AC1.2

• What is the social construction of crime?

  The idea that crime is not fixed and can change over time, it may also differ from culture to culture.
• Changes over time


  Homosexuality and capital punishment.
• Differs between places


  Cannabis use and jaywalking.
• Differs between cultures


  Adultery and polygamy.
• Until the 1960's what was homosexuality deemed as?

  Criminal and deviant as well as a disease that could be cured as well as being a sin.
• What report suggested that homosexuality between consenting adults should no longer be a crime?

  The Wolfenden Report in 1957.
• Which act decriminalised homosexuality for males over the age of 21?

  Sexual Offences Act (1967).
• Secularisation


  Religion is less important in people's lives than it once was.
• Decline of stigma


  Where social disapproval has diminished e.g. To cohabitation or divorce.
• Which campaign challenged the government and brought about legal changes?

  Stonewall who abolished section 28.
• What is capital punishment?

  The legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime also known as the death penalty.
• What year was capital punishment abolished?

  1969.
• Why did the laws change on capital punishment?

  Due to miscarriages of justice where people had been wrongfully convicted but were already killed so it became impossible to rectify.
• Why did the laws change on capital punishment?

  Growth of the idea of human rights. The right to live was taken away.
• Why did the laws change on capital punishment?

  The death penalty was not seen as a deterrent, many murders are committed in the moment and statistics show that the murder rate is lower in states that do not have the death penalty.
• What is adultery?


  A sexual act between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner.
• What countries class adultery as a crime?

  Muslim countries and parts of Africa.