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.

By:   Angela Dwyer, Belinda Carpenter, Sharon Hayes
Imprint:   Willan Publishing
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 5mm,  Width: 234mm,  Spine: 156mm
Weight:   272g
ISBN:  

9781843928157

ISBN 10:   1843928159
Pages:   152
Publication Date:   November 2011
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational ,  A / AS level ,  Further / Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available  
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1. Introduction Part 1 2. Out of Time: The Moral Temporality of Sex and Taboo 3. Incest 4. Pornography Part 2 5. Out of Place: The Moral Geography of Sex and Deviance 6. Sex Offending 7. Sexuality Part 3 8. Out of Context: The Moral Economy of Sex and Harm 9. Sexual Commerce 10. Sex Trafficking 11. Conclusion

Sharon Hayes is Senior Lecturer in Justice at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Sharon has been researching and teaching in the areas of criminal justice, criminology and ethics for the past twenty years, and has published extensively in the areas of sexuality/gender studies, specifically sex and crime, same-sex domestic violence and sexuality in the classroom. Belinda Carpenter is Professor in the School of Justice, in the Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. She has published widely on the issue of prostitution, including the book: Rethinking Prostitution: feminism, sex and the self, New York, Peter Lang (2000). Angela Dwyer is Senior Lecturer in the School of Justice, in the Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Techology, Brisbane, Australia. Her research interests include sexuality and criminal justice, sex and crime, sex trafficking, prostitution, the body and criminality, young people and popular culture, and qualitative research methods.