Overview

This book examines the nexus between sex, crime and morality from a multidisciplinary perspective. The authors argue that although all crimes have a general moral basis, condemned as 'wrong' or 'bad' in the society in which they are proscribed, there are 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 will examine the historical, anthropological and moral reasons for such differentiations in contemporary western culture. The perpetrators of these crimes are positioned as the reviled corruptors of innocent children, the purveyors of disease, an indictment on the breakdown of the family and/or the secularisation of society, and a corruptive force. While other types of offending may divide public and political opinion, the consensus on sex crimes appears constant. This book will examine the origins of these attitudes and offer a reinterpretation of the traditional philosophical approach to crimes like prostitution, pornography, incest and homosexuality through a re-examination of a range of philosophical concepts including harm, consent, freedom and victimisation. As such, this book offers a unique analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of sex-related crimes and social attitudes towards them. The book is divided into three sections corresponding to three theoretical frameworks: section 1 examines legal moralism and legal paternalism as a foundation for legislation governing sex crimes; section two focuses on the notion of a public morality and the public-private divide as a way of understanding how sex crimes are categorised and regulated; and section three examines the social construction of harm in order to highlight the connection between sex, consent, and social mores. In each section, two case studies of particular sex crimes are used to illustrate the particular philosophical concepts, which are reworked for a contemporary audience. This book will be relevant to students of criminology, criminal justice, gender studies, and ethics as well as for justice professionals and governments seeking to reform legislation or address issues such as same-sex marriage, prostitution and pornography.

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9786613714398

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