Although we studied and discussed them separately for the most part, crime, violence, and criminal justice have often been found to overlap and intersect with notions of human sexuality. For example, on a global scale, hate crimes are known to often target individuals who have sexual lifestyles that are in the minority and also well-underrepresented. Human trafficking for the purposes of enslavement and soliciting sex in urban centers is also very common. Prostitution, which most commonly  involves young women and children, has also been identified as a "victimless" crime, especially among those who are not coerced to in the business, thus forcing many to ask if it should be legalized or not. Rape is also often used as weapon of war, control or domination, exemplifying that human bodies are no different than territories and lands that can be violated, mutilated, conquered, and owned. Vulnerable populations have been found to be intentionally injected with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as syphilis or HIV/AIDS.

Consider how human sexuality, crime, violence, and criminal justice overlap in the context of social problems. What kind(s) of social problem(s) come to mind? What forces exist within society that allow such social problems to exist? What has been done to address the issue? Is there anything that is left to be done? If so, what do you think should be done? How can education play a role in addressing this social problem? Or is the spread and growth of this social problem inevitable? If so, how so?
***Your response (blog post) to this blog above is required by Thursday, November 29, 2012  at 11:59 p.m. AND your three separate responses to your classmates are due on Saturday, December 1, 2012***
Daritza Lahoz
11/27/2012 11:21:01 am

I believe that the justice system is the main thing that ties human sexuality, crime, violence, and criminal justice together. I believe that by placing a great amount of power on those whose duty it is to enforce the law causes a great social problem in itself. Whether or not those who enforce the law are doing their job has some type of relationship to the amount of violence that takes place in the community they are patrolling. An example of this would be officers having a close relationship with the people in the community, thus promoting a “safer” environment. On the other hand, communities who don’t have strong police enforcement may be considered more dangerous because no one is there to prevent/ supervise such dangerous activity. With that being said, weak law enforcement may increase violence and crime. I believe that human sexuality ties into this because homosexuals are often subject to hate crimes etc. As a result, one is forced to consider the importance of criminal justice. Criminal justice is important because it addresses who police officers target. The ratio of men to women in jail is something that is almost unbelievable and should be addressed. By targeting mainly men, are we forced to believe that women who commit crimes aren’t trialed equally?! All in all, I don’t think that much has been done to address this issue. I believe that law enforcement is the main force behind such issue which is not inevitable. When addressing this issue we should consider strengthening the qualifications of officers. Education can help this issue because it would allow people to focus on school and success instead of viewing crime as the only means of survival.

Reply
Fabrice Mboua
11/29/2012 02:50:25 am

I agree with your point that police officers and law enforcers target a certain type of group or demographic of people. When it comes to sexuality I think law enforcers target the street prostitute over the call girl, because they have been told to do so. Maybe they are told by their superiors to turn a blind eye on call girls because maybe the call girl's client may be a influential person with the power and influence to have them all reprimanded somehow. So they rather just avoid the entire matter, and go after the easier target.

Reply
Richard Yi
11/27/2012 11:51:16 am

An example discussed in class about this issue is prostitution and how this social problem can impact our society. Some feminists argue that prostitution should be legalized because rules should not be set on what women can and cannot do. They also believe that this social problem should be legal because it is safer for women to work for an organization opposed to being alone on the streets. However, others argue that it gives men the right to have sexual control over women and contributes to male dominance. Today, Nevada is the only state that allows prostitution. Personally, I feel like prostitution should be illegal in every state throughout the United States. I think if this were to change, it would not be any time in the next ten years. To help bring our country towards this decision, we can start by educating the younger generation about the reality and dangers of prostitution during sex education classes. I do not remember learning anything about prostitution during any sex education class I took. Teaching the younger generation will hopefully help increase the chances of making prostitution illegal everywhere once they grow up and the topic arises. Also educating the whole country about the dangers of prostitution in Nevada will help open their eyes to the reality of this social problem. We can also educate the country by talking about how this social problem leads to other crimes like rape and assault.

Reply
Fabrice Mboua
11/28/2012 03:44:20 am

One social problem that comes to mind that is connected to sexuality and crime could be that of arranged and forced marriages. Arranged marriages are more prevalent in rural communities, where ignorance has let this practice continue. Many of the people involved in this practice have been raised and grew up in this environment, and are unaware of the world outside of their very own, so this practice has remained normal for them. Many times the women are subjected to forced and unwanted sexual advances and are usually the victims of all kinds of abuse ( http://womennewsnetwork.net/2011/09/12/india-domestic-abuse-arranged-marriages/ ) Internationally it is very difficult to try to stop the practices of certain communities, because arranged marriages are still the norm for them, but here in the U.S. the government they have established forced marriage prevention tasks force ( http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/safety/safety_5475.html ). Education could be the great deterrent to this problem, because I am sure that if women knew they had the freedom to choose their partners, they would not choose being part of an arranged marriage. But this problem will continue in communities where parental law is prevalent. What I mean by that, is in many cultures if you go against your parents/elders customs, rules, or expectations, you are seen as a rebel, and you are essentially cast out of your community.

Reply
Eric Pagdanganan
11/28/2012 04:37:25 pm

You are right sex education that covers prostitution and how prostitution is a dangerous occupation because prostitutes are prone to violence acts toward them. Prostitution is not helping women's rights movement to upgrade women status in society. It only degrades women.

Reply
Eric Pagdanganan
11/28/2012 04:40:50 pm

Oops! Ignore my comment in this blog about arranged marriage because I commented to the wrong blog.

Taiwoayantunji
12/1/2012 11:47:12 am

I completely agree with you that sex education can go a long way to discourage people from indulging in prostitution but we need to address the issue of powerty as well by puting in place jobs program that is capable to get people back to work.

Eric Pagdanganan
11/28/2012 04:45:22 pm

You are right sex education that covers prostitution and how prostitution is a dangerous occupation because prostitutes are prone to violence acts toward them. Educating young people about prostitution will give them more knowledge about it. Prostitution is not helping women's rights movement to upgrade women status in society. It only degrades women.

Reply
Fabrice Mboua
11/29/2012 02:58:02 am

I just don't understand why pornography is legal, but prostitution isn't. It basically is the same thing, getting paid for sex. I just think there has not been any legislation made to make pornography illegal because there is money to be made from pornography by the state. By making these porn studies fill out permits and pay taxes and such it's easy for local government to profit from this industry. Prostitution would be a lot harder for local government to govern, so they just went ahead and made it illegal every where except for Nevada.

Reply
sean simmons
11/29/2012 05:59:19 am

I think it has something to do with both(or more) parties being paid actors.

Taieoayantunji
12/1/2012 12:09:05 pm

I think , this is part of what is broken in our criminal jistice system which needs to be fixed. Phonography and prostitution should carry the same penalty.

Eric Pagdanganan
11/28/2012 04:27:51 pm

An example of social problem that I could think of is negative reaction towards homosexual people. This problem associates with discrimination and prejudice. Hate crime towards homosexual people is becoming more rampant. I believe that most of societies do not accept homosexuality in their society. Religion may play a factor in people for not accepting people of different sexual orientation. There has been Gay Rights Movements that advocate rights for homosexual people. Gay marriage is becoming more accepted in some communities. Sex education that covers homosexuality might help people to understand homosexual people. I believe that Human civilization is evolving, and in the future, people's perspective on homosexual will change positively.

Reply
Fabrice Mboua
11/29/2012 03:03:37 am

I agree that as we evolve as a society and people are more likely to have interactions with homosexuals there will be less violence and prejudice against homosexuals. I remember growing up and I never saw same sex parents at schools, I went to pick up my niece at school one day and I saw several. I asked my niece about it, and to her it was very much normal. So to your point about evolving, I think slowly but surely we are getting there.

Reply
Taiwoayantunji
12/1/2012 11:58:53 am

Am not a big fan of same sex marrage. Marrage in my own perspective should be between a man and a woman but I believe that the gay and lesbian families deserve a better treatment like everyone.

Daritza Lahoz
12/2/2012 07:40:10 am

I do believe that same sex marriage is becoming more acceptable than it once was simply because I have seen people become more open minded with politics. One of the reasons why same sex marriage was made legal in some states is because they deserve the same rights as everyone else. The fact that it has not been passed in the entire country is surprising because it shows how much tradition is valued in societies. Although I believe that making it legal in the country would take a long time (in terms of convincing people of their vote), I do believe that it is possible.

Reply
sean simmons
11/29/2012 05:50:38 am

I was interested to read about Swedens policy in dealing with prostitution. They have made the purchasing of sex, rather than the selling of it, illegal. They have had amazing results; reducing prostitution by an estimated 80%. Relieving pressure of women involved in prostitution will also make them far more likely to report any other crimes that are associated with their profession(e.g. drugs and violence). I wonder how affective this policy would be in the States.

Reply
Eric Pagdanganan
12/1/2012 11:54:08 am

You have a great point. I wonder if there is any policy regarding prosittution in certain parts of Nevada which prostitution is legal.

Reply
taiwoayantunji
11/29/2012 10:25:06 am

The social problem that comes to my mind in connection with sexuality, crime, violence and criminal justice is prostitution. Poverty and excessive desire for sex are major issue responsible for prostitution. Prostitution has been made a criminal offence by many states to dicourage prostitution but the goverment at all levels need to work with one another to create job and take serious steps to fight proverty inorder to discourage those people that are using poverty as an excuse to indulge in prostitution.However, education plays a role in fighting prostitution and it net effect. For example, an educated person will think twice before engaging in prostitution and there is likelihood that he or she will pay attention to safety instruction than a non-educated person.

Reply
Daritza Lahoz
12/2/2012 07:45:56 am

I do believe that poverty is responsible for prostitution. However, in many cases, women are not choosing to engage in prostitution because they want to, instead, it is considered a last resort for being able to support a family, or maybe because they were forced into the industry etc.. For this reason, i do believe that job opportunities should be created in these communities.

Reply
Golnaz Athari
11/29/2012 12:41:47 pm

Prostitution is one of the social problems that involve sexuality, crime and violence. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (2011), prostitution is “legal in 50%, limited in 11% and illegal in 39%”.
The Illegal networks that support the sex trade are vast and international, and involve all sorts of influential individuals. Yet, prostitutes are one of the most vulnerable to all types of disease, violence, and threats. Essentially, they could easily transfer sexual diseases such as HIV AIDS.
Providing legal protection and regular medical checkups for sex workers helps reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Such services are essential for those who are already involved in the sex trade. Empowerment programs that can teach them how to build their lives without selling their bodies can also help sex workers find a way out of their current situation.

Reply
Eric Pagdanganan
12/1/2012 11:43:05 am

That's a very interesting statistics about prostitution according to CIA. I wonder which other countries except European countries legalized prostitution.

Reply
Daritza Lahoz
12/2/2012 07:51:42 am

I agree, however, I do believe that the amount of money that goes into these programs will determine how effective they are. The government should make it a priority and should fit it into the budget as the more money that is provided to the programs, the better it would be.

Reply
golnaz athari
11/29/2012 12:44:02 pm

Please consider the correction:
According to the Central Intelligence Agency (2011), prostitution is “legal in 50%, limited in 11% and illegal in 39%" of countries around the world.

Reply



Leave a Reply.