Sex Crimes & Offenders
Sexual Offender Registry / List, Evolution, Culture, Ethics, Internet, Laws. Abuse, Rape, Pedophilia, Pornography, Prevention, Education

There are no scientific studies that show that exposure to nonviolent sexual material causes a person to commit a sexual crime or become more sexually aggressive. (Dr. Judith Becker, associate professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University. http://www.cybercollege.com/sexrsh.htm)

Sexual Offenders & Pornography: A Causal Connection?

The question of whether a connection exists between the availability of pornography and the prevalence of sex crime is an emotive one, canvassing as it does the issue of freedom of speech. As a result there has been, perhaps, a tendency to shoot the messenger, ignore the research or, as public opinion makers Phillip Adams (1992) and Richard Neville have done, express concern while at the same time opposing censorship and not being particularly helpful in suggesting alternative remedies. Perhaps Brownmiller best summed up the philosophical problems in dealing with this vexed question:

'Pornography has been so thickly glossed over with the patina of chic these days in the name of verbal freedom and sophistication that important distinctions between freedom of political expression (a democratic necessity), honest sex education for children (a societal good) and ugly smut (the deliberate devolution of the role of women through obscene, distorted depictions) have been hopelessly confused.' (Brownmiller, 1975)

The literature in this area is substantial and growing. A few examples follow:

* In a comparative study of rape rates in the USA, Scandinavia, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, Court (1984) found a connection between the availability of pornography and the level of rape. He specifically refutes earlier studies that purported to show otherwise, particularly in relation to Australia, where the uniform crime data actually support the case for an increase [in rape rates after the liberalisation of pornography] quite convincingly (Court 1984, p. 158).

* In New South Wales, in the period 1975-91, a time during which pornography has become increasingly available, there has been a 90.6 per cent increase in the level of rape (Categories 1-3 Sexual Assault) (New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research 1991; New South Wales Police Statistics Unit 1988-89).

* In the USA, while the overall homicide rate declined, sex-related murders rose 160 per cent between 1976 and 1984 (Faludi 1991, p. 11).

* A Michigan state police study found that pornography was viewed just before or during 41 per cent of 38,000 sexual crimes committed over twenty years (Pope 1987).

Sexual Offenders and Pornography: A Causal Connection?
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/proceedings/20/goldsmith.pdf - by Marlene Goldsmith, Chairman, Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues, Parliament of New South Wales

Pornographic Images, Crimes, Censorship & the Law

What is the relationship between viewing pornography and committing sex crimes? How does pornography affect the mind, body, relationships, the perception of women in society? The following ideas are explored in this academic essay:

* Sexual Images and Sex Crimes
* Violent and Nonconsensual Sexual Content
* An Obsession With Pornography
* Does Pornography Kill Love?
* Is Pornography Degrading to Women?
* The "Objectification" of Women
* Pornography As a Political Issue
* Does Pornography Alter Attitudes?
* Is Pornography Addictive?
* The "Porn Made Me Do It" Defence
* Snuff Films
* Pornography and "Undesirable Types"
* Sexual predators

Sexual / Pornographic Imagery, Sex Crimes, Censorship and the Law
http://www.cybercollege.com/sexrsh.htm

MySpace and Child Sex Offenders

From the website: 'In May 2006, Kevin Poulsen (ex-hacker and editor of Wired News) began an automated search of MySpace's membership rolls for 385,932 registered sex offenders in 46 states, from the U.S. Department of Justice's National Sex Offender Registry website. He searched on first and last names, limiting results to a five-mile radius of the offender's registered ZIP code.

The code swept in a vast number of false or unverifiable matches. Working part time for several months, he sifted the data and manually compared photographs, ages and other data, until enhanced privacy features MySpace launched in June began frustrating the analysis.

Excluding a handful of obvious fakes, he confirmed 744 sex offenders with MySpace profiles, after an examination of about a third of the data. Of those, 497 are registered for sex crimes against children. At least 243 of the 497 have convictions in 2000 or later.

... This is something that MySpace has said it cannot do. Rather, it is seeking new laws that would make it easier to ban sex offenders from the site through an e-mail registry.'

MySpace and Child Sex Offenders
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71948-0.html

MySpace Faces Child / Teen Sexual Abuse Law Suits

'Social networking market leader MySpace has been hit with four lawsuits in the US separately alleging that site users were guilty of sexual abuse. The families behind the suits are seeking damages of millions of dollars.'
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/23/myspace_security_under_fire/)

'Feb. 2007. MySpace announced victory in a 30 million Texas lawsuit in which it was accused of failing to protect its underage members from sexual abuse.

The suit was brought by the family of a 14-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old MySpace user. He was later arrested and indicted for sexual assault. The girl was 13 when she created a MySpace profile. MySpace requires users to be at least 14, but the girl misrepresented herself as 18 years old.

Texas District Judge Sam Sparks dismissed all the claims against the company, arguing that the Communications Decency Act of 1996 exempts MySpace from liability for ineffective security measures and policies relating to age verification. The plaintiffs plan to appeal to the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.'

MySpace Faces Teen Sexual Abuse Law Suits
http://www.forbes.com/home/lawandtaxation/2007/02/14/myspace-legal-murdoch-cx_ll_0214myspace.html

This Page Title: 'Sexual Ethics and Sex Offender Registry / List: Evolution, Culture, Internet, Laws. Abuse, Rape, Pedophilia, Pornography'.
The main sexuality pages on the evolution of our diverse sexual behaviors have good content and are well worth browsing (see links at top of page). And the list of related sexuality terms that people actually search is informative (to say the least!).
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Analyse any human emotion, no matter how far it may be removed from the sphere of sex, and you are sure to discover somewhere the primal impulse, to which life owes its perpetuation. ... The primitive stages can always be re-established; the primitive mind is, in the fullest meaning of the word, imperishable. ... Mans most disagreeable habits and idiosyncrasies, his deceit, his cowardice, his lack of reverence, are engendered by his incomplete adjustment to a complicated civilisation. It is the result of the conflict between our instincts and our culture. (Sigmund Freud)

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