Sexual Deviance Flashcards
Hocken and Thorne (2012)
Categorised sexual crimes into non-contact (voyeurism, exhibitionism, owning child porn) and contact (rape, sexual assault, paedophilia)
Victims of sexual crimes
Mostly female - 80% of all sexual offences, 90% of rapes.
Average age 10-24 for all assaults, 16-34 for rape
Males most likely assaulted between 5-19
Victim’s relationship to offenders
Mostly a partner/ex partner (45%), or someone known to the victim (38%).
Strangers are rarer (13%) as are family members (5%)
How many sexual crimes aren’t reported?
Around 80% of crimes are not reported (Crime survey for England and Wales, 2017)
How much sexual crime isn’t recorded?
26% of reported crime isn’t recorded (HMICFRS, 2014)
Crime survey for England and Wales (2017)
20% of women and 4% of men over 16 victims in their lifetime
3.1% of women and 0.8% of men aged 16-59 within 12 month period
Main reasons for lack of reporting
- Embarrassment
- Didn’t think they could help
- Thought it would be humiliating
- Didn’t think they’d be believed
- Didn’t want to go to court
Generalist crime theory definition (Howitt, 2018)
Sex crimes are a part of a wider pattern of criminal and deviant behaviour
Specialist theory of crime definition (Howitt, 2018)
Sex offenders are predominately likely to only engage in sexual crimes
General theory of crime (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990)
Sexual offending is caused by low self control. This leads to alcohol/drug abuse, unstable employment, absenteeism from work, and other crime and deviancy.
Evidence for general theory of crime
Sex offenders do tend to be involved in these other behaviours (Cleary, 2004)
Risk factors for sex offenders tend to be the same as non-sex offenders
Limitations for generalist theory of crime
Not all sex offenders are the same (Harris et al, 2009)
88% are involved in other crimes
Child sex offenders more specialist (only 40% involved in other crimes)
Evolutionary theory of rape (Thornhill and Palmer, 2000)
Rape is a behaviour that has been evolved. It isn’t about power, rather sex, and a by-product of other adaptions. This means all men would rape under the right circumstances
Evidence for evolutionary theory of rape
+ Majority of rape victims are fertile aged women, but not all.
- Pregnancy rate after rape is only 3% so is it evolved?
- The more fertile the woman is, the more resistant they are. But trauma is only lower for children
Rape myths (Burt, 1980)
Sociological and feminist perspective.
A cognitive model that diverts blame so sex offending is more likely.
Myths include ‘victim was sexually active’, ‘if they’re in a dangerous situation they get what they deserve’, ‘if they go home with a man they should be willing to have sex’
Scapegoat Theory (Glick, 2002)
The tendency to blame someone else for one’s own problems, a process that often results in feelings of prejudice toward the person or group that one is blaming. Example could be incels.
Evidence for rape myths
A possible relationship between likelihood to rape and rape myths (Tieger, 1981)
Rape myths are not unique to rapists (Overholser and Beck, 1989)
Rape myth beliefs of police offenders influence credibility assessments (Goodman-Delahunty and Graham, 2011)
Winder and Thorne (2012) - categories of paedophilia
Infantophiles - those who sexually offend under 5s
Paedophiles - those who offend against prepubescent children
Hebephiles - those who offend post-pubescent but still underage children
Paedophilia DSM5 conditions
The person must be over the age of 16 and be at least 5 years older than the child.
Not all child sex offenders have the disorder ad not all paedophiles offend
Illegal activity of paedophiles
- Use and/or production of child porn
- Exposing self to a child
- Fondling the child
- Encouraging the child to touch them
- Forcing the child to engage in or observe a sexual act
Finkelhor Precondition Model (1984)
A good theory should explain why the offence was sexual (Ward et al, 2006)
The 4 preconditions are
- Motivation to sexually abuse
- Overcoming internal inhibitors
- Overcoming external inhibitors
- Overcoming child’s resistance
Motives of Finkelhor’s Precondition model
- Emotional congruence - children might meet a specific emotional need and/or they’re easier to overpower
- Sexual arousal to children
- Blockage - unable to have an adult partner
Internal inhibitors in Finkelhor’s Precondition Model
Factors which lead to overcome guilt like entrenched attitudes. alcohol/drugs, mental disorder like psychosis or dementia and stress
External inhibitors in Finkelhor Precondition Model
The process of planning - either long term or in the moment
Offender gains access to the child through grooming, building a trusting relationship with the parents, and being consistently present
Overcoming resistance of the child in Finkelhor Precondition Model
Resistance could be physical or verbal
Strategies include:
- Giving gifts
- Densensitising the child to sex
- Threats of violence
- Telling them it is a secret
- Being in a position of authority
Evaluation of Finkelhor Precondition Model
A comprehensive theory that explains a wide range of offences
Can be used therapeutically
Lacks a reason how motives develop and lead to offending
Many offenders have no internal inhibitors (eg they have psychopathy)
Case Study of Precondition Model - Ian Watkins
Welsh rock band member found guilty for infantophilia and hebephilia.
Motivation - Unsure exactly but possibly mixture of fame and pornographic habits.
Internal inhibitors - Started taking drugs a few years before the crimes, and band members say his personality changed from then.
External inhibitors - Grooming young teen fans and their children to engage in sexual acts with him due to his fame.
Overcoming resistance - Victims were often already vulnerable and he was idolised, some that helped infantophilia were possibly motivated by him cheating.
