Soothill, Keith L. and Francis, Brian J. (2002) Moral panics and the aftermath: a study of incest. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 24 (1). pp. 1-17. ISSN 1469-9621
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
A 'moral panic' about child sexual abuse in Britain in the 1980s culminated in 'the Cleveland affair' that produced the challenge of widespread incest and sexual abuse within families. This paper considers the aftermath of this 'moral panic'. The main focus is on the offenders convicted of incest during the years 1988-96 inclusive, with comparative data from an earlier 1973 cohort. A shift in the incest offender profile is demonstrated. The aftermath of this 'moral panic'seems to have been to the detriment of incest victims who now seem less likely to speak or be heard. The findings are considered in the light of recent recommendations on changing the law on incest in the Home Office consultation paper, 'Setting the Boundaries: reforming the law on sex offences' (2000). The authors endorse the view that the offence of incest should be revised, but are concerned whether the use of the criminal justice system will be any more successful when a sexual activity which is currently narrowly proscribed is more widely proscribed.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | child abuse ; incest ; moral panic |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare |
| Departments: | Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences > Applied Social Science Faculty of Science and Technology > Mathematics and Statistics |
| ID Code: | 13441 |
| Deposited By: | Ms Margaret Calder |
| Deposited On: | 18 Sep 2008 15:20 |
| Refereed?: | Yes |
| Published?: | Published |
| Last Modified: | 26 Jul 2012 15:08 |
| Identification Number: | |
| URI: | http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/13441 |
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