This book brings together chapters by academics, researchers and practitioners to analyse how crimes such as sex work, domestic violence and rape and sexual assault have risen up the Government agenda in recent years. For example, the 'Paying the Price' consultation exercise on sex work in 2004, and recent legislation around sex crimes, including the Sex Offences Act (2003). This is a multi-disciplinary, social scientific, pro-feminist collection, which draws upon practice, empirical research, documentary analysis and overviews of research in the areas of sex work and sexual violence. Within Sex as Crime there are two distinct sub-sections: 'Sex for Sale' and 'Sex as Violence', but the broader and overriding link of sex as crime remains a paramount theme that spans the collection. Chapters include discussions of the impact of new regulations on street sex workers, and of street sex work on community residents, the use of the internet by men who pay for sex and men who sell it, sexual violence and identity, sex crimes against children and protecting children online and working with sex offenders. Other chapters explore reasons for such offending behaviour.
"What "works" in preventing sex crime? How can policymakers respond to threats of sexual victimization in a manner that is effective, equitable, and sustainable? The second edition of Sex Crime, Offenders, and Society seeks to provide a knowledge base for addressing these questions. Based on feedback from reviewers and readers, the new edition retains the same structure as the first, examining three critical dimensions: the nature and extent of sex offending and explanations, societal responses, and sex crime policy and reform. It now includes updated statistics and references to influential scholarship throughout, a new chapter exploring sex crime in post-secondary institutions, and a concluding chapter that focuses on innovative policy and reform into the future"--
The sexualized serial murder of women by men is the subject of this provocative book. Jane Caputi argues that the sensationalized murders by men such as Jack the Ripper, Son of Sam, Hillside Strangler, and the Yorkshire Ripper represent a contemporary genre of sexually political crimes. The awful deeds function as a form of patriarchal terrorism, "disappearing" women at a rate of some four thousand annually in the United States alone. Caputi asks us not only to name the phenomenon of sexually political murder, but to recognize sex crime in all of its various interconnecting manifestations.
A comprehensive account of the myriad ways that sex and crime interact in contemporary social life, sensitively confronting topics such as nationhood, abortion, child sexual exploitation, war, disability, pornography, and digital cultures. To explain how sex and crime is composed by, and composes, our understanding of these issues, this book: Draws on the authors’ research expertise, insightful case studies, and leading scholarship from across the globe. Develops students’ capacity to engage thoughtfully with diverse problems and to think critically, this is achieved with the help of creative learning exercises, empathetic questioning, and relevant illustrative examples. Encourages readers to be reflexive, open-spirited, and curious about how issues of sex and crime touch their lives and those of people around them.
Sex Crime, Third edition offers a comprehensive and integrative introduction to sex crime, written by an expert in the field. The third edition has been fully expanded and updated to include further coverage of a range of critical topics, including child sexual exploitation, child pornography, female sex offenders, treatment approaches such as the ‘Good Lives Model’ and the European Convention on Human Rights. Delving into and beyond the news headlines about sexual crimes that seem to appear on our screens and in our newspapers almost every day, this third edition draws on a range of high profile case studies, such as Vanessa George, Stuart Hall, Jimmy Savile and Operation Yewtree and also offers a review of all relevant legislation. This new edition also includes an analysis of possible causes of sex offending, as well as public and professional responses to sex crime. Including an examination of the policing of sexual crime; the prosecution of the accused; the sentencing and punishment of sexual offenders; and ‘public protection’ measures, this new edition covers all of the key aspects of sex crime and how it is dealt with. Wide-ranging and authoritative, Sex Crime, Third edition presents a complex area in a straightforward and understandable manner. Thomas guides the reader through the range of policies and law which have accumulated over the years, making this essential reading for academics and students engaged in the study of sex crime, sexual violence and the treatment of sex offenders. It will also be of great interest to criminal justice practitioners.
"This volume of readings provides an excellent source of information about sex offender laws and policies."--International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology "Sex Offender Laws...is a good source for balanced, objective, and thorough critique of our current sex offender policies as well as a source for accurate information about a very heterogeneous population...The message that sexual abuse is often a multifaceted and complex issue and that policy based on quick fixes or knee jerk reactions do not often work will be informative and enlightening to many readers." --Sex Roles "[T]his fine book by Richard Wright and his distinguished collaborators provides the evidence that wise policy-makers would want to consider. It covers every major field of research concerning sex offenders and sexual offenses and provides evidence of bad practices and policiesÖ.Intellectually honest politicians should read this book." --Michael Tonry, LL.B, Professor of Law and Public Policy University of Minnesota Law School (From the Foreword) In response to many high-profile cases of sexual assault, federal and state governments have placed a number of unique criminal sanctions on sex offenders. These include residency restrictions, exclusionary zones, electronic monitoring, and chemical castration. However, the majority of sex offender policies are not based on empirical evidence, nor have they demonstrated any significant reductions in offender recidivism. In fact, some of these policies have unintended consequences, which actually increase the likelihood of sexual offenses. In this book, Wright critically analyzes existing policies, and assesses the most effective approaches in preventing sex offender recidivism. This provocative and timely book draws from the fields of criminal justice, law, forensic psychology, and social work to examine how current laws and policies are enacted and what to-date is known about their efficacy. The team of expert contributors includes Karen Terry, author of Sexual Offenses and Offenders, and others who bring a wealth of insight to the field of sex offense. In response to the failed policies of sex offender laws, this book presents alternative models and approaches to sex offense laws and policies. Wright also explores critical, cutting-edge topics, such as internet sexual solicitation, the death penalty, and community responses to sex offense. Key Features: An introduction and overview of the history of sex offender laws Analyzes the role of the media in sex offense and sex offender policies Examines the political "untouchability" of sex offender laws and their adverse effects Features interviews with victims of sexual assault, investigating their points of views on what kinds of reforms need to be made to sex offender laws Thought-provoking and insightful, Sex Offender Laws serves as a vital resource for policy makers, researchers, and students of criminal justice, law, and social work.
Sex crime has become one of the most intense areas of public and political concern in recent decades. This book explores the complex influences that shape its construction in the press. Media representations give important clues as to how we should perceive the nature and extent of sex crime, how we should think and feel about it, how we should respond to it, and the measures that might be taken to reduce risk. Understanding the media construction of sex crime is central to understanding its meaning and place in our everyday lives. Unlike much of the existing research, this book explores the construction of sex crime at every stage of the news production process. It then locates the findings within a wider context of cultural, economic and political change in late modernity. The book; shows how increased market competition and tabloidisation has altered fundamentally the way in which news is produced, communicated and consumed discusses representations of the full range of sex crimes from consensual homosexual offences and prostitution to serial rape and sex murder draws upon extensive empirical research in Northern Ireland, while addressing issues relevant to advance capitalist societies across the globe
Over the last few decades, there has been a marked increase in media and debate surrounding a specific group of offences in modern Democratic nations which bear the brunt of the label ‘crimes against morality’. Included within this group are offences related to prostitution and pornography, homosexuality and incest and child sexual abuse. This book examines the nexus between sex, crime and morality from a theoretical perspective. This is the first academic text to offer an examination and analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of sex-related crimes and social attitudes towards them and the historical, anthropological and moral reasons for differentiating these crimes in contemporary western culture. The book is divided into three sections corresponding to three theoretical frameworks: Part 1 examines the moral temporality of sex and taboo as a foundation for legislation governing sex crimes Part 2 focuses on the geography of sex and deviance, specifically notions of public morality and the public private divide Part 3 examines the moral economy of sex and harm, including the social construction of harm. Sex, Crime and Morality will be key reading for students of criminology, criminal justice, gender studies and ethics, and will also be of interest to justice professionals.
From sex fiend laws to Jessica's Law, every state regularly passes popular tough-on-crime legislation, often written after highly-publicized cases have made the gruesome rounds through the media. Chrysanthi Leon shows that, while the singular notion of the sexual bogeyman has been used to justify these harsh policies, not all sex offenders are the same and such 'one size fits all' policies are well-intentioned but badly implemented. Leon argues for much-needed changes to the criminal justice system, ultimately showing that when policies intended for the worst offenders take over, all of us suffer.
The Oxford Handbook on Sex Offenses and Sex Offenders provides comprehensive, even-handed analysis of the myriad of topics related to sex offenses, including pornography, sex trafficking, criminal justice responses, and the role of social media in sex crimes. Extending beyond the existing scholarly research on the topic, this volume teases out the key debates, controversies, and challenges involved in addressing sex crimes.
