AC 1.2 Flashcards
Social construction
Something that has been made or defined by society, rather than occurring naturally
How laws change between cultures - polygamy
Polygamy = the practise of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. There are 2 forms.
Polygmy = a man has more than one wife
Polyandry = a woman has more than one husband
Legal - It is legal in 58 countries.
Polyandry is confined to some societies e.g., himilayas.
Polygamy is legal in some societies (mainly only muslim majority countries)
Illegal - Against the law in some countries.
It is illegal in the UK.
In the UK your can get up to 7 years in prison and/or a fine.
How laws change between cultures - polygamy - reasons why
Religion
- Qur’an permits muslims to have up to 4 wives.
- In the USA, Mormon church permitted and practised polygamy until 1890. Even though it’s not allowed anymore, it is still illegally done.
Tradition
- Traditionally practised in African societies
- But the number of societies that still practise it has sharply declined recently.
How laws change between cultures - adultery
Adultery = involves a sexual act between 2 people when one or both of whom is married to someone else.
Legal - In most countries.
It’s legal in the UK.
India ceased it as a crime in 2018.
Illegal - Muslim majority countries.
Several christian majority countries in Africa.
Punishment varies from stoning to death or just a fine.
How laws change between cultures - adultery - reasons why
Religion
- It is one of the ten commandments that one shouldn’t commit adultery
- These commandments are shared between christianity, judaism and islam.
Position of women
- laws against adultery are usually found in societies where women are less and the laws between genders are unequal
How the law changes between cultures - homosexuality
Homosexuality = sexual acts between members of the same sex
Legal - In the UK, Europe, Indonesia, north America and south America.
Illegal - In 72 counties for males.
In 45 for lesbians.
6 countries have punishment of the death penalty for it.
Mainly in muslim majority countries.
In Russia it isn’t illegal but they have banned promoting it.
How law changes between cultures - homosexuality - reasons why
Religion
- Christianity, Judaism and Islam don’t accept or allow it.
Public opinion
- polls by Pew Research Centre show high levels of support for banning homosexuality in some countries.
- people are influenced by religion if they’re country is influenced by religion e.g., Egypt.
Sexism
- male homosexuality is a crime in more countries than lesbian homosexuality
- this may be due to sexist assumptions that women are incapable of same sex attraction.
Human rights
- state shouldn’t have control over peoples private life
- In India they legalised it because of this.
How laws change between cultures - cannabis
Laws on cannabis vary widely between different societies.
In general the possession of cannabis for personal use is treated more leniently than growing, importing or selling cannabis.
Legal - Some countries have legalised it.
Others use cannabis as a medical treatment so people may require a prescription to have it.
Illegal - In the UK.
Can be punished up to 5 years in prison for possession and up to 14 years for supplying.
Other European countries have similar laws.
controlling drug use - Some see the legalisation/decriminalisation as a way to take cannabis from criminal suppliers.
They can reduce harm by getting users help for their problems.
How laws change between cultures - cannabis - reasons why
Different countries have different norms and values.
Some see drug use as a victimless crime or their own choice so they can do what they want with their body.
How laws change over time - homosexuality
In the UK in 1885 all homosexual acts between men became a crime.
This would be punished with life imprisonment.
It then became legal again in England and Wales in 1967 - with a consent age of 21.
The consent age was then reduced to 18 in 1994 and then further reduced to be equal to the heterosexual law in 2000 (aged 16).
How laws change over time - homosexuality - reasons why
The Wolfenden report
- After WW2 over 1000 gay men were put in prison
- Sir John Wolfenden reconsidered the law
- The committee recommended that homosexuality between men would be allowed if they were over 21.
Campaigns
- The homosexual reform society campaigned to change the law in 1967
- Further campaigns were set up e.g., stonewall
Politicians
- Roy Jenkins supported the campaign for change when he was home secretary
- In 1967 he introduced the legalisation
Human rights
- In India, the main reason for legalisation was the supreme courts choice because they have no control over other peoples lives
- In the UK, this was an issue so added to the reason for legalisation in 1967
How laws change over time - drug laws
In 2001 Portugal changed their drug laws from a crime to a civil offence.
This law was applied to both soft drugs and hard drugs.
They believed that drug use is a health issue not a crime so users are referred to health support rather than prison.
How laws change over time - gun laws
Law changed due to 2 mass shootings.
Most of the weapons were illegally held.
The laws were tightened in 1997.
They banned all handguns.
How laws change over time - gun laws - reason why
The gun control network
- set up by lawyers, academics and parents of victims
- campaigned to tighter gun control laws
The snowdrop Campaign
- started by Dunblane parents
- petition got 750,000 signatures for changing the law
How laws change over time - laws related to children
examples
- sarah’s law
- safeguarding
- age of consent
- education setting
- child labour
Society defines childhood differently over time.
Childhood is seen as a dominant time of happiness.
We see children as vulnerable, innocent and in need of nurture and protection.
Children are kept separate from the adult world and dangers.
Many years ago the idea of a childhood didn’t exist.
They were put into work at a young age and faced the same harsh punishments as adults.
The idea of a childhood was a separate stage when society became more child centred.
Parents now invest more time in children emotionally and financially so have a greater interest in their well being.
How laws change over time - laws related to children - changes in the law
Laws excluding children from paid work
- in 19th century children could work from 6 years old
- now you have to be at least 16 to get a job.
Compulsory schooling
- introduced in 1880
- all children need a basic education and this also keeps them out of work
Child protection and welfare legalisation
- 2004 children act made it so that children’s welfare became a fundamental principle.
- agencies created to help this e.g., social services
Children’s rights
-parents have responsibilities not rights
- rights of the child (1989) says they’re entitled to basic rights such as an education and healthcare
Laws and policies that apply to children
- now have minimum ages for things
- e.g., smoking legal age is 18
How laws change over time - laws concerning physical punishment
Many years ago, they used physical punishment as a common punishment for criminality.
This ranges from corporal punishment e.g., caning to being hanged.
Capital punishment was abolished in the UK in 1965.
Many other places around the word have stopped using capital punishment and physical abuse.
How laws change over time - laws concerning physical punishment - reasons why
Capital punishment was seen as ignoring the basic human right of a right for life.
A person could be wrongly accused and then the act of the death penalty cannot be reversed.
Death penalty isn’t actually a deterrent - countries that have the death penalty also have. high murder rate.
Physical punishment to control behaviour was replaced by self control.
How laws are applied differently according to the circumstance in which actions occur
The law applies to everyone in that country.
This means that 2 people who commit the same crime should receive the same punishment for it but this is not always the case.
There are a number of different reasons as to why the laws may be applied differently depending on the circumstance
e.g., gender of the offender
Differential enforcement of the law
The law is not always enforced equally.
Moral panic
- Those who were convicted of minor offences in the 2011 riots were more likely to receive custodial sentences compared to similar cases in ‘normal’ conditions.
- Courts gave more severe punishments to youths during the moral panic over the mods and rockers
Typifications
- Shown through the work of Chambliss
-Studied 2 groups of youth (middle class and working class)
- Found that eve. when the 2 groups committed the same crime, the laws were stricter for those in the working class
Situation
- Pilavin and Briar found that situational factors play a large part in an officers choice of who to stop and arrest.
- This include the age, ethnicity, place, attitude and time of day.
Age of criminal responsibility
People can commit the same crime but they may be treated differently if they are below the age of criminal responsibility.
The age of criminal responsibility varies in places.
In England and Wales it is 10 years old.
Youths, courts and punishments
- Children/young people may be treated differently by the justice system
- Many countries have separate courts for children
- In England and Wales youth courts have special magistrates that are for those aged 10-17
Homocide
There are 3 defences contained in the homocide act (1987).
This allows someone to plead non guilty even though they killed someone.
Diminished responsibility
- Their mental condition reduces their ability to understand what they were doing
- This reduced their conviction to manslaughter rather than murder.
Loss of control
- A partial defence
- May reduce the conviction to manslaughter rather than murder
Automatism
- The crime must be a voluntary act so the defendant must of consciously chose to commit the crime
- If they can prove that the act was involuntary then they can plead this.
