Exam (elaborations)
Criminology Unit 1 1.2 brief
- Module
- Changing Awareness of Crime
- Institution
- WJEC
This is a full mark model answer for Unit 1, 1.2
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By: elektratyack • 10 months ago
By: estellebrome • 2 year ago
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Clearly linking to the brief, could you suggest both personal, social andcultural reasons why crimes are unreported
In the brief, one crime present is domestic abuse. This is evident when Mr Q
struck his wife, Mrs Q, across the face. A victim of domestic abuse may be hesitant to
report it to the police, and these reasons fall under three categories: personal, social and
cultural. A personal reason why a victim may not report domestic abuse is fear and this
may be due to fear of reprisals by the offender or fear they will not be believed.
Furthermore, the victim may feel ashamed. This may be due to them blaming themselves
for the position they are in, or too embarrassed to report the crime in case they’re
judged. BMJ journals state that 25% of the female population fall victim to domestic
abuse, but only 2.5%-15% of victims report it. These figures underline the lack of
reporting of this crime, which can be interpreted as the victims living in fear and/or
shame. One social reason a victim may not report a crime could be a lack of media
interest. For example, the media tend to focus on stories which will make headlines,
typically violent crimes which fit their news values. Therefore, the media may not report
on this particular type of crime which in consequence, leads to victims feeling alone and
that they’re the only one going through this. This isolation they may feel could make
them even more reluctant to report the crime to the police. A cultural reason a victim
may not report domestic abuse to the police is if the crime is culture bound. In different
cultures, different things are viewed as acceptable, despite it being illegal against UK law.
In certain ethnic minorities,such as individuals from Bangladesh, it is seen as socially
acceptable for a man to hit his wife, especially if she is considered to be acting out. In
fact, the rate of domestic abuse is 30%-50% higher for black women compared to white
women - this statistic was found by the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence
Survey in 2012. If a woman is socialised to believe that what happens to her is
acceptable, she won’t believe she is a victim and will not report the crime to the police.
Another crime evident in the brief is hate crime. Hate crime is seen when Mr and
Mrs Q’s son, Ryan, became subject to abuse after an image surfaced online of him
wearing women’s clothing. One personal reason why Ryan may not report this crime
may be due to fear. Victims of hate crime may be reluctant to report in case they become
a more susceptible victim from their abusers. This reluctance to report can be seen in the
Crime Survey of England & Wales where the police recorded 52,528 hate crimes but the
National Crime Survey data juxtaposed this as they found an average of 222,000 hate
crimes occur each year. One social reason Ryan may not report this crime may be due to
a lack of public concern. When a crime does not directly affect the public or is not seen
as a moral panic, they may not demand action from the police and courts, as it is not
affecting them. Therefore, these crimes do not have such high-levels of public awareness
compared to sexual violence or homicide. However, these crimes occur frequently and
there is a rising number of victims each year. Science Daily found 170,000 hate crimes go
unreported each year. Thirdly, a cultural reason this crime may go unreported is due to it
being culture bound. In certain conservative or strictly religious communities, certain
behaviours that are acceptable to a western society, are deemed to be inappropriate.
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