has access to the Internet. Community notification should not be confused with basic registration of sex offenders, because register records are usually not made public. However a number of commentators have suggested that merely registering sex offenders for use by law enforcement agencies is not enough, it is necessary to have the information available to the public. Cases which have attracted media frenzies, usually sexual assaults and murders involving children, have served to push
“Should the names of sex offenders continue to be made public?” published by the Economist. This editorial from August 6, 2009, edition of the economist. At the beginning of the editorial the economist told a real life story which took place in New Jersey. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was enticed into a pedophile neighbor home by offering to show her a puppy. The man raped, killed, and dumped her body in a nearby park.
However, from the late 1970s through 2008, rape and sexual assault rates, as measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey, steadily declined (Mears, 2010, p. 82). This survey, however, does not consider all crimes that are considered sexual crimes. There is no existing data on all the various crimes that could be considered sexual crimes. Over the past 30 years, according to a new
Society doesn 't talk about the feelings of the registered sex offender because once you are considered such, there isn 't much sympathy for these but there are individuals who views sexual assault differently. For example, including to an anonymous blogger Emily, she expresses herself very openly about her thoughts about sex offenders. She states that she feels much sympathy for sex offenders especially ones who are exposed on social media because she read the comments where people are wishing death upon them. She reads comments where people are wishing that registered sex offender 's commit suicide or be raped in prison. She also reads people threatening to use the sex offender application to target sex offenders.
Stories of sex offenders have been progressively the main focus by the criminal justice system over the previous years. By lawful definition, a sex offender "is a person who is convicted of a sexual offense (Sex Offender Law and Legal Definition)," a demonstration which is forbidden by the jurisdiction. What constitutes as a sex offense or regular/irregular sexual conduct differs among time and place, implying that it also depends on jurisdiction and culture. In the United States, a man can be sentenced many varieties of sexual offenses that incorporates prostitution, interbreeding, sex with a minor, assault, and other sex offenses (Sex Offender Law and Legal Definition). As the way of sex violations have long held the country 's interest, it speaks to just the tip of the ice burg as sex offenses appear to raise more doubts than it does answers.
Eradicating Sexual offender Recidivism In today’s world we are constantly being bombarded by stories of horrific sexual crimes that are taking place. Everywhere that we turn there is another story on the news or in social media about someone being sexually molested, raped, or sodomized. The most horrific of these stories are those that include children.
The majority of crimes against women are perpetrated by nonstrangers. Females are said to know their offenders in almost 70% of violent crimes committed against them (relatives, acquaintances or friends). That being said, males are victimized more than females. People from lower socioeconomic classes are inequally represented as victims. Hispanics and non-Hispanics were equally likely to experience overall violent crime (Crime In America.net, December 2010).
Angela Davis demonstrates the ongoing violent abuse as she quotes a report on sexual maltreatment in women’s prisons, “We found that male correctional employees have vaginally, anally, and orally raped female prisoners and sexually assaulted and abused them” (Davis 78). However disturbing this blunt sexual contact that male officers take with the vulnerable prisoners may be, the officers adopt even more severe tactics to harass and abuse the women as they often utilize “mandatory pat-frisks or room searches to grope women 's breasts, buttocks, and vaginal areas...” (Davis 79). To add insult to injury, women are virtually incapable of escaping from their abuser(s). Prison employees upkeep their inappropriate behavior as it is believed they will “rarely be held accountable, administratively or criminally” (Davis 78).
Making Sense of Crime, Policy and Values- Sex Offender Laws The effectiveness of sex offender registrations and what do individuals do with that information, are questions that are being raised. We know that parents often seek information on individuals who they feel may pose a risk to their children. Whether it is a babysitter or the teenage boy next door, these parents find information by frequenting the sex offender registry. Sarah Tofte, one of the authors of the Human Rights Watch suggests, that the laws are written so broadly that even individuals who have not necessarily committed a sex crime have to register as a sex offender. If an individual urinate or expose oneself in public, that individual has to register as a sex offender and will be portrayed as such to parents and other individuals who view the registry.