Perverts and Predators: The Making of Sexual Offending Laws

Laura J. Zilney · Lisa Anne Zilney

may 2009 · Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

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Perverts and Predators elaborates on the numerous factors that have contributed to the passage of sexual offending laws in the United States. Authors Lisa and Laura Zilney weave together a story of how sex crimes laws were created by analyzing the changing roles of religion and the medical community, offering theoretical explanations for sex offending from the unique perspectives of criminology and sexology. Working under the central premise that sex and sexuality are positive and healthy and that the only way to deal with the issue of sexual offending is through sex positive education and counseling, Zilney and Zilney trace the history of sex offending laws and highlight cases in the media that contributed to increasingly punitive legislation. The authors provide information concerning the prevalence and incidence of sex offending, including victim and offender profiles and the frequency and types of offenses committed in order to give readers greater understanding of the problem. They discuss politics as a major player in the creation of a moral panic surrounding sex offenders and fueling public outrage to garner support for 'get tough' laws. The management of sex offenders in society is discussed, as are consequences of the punitive approach for both the offender and the victim. Comparative case studies are used to explore what the United States could learn from other countries' approaches to sexual offending.

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Lisa A. Zilney is an assistant professor in the Department of Justice Studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, a Masters from Eastern Kentucky University, and a B.A. from the University of Windsor in Canada. Laura J. Zilney is a Sexologist with a private practice near Toronto, Ontario, Canada . She is a graduate from the University of Waterloo, Carleton University, and received her doctorate from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.