Sociological Analysis Of Violence Essay Research Paper

Sociological Analysis Of Violence Essay, Research Paper

Sociological Analysis of Violence

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Sociological Analysis of Violence

This essay will examine the social and cultural conditions, within the macro-diachronic and micro-synchronic theoretical models , that intensify or perpetuate sexual assault. I have chosen only one concept from each model because these are the only concepts that I feel that I can use to most accurately and comprehensively depict causes and reasons for why sexual assault is deeply entrenched in our social structure. I will thus explore, from these ideological viewpoints, some of the motivations and circumstances which lead offenders to sexual assault. I will also fuse some of the historical attitudes from which today’s concepts have evolved to our contemporary understanding of this social phenomena. However, it.s important that we look beyond both offenders’ motivations and history, and to the greater sociological view, if we are to correctly reconstruct acts of violence such as sexual assault.

Sexual assault (the term, rape, is no longer used in Canadian criminal law) is an act of violence that is a criminal offence under the federal Criminal Code of Canada. The Criminal Code is constantly being amended by the federal Canadian Parliament, as well as interpreted by court cases. A victim of a sexual assault (sexualized violence) may also bring a private action called a civil suit, suing the person who assaulted her or him for money damages.This cause of action is distinguishable from a criminal action, which is defined by a different body of law, has a different burden of proof, and has different results. The civil suit is generally defined by court cases, rather than by treatment of law, as is criminal justice.

The macro-diachronic approach is a modern theoretical model of crime and deviance, which specifically attempts to delineate which dynamics account for social transformation of crime and criminal justice. More specifically, in the case of sexual assault, this approach focusses on the changes in the labour force (gender based) and conflicts between genders over the acceptability and criminalization of sexualized -2 violence as the starting point of explanation. One such concept is marxist-feminism, as a form conflict theory. According to this theory, the incidence of sexual assault in Canada is a result of the power imbalance between men and women, in which women are expected to assume a subordinate relationship to men in our capitalist society. Consequently, sexual assault can be seen as a logical extension of the typical interactions between women and men in which women are made dependent on men for economic production. Women’s vulnerability to sexual assault is a result of their subordinate relationship to men. The set of beliefs and attitudes that divide people into classes by sex and justify one sex’s superiority is called sexism. There are a number of sexist dictates that serve to maintain this subordinate relationship. The first tenet concerns women’s status in society: women occupy a relatively powerless position in society and are the recipients of fewer advantages and privileges (economic). Men’s benefits are built into a patriarchal system which begin in a basis of economics and branch out to other aspects of social life from there. Secondly, sexual assault is as a means of control over women: assault plays a role in maintaining patriarchy by perpetrating the threat of violence. The acts of just a few violent men can terrorize all women and can control women’s lives. The indifference of other men reinforces this effect. Thirdly, women’s dependence on men is also a factor; many women receive most of their benefits, especially economic, through men rather than through their own ability. This dependence is reinforced by the cultural belief that dependence is a “womanly” trait. Women are dependent on men for political representation, social position, psychological approval, and the base foundation of economic support.

According to marxist-feminism, a strategy for eliminating women’s vulnerability to assault involves altering the power relationship between women and men. Women’s vulnerability will not end with individual change alone; there -3

will have to be across the board social change as well. The whole assumption of male superiority will have to be negated. Assault must be viewed as a sociopolitical issue, because it keeps women powerless and reinforces the status quo of male domination. There are many factors, beginning with economics, which enforce the belief that “a woman’s place is in the home.” Consequently, women tend to be displaced from the mainstream of community action, employment, and decision making.

The traditional female, in a patriarchal pedagogy, is supposed to be passive and put others’ feelings before her own; the traditional male is expected to be aggressive and forward. Men are supposed to go after what they want. They’re seen as aggressors; women are the gatekeepers. Marxist-feminism believes that these stereotypes are directly related to sexual assault. One way to analyze the power relationship between men and women is by examining some of the common social rules women are taught, which is a notion that overlaps social learning theory.

Glaser.s theory of differential identification, as a form of social learning theory, is a micro-syn