Sexual Motives and Sentencing
Judicial Discourse in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2350119 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Clare Macmartin (0009-0009-7199-6574, University of Guelph, corresponding author), Linda A Wood (University of Guelph) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 139-159 |
| Publication date | 2005-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Language and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0261-927X • E-ISSN: 1552-6526 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0261927x05275735 |
| OpenAlex | W2097965720 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 17 |
The motives ascribed to offenders in the sentencing of sexual abuse crimes can be highly contentious. Some critics claim that sexual assaults are acts of power and violence and that reference to sexual motives minimizes violence and the seriousness of the offense. The present study examines 74 Canadian judicial sentencing decisions (1993-1997) involving offenders who had sexually abused children and adolescents. Using discursive social psychology, the authors analyze judicial explanations for the offenses, and their implications for mitigation and aggravation. Violent attributions were rare. Sex-based explanations predominated, variously invoking the selfish gratification of offenders' sexual desires, sexual impulses, pedophilia, and offenders' attraction to victims. However, in contrast to critics' claims, these explanations are used by judges to emphasize the seriousness of these crimes. The findings highlight the importance of analyzing discourse in relation to action sequences rather than in isolation. The authors discuss the implications for the study of sexual assault and legal discourse
Attribution · Criminology · Gratification · Pedophilia · Poison control · Political science · Seriousness · Sexual abuse · Child Abuse and Trauma · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Law · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology
Newspaper Reports Constructing Allegations and Responsibilities in the Pitcairn Island Sexual Abuse Trials
Addressing insanity in paedophilic disorder
Falling Between the Cracks of Retributive and Restorative Justice
Youth sex offenders in court
The Implementation of Feminist Law Reforms
Ordinary decent domestic violence’
But Most of All, They Fought Together”
Coming out of People with Pedophilic Orientation
The Victorian Operation of Defensive Homicide
Constructing Remorse
Against our will
Representing Reality
Doing Discourse Analysis
Studies in ethnomethodology
Foucault, Rape, and the Construction of the Feminine Body
II. A Political Breaking of Silence
Telling it Like it isn’t
Anomalous Language in Sexual Assault Trial Judgments
Two to Tango
Extreme case formulations
Against Our Will. Men, Women and Rape
Causal Attributions in Sexual Assault Trial Judgments
Script Formulations
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,53 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2026 (20) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |