Sexual Violence in TN: Devastating Consequences Despite Heightened Laws - Essay Sample

Introduction

Sexual violence has remained to be one of the commonly reported incidents, irrespective of the prevalence in heightening of the laws and regulations. Sexual violence remains to be a serious social problem with devastating consequences, especially to the victims and their psychology. While the federal decree on sexual violence, which may be deemed as contact offense against an adult, the problem has been prevalent in Tennessee, irrespective of increased measures. As Findlaw (2020) outlines, Tennessee has received an increased number of sexual violence cases, with numerous slipping under the carpet, as the victims are threatened or fear the extended hand of the law punishing the offenders mercilessly. Recent statistics depict an increased number of cases that have been reported, while others have considerably slipped without detection. Thus, the essay will elucidate the increased contact offenses against adults in Tennessee.

The Typical Motivators For Sex Offender

There has been an increase in the subject regarding rape and the motivating phenomena that have been propelling the rapidness of the social problem, especially in Tennessee. Among one of the present statistics regarding the collected data from Tennessee is the use of violence on all reported cases, during the incident While increasing cases are numerously reported in Tennessee, there is a diverse range of age bracket where most of the affected victims are aged between 17 and 29 years of age. On the contrary, most of the cases for victims between 31 years and above were not frequently reported (Wojcik, & Fisher, 2019).

Contact offense against an adult, where most victims tend to be women, is motivated by a series of elements. One of the motivating factors that catalyze the incident is the need for sexual gratification by most of the offenders. Therefore, most of the offenders take advantage of their weaker victims by overpowering them before they commit the malevolent act.

The Characteristics Of Offenders

One of the common characteristics associated with the rape offense is the increased use of violence and the strength to overpower the victims. Among the cases reported in 2014 in Tennessee, the offenders were reportedly used strength to overpower the victims. Therefore, most of the common characteristics of the offenders were depicted as being physically more robust than their prey.

On the contrary, most of the reported cases in Tennessee recorded the offenders as having committed the offense in a privet area to reduce the possibilities of interception. More so, among the reported suspects in Tennessee were strangers who feared to be discovered by another third party. Thus, privacy during the choosing of the target, and executing of the act were conducted systematically and effectively.

The Victim's Profile

Nearly over 53% of the reported rape case in Tennessee was reported to be strangers, having stocked their victims for several days (Wojcik, & Fisher, 2019). Therefore, the offenders had a good understanding of the victim’s movements, their social life, and the level of interaction to ensure that little or hardly any intrusion occurred during the incident. According to Wojcik, and Fisher, (2019), sexual violation on most victims is conducted after a prolonged investigation on the victim’s movement, and their activities to help reduce the possibilities of the entire situation going astray.

The Different Types of Laws Related to The Selected Offense

Tennessee Code Title 39 under Criminal Offenses, Chapter 13, prohibits offenses against the person (Findlaw, 2020). Therefore, victims are exclusively insulated from any sexual harassment or forced sex, by any defendant with two or four years more than the victim. Tennessee’s rape and sexual assault law offer a wider range of restrictions aiming to protect the victims. Rape is defined as any sexual penetration by force, which includes virginal oral, anal, or intrusion of the genital parts.

The Effectiveness of Statutes and Laws in Reducing the Occurrence of Sex Crimes

The implementation of Chapter 13: Offenses Against the Person, Part 5: sexual offense and the process of proceedings has widely heightened the fight on sexual offenses (Findlaw, 2020). Therefore, sexual assaults are drastically reducing, as the matter has been socially addressed. Never the less, more campaigns and fight to address the social problem is needed to help diffuse the situation in Tennessee.

References

Findlaw, 2020. Tennessee Rape And Sexual Assault Laws - Findlaw. [online] Findlaw. Available at: <https://statelaws.findlaw.com/tennessee-law/tennessee-rape-and-sexual-assault-laws.html> [Accessed 6 June 2020].

Wojcik, M. L., & Fisher, B. S. (2019). Overview of Adult Sexual Offender Typologies. In Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention (pp. 241-256). Springer, Cham.