Successes and Failures of Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 was heralded as a response to shifting social attitudes, encompassing the broad libertarian approach towards sexual behaviour that has become increasingly dominant since the Act that preceded it whilst attempting to account for the myriad of more widespread sexual deviancies and abusive practices that were otherwise poorly regulated by existing statute. It was designed as a regularisation of the law on sexual offences giving a modern and consistent perspective upon the particular offences; one that would allow the courts to proceed on a fairer and less discriminatory basis, both in its prosecution of offenders and it in treatment of victims. Few statutes can have been subjected to the same level of public scrutiny as this Act, emerging from a climate of public concern over the adequate protection of their children and the proliferation of paedophilia. The abnormally low conviction rate for rape as well as socio-criminal phenomena like 'date-rape' or the effect of immigration on acceptable sexual practices were yet more facets of a many-handed debate about how the law should respond to a changing world. Understanding these issues is central to finding the coherent thread upon which different changes in the Act attempt to hang. THE ISSUE OF CONSENT In acknowledgement of the particular difficulties involved in the prosecution of rape cases and the consequent poor conviction rates, a central alteration in the law on sexual offences concerned the meaning of consent and the manner in which it should be established in a court of law. Previously, the Se... ... middle of paper ... ...y asking the reasonable person what may by its nature be sexual begs the question. Into what nature of the term sexuality are we asking people to enquire? Francis Bennion has criticised the Act for this semantic ambiguity whilst acknowledging that too narrow a definition may tie the courts' hands in the application of the law. Sexual can be defined a simply 'of or pertaining to the sexual organs' which would render certain medical examinations sexual activities at the very least. Clearly the Act intended that in interpretation juries and judges would use the relevant cultural 'cache' in deciding the sexuality of an act. Intending to gratify oneself in a sexual manner seems to be closest thing to a criminal definition of 'sexual' yet neither gratification nor desire are mentioned anywhere in the relevant provisions.
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 was established because an American boy was abducted form a Florida shopping mall and was later found murdered. The act was signed into law by George W. Bush on July 27, 2006. This act is established to protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crime to prevent child abuse and child pornography to promote internet safety. This act is also known as the sex offender registration and notification act. It was established with the intention to strengthen laws related to child sexual predators. This law was instructed for each state and/or territory to apply criteria’s for posting offenders data on the internet.
Trafficking Victims Protection Act clearly defines the terms, communities have struggled in how to address those victims in relation to immunity. According to Dysart (2014), those with the perspective that children who are prostituted are delinquent will inadvertently re-victimize, which is not congruent with federal and state laws that have been put into place to offer protections. This mindset proves to be a barrier to the rehabilitation and progression of child victims. Due to the negative thought processes, the Attorney General has sought distribution to personnel best methods and practices in addressing victims of minor sex trafficking that is directly connected to grants for assistance in strengthening progressive programs (Dysart, 2014).
Park, B. and Lee, J. a. The adage of the adage of the adage of the adage of the adage of the ad The effectiveness of Megan’s Law: Does it reduce the recidivism of a released offender? British Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 12(1), 25-34. Veysey, B. M., Zgoba, K. & Dalessandro, M. (2008). A preliminary step towards evaluating the impact of Megan’s Law: A trend analysis of sexual offenses in New Jersey from 1985 to 2005.
Sexual assault is the act of sexual intercourse without consent of the other person according to New South Wales Consolidation Act of 1900 (Austlii 2011) and is also described by the Australian Standard Offence Classification as ‘non-consensual’ acts or intents of sexual nature (ASOC 2008, p. 31) has become one of the most predominate crimes creating social harm in Australia. Social harm is defined as the negative influence through consequences impacting from the individual to the living conditions of the surrounding public (Cain & Howe 2008, p. 26). Sexual assault poses a social threat to all aspects of community, spreading insecurity in the 9000 victims across Australia and 1900 victims in NSW alone as indicated in the Australian Bureau of Statistics Crime Victimisation Report (ABS 2011, p. 40). This is supported by the victimization rate of all sexually assaulted victims between ages 10 to 14 being 4 times greater than all the other age groups (ABS 2010). Another major issue within the boundaries of sexual assault is that it holds one of the lowest prosecution rates with only 1 in 10 incidents able to prosecute the offender as guilty (Fitzgerald 2006, Pg. 1). The abundance of statistics and reports conducted all imply that sexual assault is still a predominate issue of crime within Australia.
After being sexually assaulted, a victim herself, Annalise Mabe, on her article “You should have been more careful: when doctors shame rape survivors”, expressed her anger and concerns towards how doctors approach patients that have been sexually assaulted. Her explanation and tone make her seem trustworthy and credible.
According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper.
The committee makes several recommendations in regards to changing the laws and legislations surrounding the incrimination of homosexuals for what had previously been considered sodomy. The basic premise being that “homosexual behaviour betwe...
X was not raped under the extrinsic test because to be committing rape under the extrinsic test, the rape should occur under an act of force beyond the physical effort which required to achieve sexual penetration. Even though, when Y and other team members tell X that X must submit to hazing, X agreed to whatever is involved. Then again, X withdraw X consent during the sexual penetration. However, under the extrinsic test the law limits the liability. On the other hand, X was raped under the intrinsic test. Because Y and other team member employed little force to achieve sexual penetration. X has the strength and stamina, which may have helped X to fight back. X continues to submit to the penetration without any physical resistance. Furthermore, the prosecutor should ask X at trial if two days prior to the alleged hazing if X and W engaged in a physical, loving relationship. The Rape Shield Statute will not prohibit this question. knowing the cause of the bruises is relevant evidence that is valuable in determining a defendant guilt or innocence.
The Feminist theory is based around gender inequalities and the concept of an imbalance of power between men and women and within men themselves. This theory argues that male sexual offenders are like normal men, however they have been conditioned within society and culture that when their masculinity is questioned, this creates a reaction where males sexually assault females to boost their male status within society. The feminist theory highlights how women’s experiences are often based around the struggle of male domination or patriarchy (Moore, 2008, p. 5) in relation to sexual offences. This article links closely with the Feminist Theory as
In conclusion, what I learned from this article is that sex is much more complicated then I could have believed it to be. This article made me aware of many conflicts, issues, and disagreements that go along with what is or isn’t sex, and how there is no clear way to say, it’s really just a matter of opinion. For lesbians the simple use of a finger is enough, for gay men its anal sex. For some sex is innate and instinctive, while others believe it is learned. For some it’s based on love and pleasure, while for others it’s about domination. I highly doubt that there is anyone in this world that could come up with a universal meaning to sex which would please all parties. It is my conclusion that there is no right or wrong definition of sex; it is whatever
In life, there are many crimes people can commit, but one of the worst ones is child molestation. It is seen as one of the worst crimes even to murders and psychopaths in prisons. World Childhood Foundation has created an unsettling image to show the public what these monsters see and what a gruesome crime it is. Childhood is meant to fun and full of encouragement, but when a child is molested it scares them for life.
One national study found that approximately 10% of the population experiences child sexual abuse; with 75% percent of that number coming from female victims (Perez-Fuentes, Olfson, Villegas, Morcillo, Wang, & Blanco, 2013). The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 1 in 4 under-aged girls and 1 in 6 under-aged boys had been sexually abuse (Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc, 2012). In 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families division reported that out of 52 states, 678,932 children were victims of CSA (Heisler, 2013). In other words, 9.1 children experienced CSA per 1,000 children; and 3,956 cases were in California alone (Heisler, 2013). Unfortunately, these are only estimates, as the rates could be much higher due to unreported cases (Perez,Fuentes, Olfon, Villega, Morcillo, Wang, & Blanco, 2013; Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc, 2012; Heisler, 2013). Community resources in local churches are limited in order for victims to experience healing from the effects of sexual abuse (Bielefeld, & Cleveland, 2013; Vieth, Tchividjian, Walker, & Knodel, 2012). Many women look to their local church for assistance with dealing with issues of sexual abuse (Blake, 2011). But most churches are not able to provide sexual abuse support groups and do not have well-equipped leadership who are trained to provide such support (Bielefeld, & Cleveland, 2013; Vieth, Tchividjian, Walker, & Knodel, 2012).
Sex offenders have been a population of the criminal justice system that have been restricted in the most strict ways. Many of the polices surrounding sex offenders have been made from fear to help protect possible victims from their future offending. For sex offenders on probation they are highly monitored by the probation departments to supervise them, their reintegration phase is usually tough because they are feared and hated by the community (Nightline, 1999), and the rehabilitation process a long process that requires many resources.
The issues of sexual ethics in relation to morality and perversion have been addressed in depth by each of the gentleman at this table. Sexual activity as described by Solomon and Nagle is comprised of a moral standard and ‘naturalness’ aspect. So, in claiming an act is perverted we must first examine it through a moral framework and understand how this interacts with the ‘naturalness’ of a particular act. Solomon makes the distinction as follows “Perversion is an insidious concept…To describe an activity as perverse is not yet a full blown moral condemnation, for it need not entail that one ought not to indulge in such activities.” Along with the examination of the nature of an act, there must be clear justification as to why sexual acts deserve special separate ethical principles. The question arises: does an act simply due to its sexual nature deserve a separate form of moral inquisition than other acts that occur in nature? In this essay I shall argue that perversion and immorality are not mutually exclusive. By this I mean that a sexual act that is, by my definition, immoral must also be perverted. It is also my contention that if an act is perverted we must also define it as immoral. This second part of the argument is contrary to what many of you have claimed. At the outset of this paper I would also like to state my support of Thomas Nagel’s argument holding that the connection between sex and reproduction has no bearing on sexual perversion. (Nagel 105)
... decades ago. This book is one that will allow the reader to view many aspects of sexuality from a social standpoint, and apply it to certain social attitudes in our society today, these attitudes can range from the acceptance of lesbian and gays, and the common sight of sex before marriage and women equality. The new era of sexuality has taken a definite "transformation" as Giddens puts it, and as a society we are living in the world of change in which we must adapt, by accepting our society as a changing society, and not be naive and think all the rules of sexuality from our parents time our still in existence now.