Sex Offending Exam 1 Study Guide Sexual Offenses and Offenders An Overview Overview Focus on sex offenders reflects the social construction of these offenders influenced by existing social and political ideology Social Construction Nature depends on variables reflecting social position rather than the inherent nature of the concept itself Most sex offenders do not participate in extensive treatment programs Why Decline of rehabilitative ideal Little support for allocating funds for rehab programs Increasingly conservative nature of the supreme courts rulings Lack of desire by offenders What is a sexual offense Our notions of what is criminal sexual behavior are Not Static Sexual behaviors outside of procreation have shifted from accepted to stigmatized to illegal and sometimes back again Variation across countries states and jurisdictions Generally three types of criminalized sexual acts Contact Sex Offenses Non Contact Sex Offenses Child Pornography Some states criminalized consensual sexual acts In 1999 26 states listed consensual sodomy as illegal In 2003 sodomy laws were ruled unconstitutional Lawrence v Texas For most sex crimes the theme running throughout is Lack of Consent When the act is a result of force threat or duress A reasonable person would understand that the victim did not consent due to a clear implied statement that he or she did not want to engage in act The victim is incapable of consenting due to age mentally ill handicap or in custody prison Prevalence and Scope of Sexual Offending Most recorded Sex Offenses Reported Arrest Conviction Least recorded Funnel system Approximately 31 of offenses reported to Police Uniform Crime Reports UCR Began in 1930 Compiles crime reports nationwide Reported crimes and arrest data Consistent measurement of offenses Allows for comparisons between jurisdictions Limitations Incomplete Date Hierarchy Different definitions Participation is voluntary National Incident Based Reporting System NIBRS Created by FBI in 1989 Incident based Detailed information Limitations Allows for multiple offenses no hierarchy offenders victims etc Not widely implemented 25 as of 2007 Relies on reported crimes 31 of sex offenses are reported National Crime Victimization Survey NCVS Most systematic victimization info source Began in 1973 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics Annual estimates of numbers and rates Personal and household statistics Produces more complex picture of crime victims than police records Gives information on the dark figure of crime Limitations Depends on self reports Children under 12 not included Homeless not interviewed National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System NCANDS Administered by Federal Department of Health and Human Services Incident level reports from state child protective services Distinguishes types of child abuse Empirical Studies Deeper analysis Complex methodologies Historical sociological context Limitations File drawer problem Varying methodologies Outside interests What we know What the UCR tells us about forcible rapes In 2009 there were 88 097 forcible rapes reported to police rate 28 7 per 100 000 What the NCVS tells us about sexual victimization In 2009 there were 125 910 rapes sexual assaults attempted or completed 500 per 100 000 Rates of rape or sexual assault remained generally stable from 2000 to 2007 before declining between 2007 and 2009 Though there are racial ethnic differences in victimization rates for victims of sexual abuse these are not statistically significant What NCANDS tells us about child sexual abuse Decline in sexual abuse of children from 1992 to 2000 Part of the decline is due to 1 differences in methods but partly due to 2 national trend in decreased number of reports similar trends are seen in the NCVS What the research tells us In 1980s Increase in the number of reported acquaintance rapes challenging the nation of the stranger danger Increase in date rape incest and rape marriage Stranger Danger still has a hold on the public Traditionally sex offenders sentenced to prison are more likely to have Raped strangers Used weapons Injured their victims Research Estimates be abused by an adult assault Committed other crimes at the time of the sexual assault Recent push for Get Tough approaches for sentencing sex offenders One study found that 1 in 4 women is likely to be raped 1 in 3 girls is likely to Approximately 13 of males and 30 40 of females experienced child sexual Meta analysis Pereda et al 2009 approximately 8 of men and 20 of women had some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18 Reporting Sexual Assault Victims more likely to report when offender is Male Victims more likely to report when offender is Black Victims more likely to report when offender is 12 14 years old Victims more likely to report when offender is a Stranger Victims more likely to report when Multiple offenders are involved Victims more likely to report when Weapon is present Reporting Child Sexual Assault Why do children delay disclosure Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome Abuse is carried out in privacy abuse encourages secrecy Children obedient to adults Child is entrenched in the abuse Children maintain promise of secrecy feelings of guilt and shame Retract the report because of disbelief by those most trusted by the victim Four stages of disclosure Denial Disclosure Recantation Reaffirmation V O relationship most important predictor of reporting abuse closer the relationship the less likely to report Females are more likely then Males to report abuse Children who do not feel they will be supported are less likely to report The more severe the abuse the less likely they are to report If they fear they will get in trouble they are less likely to report Problems with self reports Telescoping actually did When victims remember the crime happening earlier or later than it Forward Telescoping Recalling an event that occurred prior to the reporting period Most Common Backward Telescoping Recalling an event that occurred after the reporting period Historical Perspectives Historical Religious and Cultural Perspectives of Sexual Behavior Early Greek Culture Homosexuality was displayed in art dated back to the 16th Century B C Transgenerational homosexuality was not uncommon Same sex relationships were viewed as supplemental to the relationship between husband and wife Young boys as sex slaves Early Roman Culture mental development Early Egyptian Culture common Romans believed that sexual activity
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