ipl-logo

How Does Society Make Sense Of Sex Offences Essay

1989 Words8 Pages

Making sense of sex offences This essay will examine sex offences and how society can make sense of them. It will offer historical, and cultural explanations, considering how sex offences are reported, recorded and measured, and argue that they may not tell the complete story. The essay will examine recent crime statistics relating to sex offences, identifying any issues. Finally the essay will suggest ways in which the media and politics impact on the public perception of sex offences. Legislation in England and Wales relating to sex offences can be traced back to 1285 when the Statute of Westminster made rape an offence punishable by death (Thomas 2005). Henry VIII introduced the Buggery Act in 1533 making homosexual activity an offence …show more content…

The Sexual Offences Act 1967 decriminalised homosexual acts between two consenting men over the age of 21 in England and Wales only. Homosexual activity between consenting adult males was decriminalised in Scotland by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 and Northern Ireland by the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982. The age of homosexual consent was lowered to 18 years by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 but it wasn’t until the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 when the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual behaviours was equalised at 16 …show more content…

Media led public outcry over kidnap and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne in 2000 by convicted paedophile Roy Whiting, put the government under pressure to increase sentences for child sex offenders and strengthen the management and supervision of those in the community. This led the then Home Secretary David Blunkett to introduce new legislation to address

Show More
Related

Mr. Lazarus Flaws Of The Legal System

673 Words | 3 Pages

On May 12, 2013 a Sydney man Mr Lazarus was accused of raping an 18 year old woman in an alley outside his father’s nightclub. This case caused discussion about NSW sexual consent laws. This case clearly highlights the effectiveness and some major flaws of the legal system. During the first jury trial in NSW District Court Mr Lazarus was convicted for rape without sexual consent and resulted in a maximum of five-year prison sentence. After serving in prison for 11 months the Court of Criminal Appeal conducted a second trial for the case which resulted in an acquittal as Judge Tupman claimed that Mr Lazarus truly did believe that Ms Mullins did consent which is a crucial element of the offence of sexual intersource without consent.

Read More

How Does Alex Committed A Number Of Sexual Offences Against Children

1511 Words | 7 Pages

QUESTION 1 (i) The scenario given is one regarding Alex, a fourteen-year-old teenage boy, who has had experimental sexual intercourse with the victim – Simone, a twelve-year-old girl. Hence, on the face of it, Alex has committed a number of sexual offences against children under the age of thirteen, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The various strict liability offences committed by Alex will be discussed as follows.

Read More

Megan's Law Policy Analysis

1758 Words | 8 Pages

The house passed Megan’s Law on May 7th, 1996 and two days later the Senate passed it. On May 13th, 1996, it was presented to President Bill Clinton, who signed it on May 17th, which was the day that it became a public law. Megan’s Law remains in effect to this day (United States Congress, 1996).

Read More

Bowers V Hardwick Case Brief

849 Words | 4 Pages

However, also stated that there is no historical standing in that origin of law that was targeting homosexual conduct in a direct view. Sodomy laws passed in earlier times, were not passed to prohibit same sex acts but was aimed to ban sexual acts that were not intended to procreate in general, whether it was between men and woman, or man and man. Also, those laws were not enforced between consenting adults in private. Prosecutions against sodomy were of predatory acts against anyone who were forced and non consenting; such as children and men, and or between man and

Read More

Megan's Law Essay

1552 Words | 7 Pages

The sexual offender registration and notification act, also known as Megan’s Law, was enacted in 1995 by Pennsylivania Governor Tom Ridge. Megan Kanka was a seven year-old girl that resided in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, with her family. On Friday, July 29, 1994, Kanka was raped and murdered by their 33 year old neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas. Timmendequas had two prior convictions of attempted sexual assault on five and seven year old girls. He lured Kanka into his house by offering to show her a puppy.

Read More

Megan's Law Essay

507 Words | 3 Pages

Megan Kanka was seven-years-old when she was brutally raped and murdered by a neighbor Jesse Timmendequas on December 7, 1986. Prior to killing Megan Kanke, Jesse Timmendequas was convicted of sexually assaulting two young girls and sentenced to prison (Glaberson, 1996). Upon his release from prison, Jesse moved into the neighborhood where Megan lived with her family, Jesse lured Megan to his home where he brutally raped and murdered her (Glaberson, 1996). This horrific case is what lead to the enactment of Megan’s Law which was first signed into law in 1996. Megan’s Law was an amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act of 1994 (National Alert Registry, n.d.).

Read More

Megan's Law Essay

914 Words | 4 Pages

Megan’s Law is a federal law that has changed the course of the criminal justice system in the United States of America. Prior to Megan’s law, convicted sex offenders were able to easily re-offend due to lack of public notification. In the year 2000, it is estimated that there were more than 248,000 sexual victimizations and over an 8-year period in the United States there were 366,460 attempted or completed rapes and sexual assaults (Welchans, 2005). The prevalence of sexual assault, rape, and pedophilia in the United States has sparked a large conversation over the last decade, which has led to the creation of several laws, including Megan’s Law. This analysis of Megan’s Law will focus on the positive aspects that implementing this law has

Read More

Bilal Skaf Gang Rape Report

1788 Words | 8 Pages

26th February 2014, ‘The Australian’ newspaper reporter, Adam Vilder reported that one of the Bilal Skaf gang rapist known as “H” attends for his first parole report. This newspaper article reminded the people of the series of sickening sexual assaults which took place in the early 2000. A gang up to 14 teenage Lebanese Australian terrorized Western Sydney by committing a four-week rampage of sexual offence; At least six young ladies were a victim of the gang rape. The youths headed by the19-year-old Bilal Skaf were caught gang raping, put on shame and humiliating the victims with violence and racist taunts. Rape has a definition of a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of penetration initiated against

Read More

Legal Punishment For Sodomy In Griswold V. Connecticut

413 Words | 2 Pages

INTRODUCTION Legal punishments for sodomy often included heavy fines and/or life prison sentences, with some states, beginning with Illinois in 1827, denying other rights, such as suffrage, to anyone convicted of the crime of sodomy. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several states imposed various eugenics laws against anyone deemed to be a "sexual pervert". As late as 1970, Connecticut denied a driver's license to a man for being an "admitted homosexual".

Read More

The Stonewall Rebellion

733 Words | 3 Pages

However, the end of the 19th century brought new sodomy laws written with homosexuals in mind. These laws prohibited sexual acts in public as well as in the private home of a couple. Police officials were able to use these laws as a way to harass and provoke the emerging LGBT community. As the 20th century progressed, the gay and lesbian community began to grow, creating conflict between the traditional ways of life and the new and urbanized culture.

Read More

The Hobbit Movie Vs Book

733 Words | 3 Pages

Riddles of DEATH In a battle of a riddle game who do you think would win Gollum the king of riddles or Bilbo a short little hobbit who has no idea of what a riddle is. The book is called “The Hobbit” written by J.R.R Tolkien and the director of the movie Peter Jackson. In the book there is a short little hobbit named Bilbo who leaves in a small hobbit hole all by himself. At of nowhere a wizard named Gandalf comes by and starts to talk to Bilbo about some weird journey he is taking and wants Bilbo to come along with him and some dwarves.

Read More

Teenage Girls In The 1900's

411 Words | 2 Pages

Judges often used this as a way to ignore rape charges. Seeing this downward trend, legislators decided to not act by not reducing the age of consent. This registered our cultural as being filled with teenage girls being sexually attractive, and even more sexual active nut according to law was seen as unavailable. The legislators did make some moves to protect the teenage girls

Read More

Persuasive Essay On Pro Sex Offenders

1317 Words | 6 Pages

Sex Offenders: Being Brought to Tiers In 1995, David was at the park with his friends playing basketball. He was just a regular 17-year-old boy in high school trying to endure through the stresses that come with that age. He was an average student and had high hopes for college and the future. As the day was going on, David realized he needed to go to the bathroom.

Read More

Female Sex Offenders Essay

1479 Words | 6 Pages

“Although concerning sexual practices between adults and children have existed throughout history and across cultures, whether such behavior was conceived of and defined as ‘abuse’ has been dependent on the societal values of the particular period” (Denov, 2004). In today’s society, sex offending has become an increasingly, concerning phenomenon that individuals must become more aware of. Although generally regarded as a male phenomenon, over time, female perpetrators have become equally important as male perpetrators. Due to the lack of public awareness, female sexual predators go unreported. As a result, society must become more aware of female sexual perpetrators, as many incidents of females assaulting both young men and women have gone unreported for some time.

Read More

Consent In Criminal Law Essay

1017 Words | 5 Pages

This essay will look at the issue of consent with regard to the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003. Prior to the SOA, the issue of consent was governed by case law, but was considered unsatisfactory by the home office. This prompted various consultations and white papers, namely Setting the Boundaries, headed by then Home Secretary Jack Straw, with the view to modernise and strengthen uk law, whilst protecting the victims of sexual offences. A highlighted and most widely accepted proposal from Setting the Boundaries, was the introduction of the statutory definition of consent, calling that consent becoming essential in determining the guilt of an offender, therefore it is rudimentary to be defined in judicial law. Consent is therefore written

Read More

More about How Does Society Make Sense Of Sex Offences Essay

Related Topics

Open Document