Introduction
‘Crimes against person’ refers to a category of crimes that comprises of offenses that cause or attempt to cause bodily harm to individuals against their consent. The threat of bodily harm is considered to be under the same category of crimes against persons, and it is not a requisite for the crime to result in actual bodily harm.
Examples of crimes against persons include assault, rape, murder, sexual harassment, child abuse, stalking, and kidnapping. These crimes have negative effects on individuals, the community, and the world. Rape, murder, and child abuse are the major types of crimes against person, and they affect people, the community, and the world negatively.
Literature Review
Rape
Rape is a crime that involves unwarranted sexual advances that violate another person’s body. One has to give consent prior to sexual activity, and it is criminal to proceed when there is no agreement.[1] Rape can be aggressive or coercive depending on the relationship between the involved parties. Men are mostly the perpetrators while women are usually the victims, but men too can be victims of rape. There are cases where men sexually violate other men and other instances where women rape men.
Rape can also occur within marriage despite the assumption that there is consent. Besides, there is also statutory rape that involves sex between an adult and a minor. Underage individuals are not considered able to consent to sex, and thus one who has sex with them is said to have committed rape.[2] Therefore, rape was once considered a crime on women by men, but there is a broad array of rape crimes that include statutory rape, matrimony rape, and attempted rape.
Cases of rape have increased over the years, but perhaps it is a testament of overcoming stigma rather than a rise in incidences. It was considered shameful in the past for a woman or man to report being raped.[3] There was a stigma surrounding rape where one would prefer to protect their reputation as opposed to seeking justice. However, many people are now coming out to report incidences of rape.
Victims are typically women in their teens and 20s, and perpetrators are mostly men between the ages of 18 to 44.[4] Still, rape victims prefer not to report due to stigma, and this affects the statistics on rape in America. Nonetheless, it is estimated that between 15% and 25% of women are victims or will become victims of rape in their lifetime.[5] It goes to show the severity of the crime based on the number of people that it affects.
Murder
Murder is a capital offense sometimes considered as the greatest crime of all. Taking one’s life is unlawful, and above all, unethical, but it still happens in one in every 10,000 inhabitants.[6] Most murder cases occur amid everyday activities and typically involve close associates.
Therefore, murder is usually premeditated, and the murderer and the victim have a degree of social interaction. There are few cases of psychotic killers, which mean that most assailants are of sound mind. Murder can occur when there is an altercation between individuals.[7] The victim at times is the aggressor who incites the perpetrator into action using verbal or physical threats.
Statistics show that men are mostly the victims and perpetrators of the murder. Women are least likely to commit murder compared to men probably since murder involves aggression, which is considered a male trait.[8] The majority of murders occur in urban areas, and drugs and alcohol are usually contributing factors.
Child Abuse
Child abuse refers to the act of inflicting harm to an individual below the age of 18. The harm, injury, or pain inflicted can be physical, emotional, or psychological.[9] Acts can include coldness, rejection, neglect, terrorization, isolation, humiliation, and sexual abuse. Children are also protected from work, and organizations that employ underage individuals can be prosecuted for child abuse.
Laws protect children because of the trauma in unfortunate incidences that affects victims encounter. Child sexual abuse also referred to as child molestation is the most traumatic form of child abuse.[10] It involves an adult coercing an underage individual to participate in sexual activity such as touching and penetration of sexual organs.
Statistics show that in a year, an alarming 25% of children are victims of sexual abuse in America. The victims are mostly female while men are the usual culprits.[11] The crime against persons occurs between people with prior interactions.
There are incidences of incest where a child is molested by a relative, but they are few compared to incidences involving an individual outside the family. Typical cases of child sexual abuse involve people that work closely with children such as teachers, church ministers, and family friends.
Discussion
Crimes against person constitute a wide array of crimes that involve inflicting bodily harm or threaten to inflict bodily harm to an individual. Murder, rape, assault, and child abuse are common examples of crimes against persons. These acts have to be committed without the consent of the victim such that if there is consent, then it is not a crime. For example, when two people are caught fighting, they cannot be arrested if their actions are consensual and do not inflict bodily harm.[12]
However, the exceptions are in cases of child abuse and murder where consent is not a requisite for the crime. It is illegal to have sexual advances towards a minor. Many of the victims of child abuse are molested by people who are familiar with them.[13] It means that child abuse can go unnoticed since the victim would feel guilty to cause trouble for the perpetrator. Therefore, crimes against persons can both be consensual and non-consensual.
The community and the world are affected by crimes against people. Murder especially is the worst crime of all with regards to its negative effects. First, no one wants to die and it is a loss for the victim and those close to him or her when they die. The community depends on the contributions of all individuals. Killing denies the community the contributions that these individuals would have brought to it.
Rape is equally a serious crime particularly due to the effects that it has on its victims. The victims first suffer from physical injuries due to the violent nature of the crime. Also, there are sexually transmitted diseases to reflect. Finally, the trauma that the victims undergo can last for the rest of their lives and have negative impacts on their future relationships.[14] Therefore, murder and rape are serious offenses with considerable impact on people, the community, and the world.
Conclusion
Crimes against person are offenses that lead to bodily harm or threaten to inflict bodily harm. Murder, rape, and child abuse are discussed in this research paper to describe how they affect people, the community, and the world. Murder is by far the worst crime of all, but that does not take anything away from the severity of child abuse and rape. These crimes cause pain, discomfort and anguish to the victims, and as such, laws are there to protect people.
References
[1][2][3][9][10][12][13][14][7] Regoli, R. M., Hewitt, J. D., & Kosloski, A. E. (2018). Exploring criminal justice: The essentials. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
[4][5][6][8][11] Maguire, M., & McVie, S. (2017). “Crime data and criminal statistics: A critical reflection.” In Liebling, A., Maruna, S., and McAra, L. (2017). The Oxford handbook of criminology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
