As discussed in the article, “Female Sexual Offenders” by Witt & Pirelli (2016) women sexual offending typically occurs due to a combination of major risk factors such as: current emotional state, especially in the context of depressive symptoms; Low self-esteem; Lack of assertiveness and associated exaggerated need for intimacy (especially if a male confederate coerced the woman into committing the offense); Antisocial attitudes; Presence of psychiatric symptoms; Unsupervised access to minors, especially in a supervisory capacity; Use of sex to regulate negative emotions; Social isolation and attendant loneliness; and Unresolved emotions about personal victimization. (p. 40-41)
Once the above factors influence female sex offenders to commit
…show more content…
However, this is not always the case, and in many situations, FSOs are not reprimanded fairly in correlation to the severity of their crimes. Fairly often, their crimes are minimized and are not taking seriously because, for one, they are not capable of committing the crime, and second, because people believe the abuse does not even qualify as abuse. In instances in which a teacher abuses a younger male student, there is a common misconception that the student was not abused at all, rather they are lucky to have a teacher take an interest in them since it should be every teenagers’ goal or fantasy to have inappropriate relations with an older woman as it has become something to brag about (Reid, 2016). This is a common minimization of sexual abuse in which gender perceptions play a major role in how we the assess the severity of the crime. If we were to think about a male teacher abusing a young teenage girl, then we immediately think of it as a repulsive act, while on the other hand, most people do not see anything wrong when a female teacher has relations with a male student. It is a double standard based on gender norms that diminishes the fact that all relations that disregard the age of consent should be viewed as severe and punished accordingly. These inappropriate relationships can, in fact, have long-lasting, detrimental effects on their victims and …show more content…
However, in the criminal justice system, “If criminal charges are filed, there is the high likelihood of the case being plea-bargained, thereby diminishing the severity of the crimes once again by having the accused plead guilty to a lesser charge. If it reaches the courtroom, judges have customarily viewed females as more amenable to treatment; therefore, sentences are likely to be less severe in the length of the prison sentence and conditions of imprisonment” (Pittaro, 2012, p. 44). These are minimizations of the crime that are present in our justice system, meaning that the system does not find the crimes as harsh as they would if there was a gender reversal, thus, not serving fair justice to the victims. Additionally, “Once the female offender is eligible for parole, the parole board will likely assess most female sex offenders as low-risk, which is the opposite of the common designation given to male sex offenders who target children” (Pittaro, 2012, p. 44) which is yet another way the justice system lessens the severity of crimes committed by
Burton, D. L., Miller, D. L., & Shill, C. T. (2002). A social learning theory comparison of the sexual victimization of adolescent sexual offenders and nonsexual offending male delinquents. Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal, 26, 893-907.
Sociological Analysis of Sexual Assault This essay will examine the social and cultural conditions, within the macro-diachronic and micro-synchronic theoretical models, that intensify or perpetuate sexual assault. I have chosen only one concept from each model because these are the only concepts that I feel that I can use to most accurately and comprehensively depict causes and reasons for why sexual assault is deeply entrenched in our social structure. I will thus explore, from these ideological viewpoints, some of the motivations and circumstances that lead offenders to sexual assault. I will also fuse some of the historical attitudes from which today's concepts have evolved into our contemporary understanding of these social phenomena. However, it’s important that we look beyond both offenders' motivations and history, and to the greater sociological view, if we are to correctly reconstruct acts of violence such as sexual assault.
The acceptance that the court system often treats female offenders differently than male offenders is an accurate statement; however, it comes with many caveats. Generally, the public views women as nurturers, motherly and incapable of harming a child. Research indicates that female sex offenders capable of committing such acts have serious psychiatric and psychological problems. In comparison, research indicates male sex offenders are more callous, more antisocial, and promiscuous, involved in the criminal justice system, and have more victims (Miccio-Fenseca, 2012, slide 7). The consensus is that men commit their acts for sexual pleasure while women commit their acts due to psychiatric and psychological problems. Law enforcement, juries, and judges tend to empathize more when there are additional mitigating factors such as emotional or psychological problems. Due to these mitigating factors, it appears treatment of female sex offenders is more lenient than male if their crimes are similar in nature. Research by Miccio-Fenseca (2012) indicates that in comparison to their male counterparts, “female sex offenders rarely use force or violence far less than often…rarely use threats of violence to silence victims…rarely use threats o...
It is also noteworthy that this is not limited to child sex offenders. Many adults that are arrested as sex offenders were involved with people they knew or had seduced; instead of the stereotypical brute that forces his or herself on their victim. No matter the methods employed in committing the crimes that they do, there is still the question, what drives a sex
When the criminal justice system was established, the main objective was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being looked down upon because of their sexuality. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes about women and the criminal justice system are no different. Throughout history, certain crimes have been separated into different categories based on their prevalence.
For many, the term juvenile delinquent likely conjures up images of groups of young men standing on street corners, wearing baggy clothes, and boasting defiant attitudes. However, some may be surprised to learn that the face of the juvenile delinquent is swiftly changing. While boys are responsible for the majority of juvenile crime overall, the number of juvenile females involved with the justice system has been steadily increasing over the past three decades (Gross 84). Of greatest concern is the context of the crimes being committed by juvenile girls, as arrest rates have increased most in the area of violent offenses. In response to this emerging trend, juvenile justice professionals are increasingly advocating for gender specific intervention and rehabilitation models to deter further delinquency involvement. This effort is rooted in investigating the risk factors for criminal behavior among adolescent females, and the compound effect multiple risk factors may illicit.
In today’s society, juveniles that commit a sexual assault have become the subject of society. It’s become a problem in the United States due to the rise of sexual offenses committed by juveniles. The general public attitude towards sex offenders appears to be highly negative (Valliant, Furac, & Antonowicz, 1994). The public reactions in the past years have shaped policy on legal approaches to managing sexual offenses. The policies have included severe sentencing laws, sex offender registry, and civil commitment as a sexually violent predator (Quinn, Forsyth, & Mullen-Quinn, 2004). This is despite recidivism data suggesting that a relatively small group of juvenile offenders commit repeat sexual assaults after a response to their sexual offending (Righthand &Welch, 2004).
Cauffman, E., Grisso, T., & Sickmund, M. Future of Children. (2009) Understanding the Female Offender, 18, 5. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from www.futureofchildren.org
There are many topics nowadays that are still hard to talk about openly. Though we’ve opened the door on many controversies, some of the simplest parts of life can be the hardest to discuss. For most of us, sex in particular can be a taboo topic, which may be the reason why so many children and teens are misinformed on the inner workings of sexual relationships and how they develop as we grow and mature. For some adolescents, this can lead to an unhealthy fixation on the concept of sex, and in some cases, lead them to take action on a situation they do not fully understand. Sexual offenses are perceived as some of the most heinous crimes, but how could our views be affected if those acts were performed by a teenager? We may sometimes consider that they are the same as adult sex offenders; however our judgment can often be clouded by our lack of understanding. Adolescent sex offenders are different from adult sex offenders, are treated in a different way, and often have very different circumstances of their crime.
There are several identifiable psychological factors that increase the likelihood an individual will demonstrate deviant sexual behavior. One of the most important contributing factors is physical or sexual abuse endured as a child. According to Becerra-García, García-León and Egan (2012), sex offenders are twice as likely to report being sexually, emotionally, or physically abused as a child in comparison to other offenders. There are also other factors besides abuse that must be taken into consideration. A recent study on female sex offenders by Roe-Sepowitz and Krysik (2008) states, “the data reveal that many of the 118 female juvenile sex offenders came from chaotic and disorganized families and had poor parental supervision and serious school and mental health problems”. As Becerra-García, García-León and Egan (2012) discuss further, there are also personality traits that sex offenders are likely to possess, which makes it possible for psychologists to distinguish general characteristics of sex offenders. These personality traits can be identified using the Five Factor Model, which scales an individual’s level of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
One of the most controlled aspects of sexuality is the regulation of who can have sex with who. Most of these regulations are laws protecting people that cannot give consent, like minors and some people with disabilities, from being exploited by others. The age of consent is a highly debatable subject. In Elizabeth Cavalier and Elisabeth O. Burgess article Too Young to Consent? the authors point out that ‘the fifteen year gap between a 55- year old man and his 40- year old wife is less significant than the three year age difference between a 18- and 15- year old’ (Cavalier and Burgess 401). The minimal age in the United State is 16, but other states have the age at 18. The origins of these Unfortunately, like most aspects pertaining to sexuality,
Traditionally, there has been little research on or interest in the impact of female crime in modern society. In addition, juvenile crime rates are on the rise, which combine for a void of research or information on female juvenile offenders. In general, crime rates for women offenders have risen since the 1990's. Increasing numbers of young women are also offending at higher rates. In a 1996 U.S. Department of Justice Report, the number of arrests of young women had doubled between 1989 and 1993. Twenty percent of all juvenile arrests were committed by girls, an increase of 87 percent. However, according to The National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools, males are far more likely to admit to criminal involvement than are females. For example, 12 percent of males and 4 percent of females reported carrying a hidden weapon other than a pocketknife in the past year (Wilson, p.150). There are several theories for this rise in crime proposed by modern feminists, including that the introduction of women into traditional male roles prompted women to commit increasingly dangerous and violent crimes. However, this paper will rely on Meda Chesney-Lind's theories from The Female Offender.
Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their crimes(Oakes 99). This presents a
Bonnie, S. F., Francis, T. C., & Michael, G. T. (2000) The sexual victimization of college women. U.S. Department of Justice.
Delinquency in and of itself has been observed, studied, sifted, put into one form of statistical data or another and published for years. The question of “should girls’ delinquency be studied separately from boys’ delinquency?” can only be answered with an answer of yes. Data from every aspect of delinquency should be studied whether it be age, race, type of crime, along with gender. Without viewing all aspects of delinquency in regards to gender, any conclusions found would be biased, possibly leading to the enforcement of inappropriate laws and or treatments.