AC1.2 - Social construction of criminality: Time

Question 1

When was homosexuality made a crime?

Answer 1

1885

Question 2

When was homosexulity legalised for over 21s, over 18s and over 16s?

Answer 2

Over 21s - 1967
Over 18s - 1994
Over 16s - 2000

Question 3

Give two reasons why homosexuality was legalised.

Answer 3

Any two from:
Wolfenden Report - recommended that private acts over 21 be legalised in 1957
Campaigns - successful campaigns by the Homosexual Law Reform Society, Stonewall and Campaign for Homosexual Equality
Politicians - Roy Jenkins, Home Secretary, and others supported campaigns for change
Human Rights - belief that the state has no right to control citizens’ private lives

Question 4

When was drug possession criminalised in Portugal, and what were the terms of the offence?

Answer 4

From 2001 possession became a civil offence if quantity less than 10 day personal supply.

Question 5

Give two reasons why drug possession was criminalised.

Answer 5

Any two from:
Revolution - in 1975 the country changed from dictatorship to democracy. An increased openness led to an influx of drugs.
Public Health - the state sees drug use as a public health issue and focuses on harm reduction.
Scale of the problem - sudden and rapid growth in the problem since 1975 - 1/100 of population addicted by 1990s.
Economy - belief that new law would reduce costs of drug use by 18%.

Question 6

What type of guns are banned in the UK? Name two mass shootings that influenced this decision.

Answer 6

Handguns, and any two from:
Hungerford - 1987
Monkseaton - 1989
Dunblane - 1996

Question 7

How many mass shootings by a civilian have occured in the whole of British history? Name them.

Answer 7

5 - Hungerford, Monkseaton, Dunblane, The Cumbria Shootings and The Plymouth Shootings.

Question 8

What does GCN stand for? What is it, and who was it started by?

Answer 8

Gun Control Network. It is a campaign to tighten gun control laws, setup by lawyers, academics, and parents of the shooting victims.

Question 9

Outline the Snowdrop Campaign.

Answer 9

Started by bereaved Dunblane parents and their friends, who organised a petition which collected 750,000 signatures calling for a change in the law.

Question 10

What is capital punishment?

Answer 10

The practice of executing someone as punishment for a specific crime after a proper legal trial.

Question 11

What is corporal punishment?

Answer 11

Any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort.

Question 12

When was capital punishment abolished?

Answer 12

1965

Question 13

When was corporal punishment abolished?

Answer 13

1967

Question 14

Give two reasons why capital punishment was abolished.

Answer 14

Any two from:
Human rights - capital punishment is a breach f the right to life
Miscarriages of justice - if a person in wrongly found guilty and executed, nothing can be done to correct it
Lack of a deterrent - some murders are committed in the heat of the moment without the thought of possible punishment
Decline in violence - Norbert Elias argues that society has undergone a civilising process over the last 500 years - physical punishment has been replaced by self- control

Question 15

When was the first Factory Act introduced, and what were its terms?

Answer 15

1833. It prevented children under the age of 9 from working. Children aged 9 - 12 were required to attend school, and work no more than 9 hours per day, or 48 hours per week.

Question 16

How is the standing of children in society different today in comparison to the 19th century?

Answer 16

Children today are seen as innocent and in need of protection. In the 19th century, they were treated the same as adults in both work and by the law.

Question 17

In what year were ALL children required to attend school and receive basic level education?

Answer 17

1880

Question 18

What year was the Children Act introduced?

Answer 18

2004

Question 19

How have children and parents’ rights changed over time?

Answer 19

Parents now have responsibilities, rather than rights. The UN have now laid out a list of basic rights for children, something they did not have before.

Question 20

Give an example of laws and policies that only apply to children, and state what they reinforce.

Answer 20

Minimum ages for a wide range of activities such as sex and smoking reinforce the idea that children are different to adults and subject to different rules.