Sexual crime, past and present, is rarely far from the headlines. How
these crimes are punished, policed and understood has changed
considerably over the last century. From hormone injections to
cognitive behavioural therapy, medical and psychological approaches to
sexual offenders have proliferated. This book sets out the history of
such theories and treatments in England. Beginning in the early 20th
century, it traces the evolution of medical interest in the mental
state of those convicted of sexual crime. As part of a broader
interest in individualised responses to crime as a means to
rehabilitation, doctors offered new explanations for some sexual
crimes, proposed new solutions, and attempted to deliver new cures.
From indecent exposure to homosexuality between men, from sadistic
violence to thefts of underwear from washing lines, the interpretation
and treatment of some sexual offences was thought to be complex. Of
less medical interest, though, were offences against children,
prostitution, and rape. Using a range of material, including medical
and criminological texts, trial proceedings, government reports,
newspapers, and autobiographies and memoirs, Janet Weston offers
powerful insights into changing medico-legal practices and attitudes
towards sex and health. She highlights the importance of prison
doctors and rehabilitative programmes within prisons,
psychoanalytically-minded private practitioners, and the interactions
between medical and legal systems as medical theories were put into
practice. She also reveals the extent and legacy of medical thought,
as well as the limitations of a medical approach to sexual crime.
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Diagnosing Deviance
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781350021082
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Bloomsbury Academic
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter