1.2 Flashcards
(15 cards)
What is social construction?
Something that is made up by society and doesn’t occur naturally. Therefore what we perceive as criminal is a social construction.
Examples of acts that vary in criminality from place to place.
Adultery, polygamy, homosexuality, possession of cannabis, gun laws…
Polygamy as an example of how laws vary depending on culture.
Legal- 58 countries (mostly Muslim countries) eg India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka.
Illegal- Most countries and some Muslim ones eg Turkey and Tunisia. Extends to bigamy (7 years in Prison)
Reasons why polygamy laws vary from culture to culture.
Religion- The Qur’an permits Muslim men to have uo to 4 wives. Practices in the Mormon church USA till 1890.
Tradition- Teaditionally practices in some African societies.
Adultery as an example of how laws vary depending vary depending on culture to culture.
Illegal- Most Muslim countries, some Christian countries in Africa, 21 U.S states, Philippines and Taiwan.
Legal- Most places including the UK.
Reasons why adultery laws vary.
Religion- 10 commandments for Christianity, Islam and Judaism prohibits adultery.
Position of women- laws against it occur often when women hold little power in society. Laws are often unequal based on gender.
Homosexuality as an example of how laws vary culture to culture.
Illegal- Male in 72, female in 45. In 6 it’s punishable by death.
Legal- UK, Europe and South America and Indonesia.
Reason why laws around homosexuality vary between cultures.
Religion- Religious books ban the practice of homosexuality.
Public opinion- Polls by the Pew research show high levels of a willingness to ban homosexuality for example 95% of Egypt.
Sexism- Male homosexuality is the type with the most bans which could suggest law makers don’t believe women are fakeable of having same sex relations.
Cannabis as an example of how laws vary culture to culture.
Illegal- UK up to 5 yrs possession and 14 years supply (similar laws in Europe).
Legal- Some places have legalised possession for personal use. Others have legalised its sale like Canada.
Reasons why cannabis laws vary between cultures.
Different norms and values- Societies which more emphasis on individual freedoms are more likely to to see drug use as victimless and unharmfull.
Differing views on how best to control drug use- Some believe in harsh punishments and others believe that by legalising it, it takes the drugs out of the hands of dangerous suppliers.
Example of Homosexuality surrounding how laws change over time.
UK all homosexual acts were banned in 1885. Then homosexual acts were legalised between males in England in 1967, Scotland 1980 and Northern Ireland 1982.
Reasons why homosexual laws changed over time.
Wolfenden report- After WW2 there was an increase in convictions of gay men (1000 imprisoned). Gov set up a committee under Wolfenden and after a review made homosexuality between men over 21 in private legal in 1957.
Campaigns- Homosexual law reform society made up of leading public figures thst legalised gay sex in 1967.
Examples of how drug laws changed over time.
Portuguese case- After the ending of a dictatorship rule in Portugal the influx of drugs was massive and their heroin addicts wet the most in Europe. But after drug use became a concern for public health rather than a criminal act they lowered to 4 deaths in 1 million people.
Give 2 examples of laws concerning physical punishment and what they are.
Capital punishment- Execution (by hanging) 1723 Black Act made over 50 offended of theft and poaching into capital crimes.
Corporal- flogging, caning and branding with hot irons.
How has physical punishment changed over time and why?
Death penalty was removed in Britain in 1965 and corporal punishment was slowly reduced specifically in the armed forces in 1881 and then abolished in 1967.
This change occurred due to the stronger account for human rights specifically the right to live, the fact that if someone is then found not to be guilty the damage can not be reversed and that society has moved away from physical violence.
