Chapter Five Violence in Society: Rape and Murder The Problem in Sociological Perspective o Violence the use of force to injure people or destroy property The sociological view focuses on the underlying social forces that shape violence o Two types of violence: Individual forms of violence Group forms of violence o Three types of group violence: Situational group violence Organized group violence Institutionalized group violence The Scope of the Problem o The distinction between personal vs. social problem surrounding violence Subjective concern about violence and violence as a social problem The objective condition of violence and the fear of violence Violence does not affect all groups the same: o Race o Gender o Age o Social class The amount of violence and the rate of violence has increased since the 1960 s
Violent Crime: Patterns and Trends o Crime rate for property offenses is 7 times than for violent crimes against persons Violent crime rose quickly from 1960 until the early 1990s o After that, the trend turned downward What Is Violence? o Violence: behavior that causes injury to people or damage to property o Institutional Violence: violence carried out by government representatives under the law o Anti-institutional Violence: violence directed against the government in violation of the law Violence as a Social Problem o When deciding whether a particular violent behavior is or is not a problem, people ask the following questions: What do the actors intend by their actions? Does violence conform to, or violate, social norms and values? Does the violence support or threaten the social order? Is the violence committed by or against the government?
Criminal Violence o Most people see criminal offenses as the biggest part of the general problem of violence in our society o Violent crime: crime that involves violence or the threat of violence against others Murder Murder involves the unlawful, intentional killing of one person by another Manslaughter, by contrast, involves the unintentional killing of one person by another Murder o Most murder victims are males, with African Americans being at especially high risk o FBI data show that nearly half of all murder victims knew the offender The high murder rate in the U.S. demands that we take a critical look at the role of handguns o Despite a rise and then a decline in murder rates over the last 4 decades, the following patterns remain the same: 2/3 of murders are committed with guns Males are involved in most murders Most murders are unplanned, resulting from arguments between acquaintances that suddenly turn violent In most murder cases, offenders and victims are of the same race The U.S. remains the most violent high-income country on earth The Social Patterns of Murder o Most murder victims are killed by someone they know o Social class and homicide o Age and homicide o Gender and homicide o Race and homicide (intraracial) o Handguns and homicide o Night is more dangerous than day o Weekends more dangerous than weekdays o Rate is higher in large cities
Social Bases of the Social Patterns (Functionalism) o Patterns reflect those in the larger society o Function of oppression and striking out at the oppressors o Function of the social strains of poverty o Subculture of poverty a way of doing class and gender o Differential association and learned violence Social Bases of the Social Patterns (Symbolic Interactionism) o Gender socialization and male violence o Subculture of violence and the higher murder rate in the south and west. o Serial Murders killing a number of people over a period of time; the killing of several people by one offender over the course of a month or more Most serial killers are male Lead double lives Many came from abusive backgrounds Mass Murder: the intentional, unlawful killing of four or more people at one time and place; killing a number of people in one situation o Schools o Workplaces Serial Murder: the killing of several people by one offender over the course of a month or more; killing a number of people over a period of time o Most serial killers are male o Lead double lives o Many came from abusive backgrounds o Combating Deadly Violence 3/4 of US adults believe the criminal justice system isn t doing enough to combat violent crime Changes in the system: Three strikes and you re out policy Mandatory prison sentences for many crimes Increased number of police across the US Zero tolerance policy
Rape o Forcible Rape: the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will The reporting of rape to the police has increased in recent years Because most victims can identify their attackers, police make arrests in 1/2 of all reported rape Today, acquaintance rape, date rape, and marital rape are prosecuted under the criminal code of conduct Nationally, only one-half of women who are raped make a report to the police Rape statistics don t reflect attempted rape, sex with a minor, or attacks on males o Research Findings/Rape The Natural History of Rape as a Social Problem Feminist movement moving rape from a personal problem to a social problem Blaming the victim Rape and violence as a function of dominance and control The Social Patterns of Rape o Social Relationship more likely to be raped by someone you know than a complete stranger o Time More rapes occur between 8pm to 2am. and the months of July and August o Two thirds of rapist use no weapons but use threats and physical strength o Young males are the most likely perpetrators o African American males over represented in rape statistics o Lower class oppression and violence o Way of symbolically doing gender (dominance) o Rape as a function of the strain of poverty among the poor o Profiling The Rapist Type of Rapists Woman hater Sadist Generally violent-prone man Revenge rapist Political rapist o Type of Rapists Walter Mitty rapist Opportunist Date/acquaintance rapist Recreational rapist Husband rapists
o Unreported Rapes Uniform crime report and the underreporting of rape Victimization surveys of rape indicate that rape may be twice as high as reported in official statistics The difference between the two data sources may be a function of whether a woman reports the rape Reporting is a function of: Age of victim Relationship to the rapist Attempted or completed rape Race of victim o Reactions to Rape Victim reactions: Shock and disbelief, self concept (emotional) Expressive style venting emotions Controlled style masking one s feelings behind a mask of self composure Legal rape
Violence Against Children Violence against children was not recognized as a problem in the U.S. until the 1960s A major contributor to raising national awareness was Dr. C. H. Kempe, who coined the term battered child syndrome Research shows that abuse is most common among children who o Are very young o Live with only one parent, especially a mother who is young; o Live with a stepparent o Live in poverty o Have parents or other family members who abuse alcohol or other drugs o Have parents who themselves were abused as children The 1974 Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act required local officials to promptly investigate all reports of child abuse o It also established a system of Child Protective Services (CPS) to conduct investigations and help parents stop abusive behavior
Violence Against Women Domestic violence is a serious national problem among both married and unmarried partners living together U.S. women are more likely to be injured in the home than anywhere else While men also suffer from family violence, women suffer the most serious injuries and in 85 percent of all cases, it s men who assault women. More than 1/3 of all women who are murdered die at the hands of a partner or ex-partner The women s movement helped recognize violence against women as a social problem in the 1970s o Activists have succeeded in getting all states to enact stalking laws o Public support for victims of domestic violence is growing Violence Against Elders Elder abuse occurs when family members or other care givers victimize older people The highest rate of elder abuse is found among o Families that are poor o Members who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs o Who themselves were victimized as children Elder abuse emerged as a social problem in the 1980s o As a result of awareness of other types of family violence o Due to activism on the part of seniors themselves Elder abuse frequently goes unreported
The Mass Media and Violence o There is no single cause of so much violence in U.S. society o Most researchers agree that the mass media play a part in the problem Today s young people live in a world dominated by the mass media, and violence is an ever-growing part of that culture Most analysts agree that violence in the media affects everyone by desensitizing people to violence Evidence suggests that exposure to media violence encourages young and old alike to view the world as unsafe and unjust Drugs and Violence o Drugs contribute to violence by distorting judgment and reducing inhibitions Addictions can cause cravings so strong that the search for the next high may lead some people to violence and sometimes even to abandoning their children o Some suggest that legalizing drugs might reduce violence on the street A significant amount of crime is motivated by a drug abuser s need for ready cash to buy drugs Proponents of drug legalization also note that by outlawing drugs, society ensures that drug dealing creates huge profits for dealers Some analysts view poverty itself as a form of violence that U.S. society inflicts on people o Poverty weakens local neighborhoods so that communities have less ability to control violence and other law-breaking behavior o The inequities of the criminal justice system ensure that poor people charged with a crime are more likely to be convicted than wealthy people Youth Gangs and Violence o Youth gangs can be Nonviolent groups Those who sometimes clash over turf All-out criminal organizations o Typical violent gang members come from poor, single-parent families are from neighborhoods characterized by high crime rates, drug abuse, and limited job opportunities o Among violent gang members, resorting to violence is a strategy to avoid becoming a victim of violence The greatest danger of violence comes from mixing street culture values with drug dealing
Guns and Violence o The United States has more violent crime than any other high-income country o Recently, the biggest contributor to the problem of crime is the easy availability of guns About 40 % of households have one or more guns (about 200 million firearms) About 64 % of these weapons are handguns o Gun owners believe in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution that guarantees citizens the right to keep and bear arms Supporters of gun control look to countries like Canada, where government is aggressive in restricting ownership of guns. Easy availability of guns is not the only cause of violence in the United States, but it is a large contributor
Looking at the Problem Theoretically o Non sociological theories Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909): Violent behavior as a function of atavism Violent people are biological throw backs to primitive man Violent criminals identified by physical stigmata Earnest Hooton (1939) body type and violence: Tall skinny males prone to violence Short heavy males prone to rape XYY chromosome theory Brain damage and violence Frustration-aggression theory Psychology violence is learned through modeling Sociological views go beyond the individual and look at social forces that shape violence The Biological Approach to Violence o The basic concept behind biological theories is that violence is innate Sigmund Freud claimed that a tendency to act aggressively is part of human nature o We can expect some level of violence in any society o Critics say that these theories do little to explain why some groups of people have higher arrest rates for violent crime The Psychological Approach to Violence o This approach seeks to link violence to the operation of the individual personality Dullard s frustration-aggression theory assumes that: People pursue goals that are important to them When people are unable to achieve their goals, they experience frustration People will direct their aggression at whatever or whomever they believe is preventing them from achieving their goals o Another approach explains the pattern of violence common to some people in terms of an antisocial personality Most people with antisocial personalities are males who disregard the rules by the time they are teenagers Sociopaths show no signs of remorse for their acts o Critics say that these theories don t explain why aggression becomes violent in some cases and not in others
Structural-Functional Analysis: o Emile Durkheim violence as a normal feature of society Social integration and violence Social change and violence Anomie and violence o Robert Merton strain theory of deviance (crime) Cultural Goals Institutionalized means or legitimate opportunities Violence as a means of adapting to structural strain Walter Reckless control theory (containment theory) of violence Inner containment Outer containment o Deviance and violence is a function of the breakdown or weakening of the mechanisms of social control (containment) o Affirms the primary importance of culture as the foundation of social reality, defining how people should deal with one another No culture approves of any and all violence Every culture points to certain situations in which violence is acceptable and may be desirable o The culture of violence thesis states How much violence exists in a society - and whether people view the violence as justified or criminal - depends on the society s cultural system o This perspective doesn t explain why some people living in a particular neighborhood adopt patterns of violent behavior while others do not
Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: Learning Violence o Highlights how violence emerges from interaction of individuals in their everyday lives o Social-learning theory states that children learn how to act by observing and imitating their parents and others who are important to them A limit of the social-learning approach is that it says little about why entire groups of people - men - are more likely to use violence while other categories of people - women - are common targets of violence o Research shows that children are especially likely to learn aggressive and violent behavior when people reward them for violent actions, and also when they are the target of others violent actions Edwin Sutherland and differential association Violence is learned in intimate groups Learn how to be violent and attitudes, motives and directions for violence Excessive definitions favorable to the acceptance of violence Frequency, duration and intensity of the interactions are the most influential in shaping violence Same mechanism for learning non violence are those for learning violence o Subcultural theory violence is shaped and passed on in a culture of violence Male gender norms and violence Social class and norms of violence
Social-Conflict Analysis: Violence and Inequality o Investigates the causes and consequences of social inequality Understands violence in terms of the power certain categories of people have over others From this perspective, crime takes on a political character as an act of rebellion and an effort to bring about change Violence is inherent in the class organization of society Violence is a function of social divisions and competition Function of oppression and exploitation in the society o Social-conflict theory doesn t explain why nations with socialist systems use police and military power to repress dissent and why their prisons are so full
Social Policy o Dealing with the Offenders Two polar extremes Retributionist - and focus on victims and victim rights Reformist focus on changing the system and offender The middle ground Let victims have a say in what happens to the offender Establishing legal degrees of rape in relationship to sentencing o Dealing with Victims Helping families of murder victims Helping rape victims counseling and other services Compensation to victims o Preventing Violence Long prison sentences for repeat offenders Some form of gun control Provide research funds to learn how our culture socially reproduces violence Find the causes and implement policies of change to reduce violence The Future of the Problem?
Conservatives: Violence and Morality o Conservatives claim that human beings are prone to violence o It is up to the institutions of society especially the family, religious groups, schools, and local communities to control people s behavior o Most conservatives favor tougher laws, more aggressive policing, and more severe penalties as a response to the rising tide of violence Liberals: Violence and Opportunity o Liberals assume that people tend to be nonviolent unless a poor social environment twists their lives o Liberals see violence as one consequence of the problem of poverty o The problem of violence is greatest where economic opportunity is the scarcest o Liberals point to the easy availability of guns as fostering violence Radicals: Violence as Rebellion o Right wing radicals accept the conservative view that the rise in crime and violence is due to the decline of the traditional family and a weakening of religious beliefs o People on the far right hold government directly responsible for what they see as the collapse of society o People on the far left have not been involved in violent, antigovernment actions to the same degree as people on the far right. o The radical left does share the radical right s belief that violence directed against the system may, at times, be justified