Throughout history, instances of sexual deviance have been occurring around the world. With the advancement of research methodologies and technology, society has increasingly prioritized the identification and apprehension of sexual predators. Consequently, sexual violence and sexual crimes have become a focal point of interest for students, educators, and scholars alike. Crucial to safeguarding communities, studying and analyzing sexual violence, the offenders, and the creation of offender typologies have become essential components of the criminal justice system. When examining the inconsistencies between sexual violence and sexual crimes, it is necessary to explore whether specific typologies can be deemed criminal yet not violent. On the …show more content…
Sexual battery, for instance, occurs when an individual is touched or contacted in intimate parts against their will, regardless of whether they are clothed or not (Baldwin & Pirius, 2024). In comparison, rape is when an individual is forced by another individual to engage in non-consenting intercourse, anal sex, or other sexual activity involving any form of penetration (Baldwin & Pirius, 2024). A broader term that is often used to encompass both sexual battery and rape is sexual assault. Due to the diverse elements of a sexual criminal act, the term sexual assault incorporates a wide range of behaviors and actions. In many instances, sexual assault is used when an offense falls short of rape or sexual battery, such as a threat to commit a sexual act against a non-consenting individual (Mancini, 2021). Moreover, the term sexual assault may include non-physical acts, such as verbal harassment or coercion, that violate a person’s sexual independence. Additionally, the legal definitions and classifications of sexual assaults can vary across jurisdictions, leading to inconsistencies in how these offenses are prosecuted and perceived (Mancini, 2021, p. …show more content…
While each of these crimes can cause extreme emotional distress to the victims, inherently, they are not violent. For example, according to California laws, indecent exposure is when an individual acts willfully, exposes their private parts, and does so in a public area for personal sexual gratification, which may lead surrounding individuals to be annoyed or offended (FindLaw Staff, 2023). Additionally, this act can result in a felony charge with possible jail time (FindLaw Staff, 2023). Furthermore, it becomes evident that legal definitions and societal perceptions influence the classification of specific behaviors as criminal and not necessarily violent. For instance, cybersexual crimes, such as online harassment or the distribution of pornographic images, can have a profound impact on a victim’s well-being. However, they are not involved in a physical altercation. In contrast, some crimes can be considered sexually violent, yet not criminal. For instance, crimes such as sexual harassment, statutory rape, or sexual battery offenses can be believed to be sexually violent; however, while intrusive, these crimes may not always fit the legal criteria for prosecution—each jurisdiction of what they will and will not
In “Sex and Violence: A Perspective,” MacKinnon turns her focus to the common definition of rape as a form of violence. The categorizations of rape, sexual harassment, and pornography as forms of violence are problematic in themselves because they do not capture the reality of sex. In fact, much of intercourse is about violence (MacKinnon p. 268), in the way that power and dominance are extremely eroticized, thus to say “rape is violence” is a misnomer. MacKinnon brings one’s attention to the construction of rape, which separates rape from intercourse based on the amount of force applied (p. 268). This definition is especially legitimate in the legal system, which derives solely from a male point of view: it is called rape when there is penetratio...
Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2009).Sex crimes: patterns and behavior (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,Calif.:SagePublications.
The vast amount of research has provided several explanations to account for the behavior of the offenders and the low rate in which sexual assault cases initiate criminal proceedings through a variety of theoretical perspectives. These include the classical approaches that focus on the individual who has committed sexual assault and the positivist approaches that aim to explain the social factors that influence the prosecution rates th...
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.
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.
On January 13, 1903, the first Korean Immigrants set foot in Hawaii. There were eighty six people on that first voyage, and since then there have been over 550,000 Koreans who have made the journey to the United States over the past 100 years. The original immigrants and their descendants now total over 1.6 million. Korean Americans make up one of the most prominent Asian communities in the United States. Many elements of Korean Culture, ranging from Kim Chee to Tae Kwon Do, have made their way into the American Lifestyle. There have been many events that have shaped the Korean American community and there are many current issues that affect Korean Americans.
Legally, one might wonder how sexual assault is defined. According to Massachusetts State law, there are two major categories of sexual assault against adults. One of these is rape, and the other is indecent assault and battery. Rape is defined as “sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with a person and compels such person to submit by force and against his/her will, or compels such person to submit by threat of bodily injury.” Rape and attempted rape are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Sexual abuse includes any sexual act in which one person has not agreed to it. A woman can be sexually abused by means of, but not limited to force, coercion, blackmail, threat, or embarrassment. Sexual abuse may occur when a woman is forced to perform, watch, or in any other way engage in sexual acts. This includes but is not limited to vaginal, anal and oral sex, fondling, touching, disrespect of privacy, such as showering, being forced to watch pornography or view pornographic pictures, being forced into sexual poses, or being verbally abused in a sexual manner (Morris and Biehl 36, Haley 14).
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).
Due to the stigma that has been placed on sex offenders, society wants to understand two things, who sex offenders really are and the characteristic of a possible sex offender. They often want to know, some identifying facts so that they can spot these people and protect family members and themselves. However, according to the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM) (n.d.), there has been research that suggests there is no concrete profile of a sex offender. Due to this criminal behavior, being so diverse and heterogeneous, individuals who commit these crimes cannot be identified with the statement “these crimes are all alike” (CSOM, n.d.). Griffin and West (2006) also suggested that a sex offender is anybody who commits a sexual assault. They suggested that this criminal behavior is more frequent in the white population (52 percent) with the average age of thirty-one years old. Most reported sexual assaults are also typically males (92.2 percent) above the age of eighteen, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) (n.d.)
What is sexual assault? Sexual assault is, “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape” (Sexual Assault).
A question among researchers is what type of force is required to constitute sexual assault. Does non-physical sexual coercion count as sexual assault? Russell (1982) found that women described sexual coercion as different than sexual assault, showing that there is a major distinction in their minds of these types of sexual violence. Thus, her research team distinguished between use of physical force and non-physical coercion, even to the point of determining which actions constitute physical force. Their criteria for use of force included “such acts as pushing, pinning, and being held down by a husband’s weight so that the woman couldn’t move,” (p. 48). In chapter five of their seminal work License to Rape (1985), Finkellhor & Yllo present
Sexual assault is a term that is used interchangeably with the word rape. The decision on whether or not to use the term rape or sexual assault is made by a state’s jurisdiction. Sexual assault is more readily used in an attempt to be more gender neutral (National Victim Center). Sexual assault can be most easily described as forced or unconsentual sexual intercourse. The individual that is performing these acts on the victim may either be a stranger or an acquaintance. In 1994, 64.2 percent of all rapes were committed by someone the offender had previously known (Ringel, 1997). Regardless, this type of crime can have extreme effects on the victim.
Introduction Sexual homicide is a type of offense related to offender’s sexual gratification. For most people, sexual homicide is usually considered terrifying due to its nature and the way sexual murderer commit such offense. For law enforcement agencies, it is not easy to predict and prevent sexual homicide because such offenders usually act the way most people do (i.e. they participate in community activities), and their deviant characteristics are not revealed until they commit sexual homicide (Myers, Husted, Safarik, & O'Toole, 2006). Because of the difficulties of identifying sexual murderers in advance, the most practical way for law enforcement officers to investigate is to examine crime scene indicators so that they can understand
For some, sexual harassment and assault seem almost like myths or bad dreams. For others, it's a living reality. The United States Department of Justice defines sexual assault as “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.” Sexual harassment and assault are demeaning, terrifying, and forceful behaviors. And yet, it’s happening every day.