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Sexual Offending

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior

  • 17 Accesses

Synonym

Perpetration of sexual violence

Definition

Sexual offending or sexual assault is a behavior defined by the lack of consent. It is behaviorally based, determined by federal and state statutes. It includes “any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the victim lacks capacity to consent” (Department of Justice, n.d).

Sexual Offending and the Law

Individuals who perpetrate sexual violence are defined by a criminal behavior rather than diagnostic category. Criminal law has its foundation in four theories: utilitarianism (criminal punishment is worthwhile because it makes the world safer), retributivism (the criminal law is a way to obtain revenge), rehabilitation (criminal law changes the individual for the better), and denunciation (criminal law sends messages about society’s view of certain behaviors). The law relating to sexual offenses is informed by all of those factors. In the introduction to the book A Guide to America’s Sex Laws,...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA, USA

    Anne Brown, Raina V. Lamade & Chloe R. Grabanski

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  1. Anne Brown
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  2. Raina V. Lamade
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  3. Chloe R. Grabanski
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raina V. Lamade .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, ROCHESTER, MN, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Gavin Vance

  3. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester Hills, MI, USA

    Madeleine K. Meehan

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Brown, A., Lamade, R.V., Grabanski, C.R. (2023). Sexual Offending. In: Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_2221-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_2221-1

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