Sex Crime exam 1

Moral Panic

Term coined by Stanley Cohen in 1972.

Recidivism

Rates of persons who commit sex crimes are lower than expected.

Sex Offender vs Sex Crime

People are more willing to volunteer to work with a person who committed a sex offense than a sex offender

Seduction Theory

A theory of childhood sexuality that is criticized for implying willingness by the child.

Sex Crimes (Federal Definition)

Offenses involving sexual acts or sexual contact.

Kinsey Scale

A scale proposed by Alfred Kinsey ranging from zero (exclusively heterosexual) to six (exclusively homosexual), illustrating sexuality as a continuum.

UNODC

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; provides annual self-report surveys on sex crimes.

UCR

Uniform Crime Reports; annual reports of crimes and arrests published by the FBI.

NIBRS

National Incident Based Reporting System; collects detailed information about all crimes.

NCVS

National Crime Victimization Survey; gathers information on crimes not reported to law enforcement.

NVAWS

National Violence Against Women Survey; uses complex design to yield a nationally representative sample.

Sex Crime Myths

Common misconceptions include high sex crime rates and the idea that all sex offenders will recidivate.

Probabilistic Causation

A theory where a cause may lead to a specific outcome.

Deterministic Causation

A theory where a cause always results in a specific outcome.

Social Control Theory

Also called social bonding theory; involves four bonds that prevent crime: attachment, commitment, involvement, belief.

Self-Control Theory

The theory that low self-control increases the likelihood of committing crimes.

Routine Activities Theory

Focuses on crime occurrence involving a motivated offender, suitable target, and absence of capable guardian.

Social Learning Theory

The theory that people learn behaviors through imitation and observation.

• Know the main concepts associated with each theory

Cognitive schemas

• Cognitive distortions

• Cognitive biases

• Experiential learning

• Vicarious learning

• Personality development: traits associated with sexual offending

• Callousness

• Lack of empathy

• Narcissism

• Sadism

• Personality pathology

Freud's 5 Stages of Psychosexual Development

Includes oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.

Classical Conditioning

Learning process involving a neutral stimulus eliciting a conditioned response, as shown in Pavlov's experiment.

Operant Conditioning

A behaviorist principle involving reinforcements and punishments to encourage or discourage behaviors.

Testosterone's Role

High levels of this hormone are linked to violent behavior.

Serotonin's Role

Neurotransmitter that affects mood and brain function; linked to violent behavior.

Brain Structure Differences

Identifiable variations that may exist between individuals who have committed sex crimes and those who have not.

Cognitive Distortions

Automatic thought processes that minimize the seriousness of offenses.

Rape Culture

A belief system that encourages male sexual aggression against women.

Rape Shield Laws

Laws designed to prevent a victim's sexual history from being used against their credibility in court.

Rape Typologies

A classification system for categorizing individuals who commit rape.

Case Attrition

The failure of a rape case to progress through the criminal justice system.

Unfounded Cases

Rape cases determined to have insufficient evidence, often due to lack of penetration or force.

Good-Looking Effect

The phenomenon where attractive victims and defendants tend to receive more favorable treatment in legal contexts.

Intimacy Effect

The idea that rapes between intimates are perceived as less serious than stranger rapes.

Victim's Consent

Understanding consent as both agreement and comprehension of the terms being agreed to.

Hostile Masculinity

A characteristic of some rapists involving aggressive sexual beliefs and a history of violence.

Rape Conviction Rates

Only 22-25% of rape cases result in conviction.

CSA (Child Sexual Abuse) Definition

A broad spectrum of behaviors where an adult engages in inappropriate sexual acts with a child.

Common CSA Myths

Misbeliefs include the idea that all children are targets and that abused children will become abusers.

Intrafamilial Abuse

Child sexual abuse occurring within the family, often by someone not necessarily labeled a pedophile.

Groth's Typology

A classification framework to evaluate child molesters and understand their behavior.

Stages of Grooming

Steps taken to manipulate a child into situations conducive to sexual abuse generally forming a relationship.

Battered Child Syndrome

A clinical diagnosis for children experiencing repeated physical abuse.

Mandated Reporters

Professionals legally required to report suspected child sexual abuse.

Testimonial Competence

Challenges faced by very young victims in court due to perceived credibilities.

Factors in CSA Cases

Medical and behavioral evidence play critical roles in the outcomes of child sexual abuse trials.