After reading an excerpt from Our Guys by Bernard Leftkowitz and learning about the events and reaction of the community in which the assault occurred, I cannot say I am surprised. Although the reported event occurred in 1989, the reaction of the community effected, and the reaction of the media is one that is still very familiar now, in 2018. However, it was very difficult for me to form an unbiased opinion of the events which occurred because the text itself seemed to be written in a very biased light- withal, that is not to say that I did not form thoughts, opinions, and even judgements on the occurrences. From what I gathered during my reading, Glen Ridge, NJ is a suburban gemeinschaft of sorts; a tightknit community, comprised primarily …show more content…
With this information, I chose to utilize Sigmund Freud's ideas of inborn drives and came to the conclusion that by some means of social disorganization, the idea of sexual assault was subjected to differential injustice. Furthermore, I determined that this instance of social disorganization was established by the parents of the perpetrators. This was derived by the simple fact that (according to STATE v. SCHERZER, 1997) of the 8 men charged in this case, there were two sets of siblings (Kevin and Kyle Scherzer, and Christopher and Paul Archer.) Also, given the fact that the incident occurred in the Scherzers' home it could be assumed that the other assailants participated as a form of conformity. Upon further inspection of the text, it also became increasingly evident that social structure of Glen Ridge's society was established in a way that individuals in the "out-group" would understand that in order to be a remotely included in society they had to do more than conform to the societal standards- they had to obey the unspoken laws of the society. This idea is particularly evident in the text when Leslie recounts the events, particularly when she remembers the assailants say to …show more content…
It is likely that these attitudes have been inherited by the community through sociocultural evolution- therefore, we're taught to the parents of the aggressors (and potentially to the victim) and inherently passed onto the aggressors themselves. (At this point, I would like to interject by stating that I do not believe sociocultural evolution should, or could, pose as an excuse for the crimes
Cases of incestial rape by father's upon their daughters, where actually rarely reported (Brown, 131). Most mother's and daughters kept incidents like these secret from the public or rarely even confronted their husbands and fathers for fear of experiencing further harm. Not to mention that it was a hard crime to prove (Brown, 112). Incest has been against the law for a long time- so the father of a household could be jailed a short while for the crime, but shockingly, girls only needed to be older than ten years of age to give consent to sex (Brown, 60). Thus making it easy for defense attorneys to establish reasonable of doubt rape and making the father guilty of incest instead (Brown, 89).
On April 19th, 1989, Trisha Meili was the victim of violent assault, rape, and sodomy. The vicious attack left her in a coma for 12 days and The New York Times described it as “one of the most widely publicized crimes of the 1980’s.” The documentary, The Central Park Five, reveals the truth about what happened the night of April 19th, and how the subordinate group of young black boys were wrongly convicted. Analyzing the conflict theory of crime in association to the case of the central park five, understanding the way they were treated based on setting, why it was so easy for the law enforcement to pin the crime on the young black boys, and how wrongly convicting someone has great consequences along with relating it
Facts: The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 allowed for Federal Civil remedy for victims of “gender-motivated violence.” After the attack, Morrison made “vulgar remarks” to Brzonkala as well as peers in a dining hall making it clear the alleged attack was motivated by “gender based animus towards women.”
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.
While the victim on this show was taken seriously and given a rape kit, she was still asked what she was wearing and whether or not she welcomed the man’s behavior with flirtation. These sorts of questions do touch on how many rape cases are biased against women and do not usually work in their favor. Also, motivational theories in sociology focus on social factors which drive a person to commit crimes (Wadsworth). In this case, the defense argues that the woman’s behavior, appearance, and attitude demonstrated that she wanted to have sex. As a result of these social factors and indicators, he to committed a deviant
...nder-egalitarian societies and rampant in patriarchal societies, I conclude sexual violence is a means of asserting power such that weakening women enforces strength of men. This power struggle is becomes more potent when legitimized by the state in warfare and the penal code that exempts men from accountability for their sexually predatory crimes. Thus, the inconsistencies of the occurrence of rape across different societies suggest that male sexual violence is not inborn and universal. While evolutionary advocates argue that male predisposition to achieving power is innate, they disregard the agency of choice entirely. I contend that cultural realities and not biological urges determine whether a man enacts violence. Thus, there are faultlines in our culture that enable rapists to commit their crime. By identifying these flaws, rape can be eliminated from society.
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights
The novel Our Guys, written by Bernard Lefkowitz, is a very dynamic story about the heinous actions of a dozen middle-class athletes, from a small New York suburb, against a defenseless mentally handicapped girl. Lefkowitz describes a brutal gang rape involving a baseball bat and broomhandle, which took place in this unsuspecting town, by these upstanding young group of boys, as the town would describe them. Lefkowitz looks at the incident which took place and then examines the “jock clique” sub-culture that allowed such atrocities to happen, and spawned the scandal to cover it up.
Ressler, Robert K., Ann W. Burgess, and John E. Douglas. Sexual Homicide - Patterns and Motives. Lexington, MA: Heath, 1988.
Susan Griffin’s Rape: The All-American Crime touches on many issues within American society. She begins by recounting how she was taught to be afraid of strange men from such a young age that she had not yet learned what it was she was so afraid of, and then goes into her experience with harassment, an experience shared by every woman at some point in her life. Griffin recounts the belief that all rapists are insane and the proof that they are just normal men and dispels the myth that rape is normal activity that is prohibited by society. However, she goes on to clarify that our culture views rape: “as an illegal, but still understandable, form of behavior” (Griffin 514). It seems that the wrongness of rape is determined by the situation in
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
As a human trait, the sense of control is often at the forefront of violence. This sense of control can also be used to explain child sexual abuse and particularly why father-daughter incest is higher than mother-son incest. Male dominance in society is proven to be a factor influencing child sexual
As research shows (cite all above research), cognitive processes within our brains lead to the tendency of victim blaming. Starting with rape myths and rape scripts, it is easy to see how our society and culture breeds victim-blaming attitudes. Historically, the United States, like many other industrialized countries, developed from a patriarchal society characterized by men holding the power and women expected to be submissive. With such an atmosphere, crimes against women
...lity that the victim may actually be partly to blame for the crime that was committed against them. Therefore it is often the environment that the criminal lives in, and the people that around them that influence them into committing a criminal act.
Assigning blame has become an increasingly difficult and complex concept to understand, especially in our legal court system. I associate blame with being held responsible for the consequences of one’s intentional actions. In regards to sexual assault cases, I think the blame should not be placed on the victims, but rather on the perpetrators. Victim blaming justifies the perpetrator’s actions, discourages sexual assault reportings, and can have psychological effects on the victim.