Sex crimes in canada case study

In 2011, Statistics suggest about 14,000 children and youth victims of sexual offenses. 21 percent of the crimes in children were sex offenses unlike in the adults where the sexual offenses were only 4 percent of the total crimes (Brennan, 2012). The most common sexual offenses in the age brackets of between 0 and 17 years in Canada were sexual assault (72%), sexual interference and invitation to sexual touch. A majority of the victims were found to be female (Brennan, 2012). The frequency of the sexual offenses against the girl increased to the peak that stood at the age of 14 years. It is a criminal offense to touch a part of the body of persons under the age of 14 years for the sexual purpose. A person is guilty of an offense if they invite persons less than 14 years for the sexual purpose.

Another form of child sexual abuse is incest which involves engaging in sexual intercourse with a person of blood relationship. Regardless of age, it is crime to engage a person in sexual activity without their consent (Koss, 2018). Children under the age of 12 are considered not to have the ability to consent to sexual activities. The primary issue that is affecting the fight against the sex crimes in Canada is the low rate of reporting the cases due to stigma. Sex offenses have both immediate negative emotional, psychological and physical impact and long-term effects on the young victims. Statistics by the General Social Survey on Canadians Safety show nearly 22 cases of sexual assault of every 1000 Canadians above 15 years. The statistics also revealed 636, 000 self-reported incidents.

Women, youths, single, homosexuals and people who have poor mental health stood a higher risk of sexual assault in the 2014 survey. Sex crimes relating to sexual assault In 2007, 97 percent of the people charged with sexual assault in Canada were men and only three percent were women (Dauvergne and Turner, 2010). The study also revealed that 86 percent of those who were victimized were women and girls. This explains that sexual assault is gendered. Crime victimization survey estimated that 460,000 were sexually assaulted in 2004 in Canada yet only 8 percent of the instances were reported to the police. The trends of the sex crimes in Canada show that the women suffer the most as compared to their male counterparts. In addition, sexual assaults happen in an aggregated form that may involve disfiguring or endangering the complainant’s life.

Sexual crimes relating to bestiality A person who engages in sex with animals is guilty of an indictable offense and may be served with a jail term not exceeding 10 years (Gacek and Joselson, 2017). A person who compels another person to engage in bestiality is guilty of a similar offense and risks imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years. Sexual crimes relating to voyeurism It is an offense under section 162(1) of the laws of Canada to publicly expose their genital organs, anal region or breasts or engage in sexual activities in places where such privacy is expected (Marshall, Law and Barbaree, 2013). Such observations or recordings that neglect reasonable expectation of privacy are offenses. The law is also meant to reduce the prostitution to a greater extent especially where Canadians are involved.

There are areas that Canadian authority needs to be more cautious in dealing with the sex crime as they can be considered to be failing to a greater extent. There are rights and freedoms that are in relation to the creation and viewing of the pornographic materials that propagate the sex crime. There have been instances that people charged of being in possession of child pornography were released in the past and the courts claimed that it was their right to watch any content (Smart, 2013). There was less consideration on the children that were directly involved in the creation of the content. Sexual assault victims feel angry, confused and frustrated after the incidents. Sexual assaults came with long-term emotional consequences; one in every six victims experience three and more long-term emotional torture with the possibility of trauma.

The effects of sexual assaults on any person are considered to be complicated and even hard to bring them together in a document. The impact of the sex crime is widely felt by the victim, the families involved and society in general. There are cases that are reported in Canadian hospitals and they are traced to an act of sexual violence that was committed to the individual while they were young. The criminal justice system needs, for example, to establish specially designed courts that will ensure the privacy of sexually assaulted victims. Such reforms will ensure that more sexual assault victims are able to come forward and testify in courtrooms. In addition, the criminal justice system needs to ensure that both the accused and victim of sexual assault feel more comfortable in the entire process of trial.

Allegations relating to sexual abuse have far-reaching consequences on the accused persons’ lives. It is, therefore, necessary that the criminal justice system needs to sure that its conclusion about the allegations is right. Reporting violence to the police: Predictors through the life course. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(6), 441-451. Boyce, J. , Cotter, A. , & Perreault, S. Cook, A. N. , & Roesch, R. “Tough on crime” reforms: What psychology has to say about the recent and proposed justice policy in Canada. Canadian Psychology/psychologie canadienne, 53(3), 217. Gacek, J. , & Jochelson, R. Placing'Bestial'Acts in Canada: Legal Meanings of'Bestiality'and Judicial Engagements with Sociality. Hanson, R. K. Routledge. Marshall, W. L. , Fernandez, Y. M. , & Barbaree, H. E. (Eds. Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offeender. Springer Science & Business Media.