AC2.1 social construcs of crime

Question 1

laws changing from culture to culture: religious beliefs

Answer 1

some cultures may have laws based on religious doctrines

Question 2

laws changing from culture to culture: social norms

Answer 2

socially accepted behaviour and values in one culture may be deemed deviant or illegal in another

Question 3

laws changing from culture to culture: social construct of crime

Answer 3

What constitutes a crime is not inherently defined, but is rather a social construct. Social norms and values, which vary from place to place, determine what behaviors are considered deviant and therefore criminal.

Question 4

how do laws change?

Answer 4

over time, culture to culture, circumstance

Question 5

laws changing from culture to culture: political views of government

Answer 5

can influence how laws are defined - conservative governments will be harsher on crimes that are perceived to be immoral - e.g. drug crime

Question 6

laws changing from culture to culture: traditional norms and values

Answer 6

divisions between males and females, cultural beliefs about respect for family, attitudes towards family

Question 7

example of cultural changes in law?

Answer 7

not wearing hijab in public in iran-a girl did this and got executed, lead to protest in iran where estimated 200 people got killed- in france it’s illegal for a woman cover your face

Question 8

what is Roe vs Wade?

Answer 8

a landmark 1973 US Supreme Court case that established a woman’s constitutional right to abortion

Question 10

what are the abortion laws in the USA now?

Answer 10

individual states decide on abortion regulations

Question 11

in 2019, what did ireland vote to legalise (one of the last western nations to do so)

Answer 11

abortion laws

Question 12

is abortion legal in northern ireland and why?

Answer 12

no, political views of elected representatives

Question 13

how does social attitudes in society influence different definitions of crime?

Answer 13

Social norms and values help to determine what is legally defined as crime: judges and law-makers are influenced by these norms and values when they define what crime is, and make recommendations about suitable punishments

Question 14

example of how social attitudes influenced crime?

Answer 14

homosexuality- legalised in some countries because of social attitudes, remained illegal in others because of different social attitudes

Question 15

examples of changing law across cultures- FGM

Answer 15

practice associated with patriarchal and religious views of controlling girl’s sexual behaviour legal in many African, Middle-eastern and Asian nations

Question 16

examples of changing law across cultures- federal and state laws in the usa

Answer 16

Each state has the ability to set its own laws and this results in differences in age of consent and alcohol consumption laws

Question 17

examples of changing law across cultures- alcohol consumption

Answer 17

many states governed by Islamic law have strict bans or restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol, e.g.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates