SEX CRIMES

Sex Crimes

Sex Crimes

Introduction

Over the years, many different theories have emerged that attempt to explain the actions of those described as criminals or deviants. These have proved the source of great debate among sociologists and criminologists, but there is not necessarily one that is a definitive explanation.

It is important to remember that crime and deviance are not one and the same, although they are intrinsically linked. Perhaps it is useful to first define what is meant by these two terms. Crime is defined as "…an offence which goes beyond the personal and into the public sphere, breaking...laws, to which legitimate punishments...are attached…". (Herbert, 2002, 19) Deviance, on the other hand, is said by Herbert (2002) to have two strands: the first, anything that goes against societal norms but is not necessarily illegal. Secondly, deviance can be viewed as a stigma construct - more or less a label created by society (for instance, people wearing 'abnormal' clothes, such as Goths, seem to have been labelled this way, rather than deliberately trying being different).

Sexual crimes are often seen as both deviant and criminal, though criminal acts are to be what is concentrated on here. Rape, for example, is a vulgar violation and therefore illegal - however, it is also deviant as it is not a necessary method for a man to employ in order to gain sexual intercourse. Child sex crimes are a particularly potent example of this also, and will be concentrated on for the purposes of this essay.

Administrative criminology is a comparatively recent concept, so official records on numbers of children who have been sexually abused have not been readily available until relatively recently. That, however, is not to say that the figures we currently have accurately portray how widespread the problem may be. Sex crimes in general are underreported, but particularly so when children are involved - as well as the usual factors of shame or embarrassment, children may not necessarily know that what is being done to them is wrong. An almost clichéd, but still very relevant, depiction of this is that of the offender telling the child they are 'playing a special game' and that it is 'their secret.' Through fear or ignorance, children are therefore somewhat unlikely to report the abuse until much later, if ever. Herbert

Research Question

Question 1: What Are Offenders' Experiences and Perceptions of the Effect while in Jail?

Question 2: What are offender's main issues in jail?

Question 3: What rules and regulations of Jail Manual applies on such offenders?

Hypothesis

Sexual crimes are often seen as both deviant and criminal, though criminal acts are to be what is concentrated on here.

Methodology

This research is based on the secondary data. The research methodology used is the survey of various Jail's practices for sex offenders as available online. This research involved studies in detail the news, articles from journals, and online material available on the web. Using the methodology tested in previous studies, this study began with a broad review of the ...