Crime and deviance/sexual battery and assault Flashcards
deviance
behavior that violates social norms and arouse negative social relations
law
a norm that has been formally adopted
criminal law
defines everyones responsibility to uphold public order
crime
behavior that is prohibited by law because it is considered especially harmful or offensive
relativity of deviance
if a behavior is considered deviance depends on circumstances (time and physical space) in which behavior occurs and not the behavior itself (prostitution illegal in some places but not in others)
Durkheim
a society without deviance is impossible
-social norms are never strong enough to prevent all rule breaking
-deviance is an important part of society
structure-functionalism (Durkheim)
deviance has several functions
(a) clarifies the norm & increases conformity
(b) strengthens social bonds among people reacting to deviance
(c) can help lead to positive social change
conflict theory
-people with power use power to keep themselves in power
-poor people and minorities are more likely because of their poverty and race to be arrested
feminist theory
-some reason for rape and sexual assault are because of womens lack of power physically and socially compared to men
-sexual abuse lead women to turn to substance abuse
symbolic interactionism
Edwin H Sutherland believed that crime is learned by socialization with friends and family and also teach norms and justification for breaking the law
Labeling theory
-deviance results from being labeled deviant
-ethnicity, appearance and social class effects how labeling happens
The age crime curve
-Adolphe Quetelet
-male offenders tend to increase after puberty and peaks around 18, similar in women too, but women “age out” (not proven)
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
-conducted each year
-primary source of information of crime victimization
-people are interviewed on frequency, characteristics and consequences. nonfatal and household property
% of people homeless and mentally ill when arrested
17% and half were homeless
% of national budget spent on mental health treatment
7%
Suicide Trends
suicide rates are higher in jail with people with mental health problems and most arrests are because mental health issue usually is underlying cause
deinstitutionalization
civil rights movement in the 1960s because of the overuse of “committing” the mentally ill
pedophilia
an adult or older adolescent experiences primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children
Minor attracted persons
more accurate description than pedophile
causes of pedophilia
many factors but no main causes
-childhood abuse
-personality disorder
-alcohol or substance abuse
-
prevention project Dunkenfield
German program that treats pedophilia
-Germany wont call authorities if they say they plan on abusing a child, they work on preventive measures; wont report past incidents either
A long dark shadow
Book written about MAPS in which they stated they were attracted to minors but havent acted on it
MAP
a persons whose sexual orientation includes people who cant legally consent
internalized stigma
weakens psychological resilience of MAP (self fulfilling prophecy: “if i believe i am X, you begin to act like X” labeling thoery
loneliness and grief
lowers the level of mental health for an individual
Harassment
unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information
Harassment becomes unlawful when:
-enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment
-conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive
sexual harassment
unlawful to harass a person because of their sexual orientation or gender
prevention
prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment, such as training and an efficient complaint system
consent
-voluntary
-both partners must posses sufficient mental capacity
-physical barrier: threats or violence
-mental barrier: intoxication, mental illness or disability
7/10 rapes are by:
someone you know
repeat rape offenders
almost 2/3 of rapists commit multiple rapes
belief in a just world
we experience a common urge to blame the victim
Unified Crime Report
annual report published by FBI, contains data on index crime: homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson
why is UCR criticized
(1) methods used to collect (2) it only counts crime that has been reported and accepted by police (3) only contains information on certain crimes
