social construction of criminality

• social construction - something that has been made or defined by society rather than simply occuring naturally
• adultery:

  • sexual relationship with 2 people however one or both are married to someone else
  • legal in uk and most countries
  • illegal in india, philippines, taiwan and 21 united states. can get death sentence
  • law changes due to religion as adultery is one of the 10 commandments. strongly influenced by religion therefore a crime
  • law changes due to position of women as in these countries women are seen as subordinate. therefore the adultery laws are unequal
• polygamy:

  • practice of having more than one wife or husband at a time
  • legal in 58 places such as india, malaysia, philippines
  • illegal in turkey and russia
  • illegal in the Uk and anyone who is caught practicing polygamy can be sentenced for bigamy which bis 7 years imprisonment or fine
• polygamy part 2- law changes why?

  • religion= quaran allows Muslim men to have up to 4 wives. the Mormon church in the USA practiced polygamy until the 1890
  • tradition= fraternal polyandry where one women is married too 2 brothers is practiced in india due to traditions related to inheritance of land
• adultery case study:

  • british man facing jail over adultery with filipino wife
  • they are 35 and 29
  • the wife did seperate from her husband before getting with new one
  • theyre looking at 7 years in prison and quite a big fine. this prison was a rat infested prison
• homosexuality:

  • sexual acts between members of the same sex
  • legal in: UK, Europe, north and south america
  • illegal in 72 countries for men and 45 for women. it is also illegal in many Muslim countries however in Indonesia it is legal
• why do homosexuality laws change (2):

  1. public opinion = polls by pew research centre show higher levels of support ban on homosexuality in some countries. many of these countries had strong beliefs. 95% in egypt said homosexuality should be rejected but others such as russia said it shouldn't
  2. sexism = sexist assumption that women are incapable of same sex attraction hence why male homosexuality is more of a crime in other countries
• why homosexuality laws vary (1):

  1. religion = Christians have secular societies where the religion has less influence and is supposed to be more accepting. HOWEVER islam is very strong in some countries therfore its more likely to be a crime
• cannabis:

  • legal in Canada and Uruguay for recreational use only
  • legal in Portugal due to it being decriminalised. for personal use
  • illegal in Uk. possession is up to 5 years in prison and supply is 14 years
  • law varies due to:
  • different norms and values on how to control drug use = tough stance or decriminalisations
  • different norms and values = societies with greater emphasis on individual freedom may see drug use as victimless or as an individuals right