The Good, the Bad, and the Incomprehensible: Typifications of Victims and Offenders as Antecedents of Beliefs About Sex Crime.
Public opinion has played a critical role in the development of sex crime laws. However, little scholarly work has focused directly on the origins of negative attitudes toward sex offenders. We address this research gap by developing and testing a theoretical account of such views. Drawing on recent national survey data, we examine the extent to which typifications about sexual victims and offenders--believing sex crime typically affects children and female victims and is committed by strangers--explain beliefs about the reformability of sex offenders, harm inflicted on victims, and the causes of offending. Results indicate that judging children to be typical targets of sex crimes is a key determinant of public views. We discuss the implications of our findings.
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA cnmancini@vcu.edu.
Christina
C
Mancini
State University of New York at Albany, NY, USA.
Justin T
JT
Pickett
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011639:Public Opinion; D012307:Risk Factors; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
causal attributions; crime perceptions; sex offending; victimization