Criminology Commons^™

Female Perpetrators Of Ritually Motivated Pedicide And Mutilation Of Children, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Ritually motivated pedicide is among contemporary Africa’s most severe crimes against children. Most of these crimes involve brutal acts of violence or mutilation of the victim. While men are most often the perpetrators of violent crimes, ritually motivated pedicide and mutilation equally attract women. The role of women in these crimes is not restricted to the less violent aspects of the crimes; instead, they also extend to the most brutal elements, often involving mutilation, decapitation or outright murder of the victim. This article explored the involvement of women in these crimes that target children for mutilation and pedicide. The article …

Hentai And The Pornification Of Childhood: How The Porn Industry Just Made The Case For Regulation, Gail Dines, Mandy Sanchez

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

One of the most popular genres of online pornography today is hentai, sexualized animation, and cartoons in the style of Japanese anime. Data from Pornhub, the world’s best-known pornography website, as well as a recent report from a British regulatory agency and our research, show that much of hentai appeals to children and depicts child-like characters engaged in sexual violence. In almost every instance, this violence targets female characters. Hentai, we show, encourages adults to see minors, especially girls, as legitimate targets of sexual violence. Until the day when these depictions of sexual violence are eradicated, we call for three …

Tax Evasion And Fraud In The United States Sex Market, Youngbee Dale

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This study describes tax evasion or fraud in the United States sex market. Prior to this study, scholars have recognized the problem of tax evasion in the commercial sex market as an obstacle to national revenue collection. Tax violation and fraud investigations also are ways to combat the illegal commercial sex industry. However, no studies have focused on the problem in the United States sex market. Hence, this study aims to describe tax evasion or fraud methods used by the criminals operating in the United States sex market. This study relies on both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the …

‘They Did Not Have To Burn My Sister Alive’: Causes And Distribution By State Of Dowry Murder In India, Peter Mayer

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Dowry, the money, goods, property, or gifts given by the bride’s family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage, is a common custom in South Asia. Although it is illegal to demand—or offer—a dowry in India, it is a nearly universal custom in many parts of the country. If, after marriage, a husband’s family feels that the wife’s dowry was insufficient, they may harass or inflict other forms of domestic violence on her to put pressure on her family to provide an additional dowry. At its most extreme, this violence may lead to the murder of …

Human Trafficking Of People With A Disability: An Analysis Of State And Federal Cases, Andrea Nichols, Erin Heil

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The current academic discourse examining human trafficking is lacking in focus on survivors with a disability. The increased likelihood of abuse experienced by people with a disability is well documented in the research literature, and a small body of research indicates heightened sex trafficking victimization of minor girls with a disability. Yet, very little research specifically examines sex and/or labor trafficking of people with a disability, and no systematic research analyzes prosecuted cases of trafficking with disability as the focal point of analysis. Drawing from a content analysis of 18 federal and 17 state cases of human trafficking, the current …

“My Daughter Was Sacrificed By My Mother”: Women’S Involvement In Ritually Motivated Violence And Murder In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Ritually motivated crimes are grave crimes that continue to plague contemporary Africa. Occasionally, victims abducted for ritual purposes are discovered and set free. Fresh or decomposing bodies are spotted somewhere, often with missing parts taken by the ritual killers who killed the victims. Some missing persons in the continent are presumed to have been abducted or killed by ritually motivated criminals. Although ritually motivated crimes take different forms, most of them involve brutal acts of violence and murder. The barbaric manner in which these criminals attack or slaughter their victims creates fear and panic. Traditionally, men commit serious crimes involving …

My Years Campaigning For The Term "Femicide", Diana E. H. Russell

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Visa Fraud In The Commercial Sex Market In The United States: An Overview, Youngbee Dale

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This paper describes various fraudulent visas used by criminals operating in the U.S. sex market. Studies show that many foreign women exploited through commercial sex rely on visa brokers to enter the U.S. However, scholars have not investigated various visa brokers and the techniques they use to bring foreign women into U.S. prostitution as a whole. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an overview of the different types of fraudulent visas and criminal techniques used in the U.S. sex market. In doing so, this paper relies on both primary and secondary sources, such as interviews with both survivors and U.S. …

Murders In The German Sex Trade: 1920 To 2017, Manuela Schon, Anna Hoheide

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This research report is the result of collecting and evaluating data on cases of homicides and attempted homicides in the German sex trade from 1920-2017. The findings show violence against prostituted women and the attitudes of the sex buyers who commit most of the violent acts against the women. The report discusses the media coverage of murder cases, complication of cases, and a critique of methods of criminal evaluation by the police. From 1920 to 2017, 272 victims of murder and attempted murder were identified. Liberalization of prostitution occurred in 2002. From then until 2017, there is a decrease in …

The Female Face Of Misogyny: A Review Of Decriminalizing Domestic Violence: A Balanced Policy Approach To Intimate Partner Violence By Leigh Goodmark And The Feminist War On Crime: The Unexpected Role Of Women's Liberation In Mass Incarceration By Aya Gruber, Dianne L. Post

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

'Gangstas' And Preachers: A Deeper Look Into The Code Of The Street And Hip-Hop And Rap Music, Alise Greco

Senior Honors Projects

Music’s depth is easy to overlook during casual listening. We often listen to a song without fully considering its meaning, implications, purpose, or the effect that it may have on its listeners. Hip-hop and rap have been and continue to be hotly contested for what critics proclaim to be a “promotion” or portrayal of a message and lifestyle that is harmful to a peaceful and orderly society. Elijah Anderson’s (1999) “Code of the Street” can be used to make sense of this deviant, oppositional subculture prevalent in hip-hop, characterized by toxic masculinity, a street form of justice, and violence. Much …

Locked Up And Locked Out: True Stories Of Individuals Who Experienced The Intersection Between Homelessness And The Criminal Justice System, Jean Johnson

Senior Honors Projects

JEAN JOHNSON (Criminology & Criminal Justice)

Locked Up and Locked Out: True Stories of the Interlocking Cycle of

Homelessness and the Criminal Justice System

Sponsor: Jill Doerner (Criminology & Criminal Justice, Sociology & Anthropology), Heather Johnson (Writing & Rhetoric)

Key locks work when a key made with teeth is placed into a cylinder with a series of pins and tumblers. If you don’t insert the right key one or more of the pins will remain in the way, preventing the key from turning and the lock will remain closed. According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, tens of …

Parents As Pimps: Survivor Accounts Of Trafficking Of Children In The United States, Jody Raphael

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article discusses four survivor accounts of survivors of being sold for sexual exploitation by their parents for monetary gain. These narratives, supplemented by other accounts from 100 newspaper stories between 2012 and 2018, reveal the fact that many survivors were sold as very young children, and the abuse continued through their teen years, blurring distinctions between pedophilia and the sex trade industry. In their accounts, survivors described the motivations of their parents as well as the buyers, who used excessive force and violence. Some researchers are beginning to document the existence of parental pimping and its prevalence, which ranges …

Feminist Action Against Pornography In Japan: Unexpected Success In An Unlikely Place, Caroline Norma, Seiya Morita

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In late 2016 a feminist movement against problems of commercial sexual exploitation, and especially issues of coerced pornography filming, arose in Japan. This article describes the history of this movement as it mobilized to combat human rights violations perpetrated by the country’s pornographers. The movement’s success came not spontaneously or haphazardly; in fact, it was orchestrated earlier over a full decade-and-a-half by activists who persevered in researching and highlighting pornography’s harms in a civil environment of hostility, isolation and social derision, even among progressive groups and individuals. The Anti-Pornography and Prostitution Research Group (APP) was particularly prominent in this history. …

Money Laundering In The Commercial Sex Market In The United States, Youngbee Dale

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This paper describes money laundering techniques used by different criminal organizations operating in the U.S. sex market. Prior to this study, scholars have not investigated money laundering techniques used in the U.S. sex market in a comprehensive manner. This paper describes and categorizes methods used for money laundering. It discusses the similarities and differences in money laundering techniques in the U.S. sex markets. Current challenges to combating money laundering are reviewed and recommendations are made to strengthen the ongoing fight against money laundering in the U.S. sex markets.

Does The Decriminalization Of Prostitution Reduce Rape And Sexually Transmitted Disease? A Review Of Cunningham And Shah Findings, Lily Lachapelle, Clare Schneider, Melanie Shapiro, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In 2013, research findings by Cunningham and Shah claimed that rape and sexually transmitted diseases were reduced by decriminalized prostitution in Rhode Island. The original unpublished claims have received wide media coverage which have gone unexamined. This review finds errors in their analyses. One error is the date when prostitution was decriminalized in Rhode Island. Cunningham and Shah claim that prostitution was decriminalized in 2003. Our analysis finds the date of decriminalization of prostitution was 1980. The change in the start date of decriminalization significantly alters the analysis and the findings. Another error results from Cunningham and Shah using an …

Bound By Silence: Psychological Effects Of The Traditional Oath Ceremony Used In The Sex Trafficking Of Nigerian Women And Girls, Jennifer Millett-Barrett

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Nigerian women and children have been trafficked to Italy over the last 30 years for commercial sexual exploitation with an alarming increase in the past three years. The Central Mediterranean Route that runs from West African countries to Italy is rife with organized crime gangs that have created a highly successful trafficking operation. As part of the recruitment process, the Nigerian mafia and its operatives exploit victims by subjecting them to a traditional religious juju oath ceremony, which is an extremely effective control mechanism to silence victims and trap them in debt bondage. This study explores the psychological effects of …

"I Assumed Chicago Would Be In The Forefront": Comments On The Movement To End Prostitution With Survivor-Leader Brenda Myers-Powell, Jody Raphael

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

For many years in the 2000’s, researcher Jody Raphael, teamed with prostitution-survivor Brenda Myers-Powell, undertook a myriad of speaking engagements in the Chicago metropolitan area, intended to raise awareness of the violence and coercion in the sex trade industry. Ten years ago, they were asked to make a video of their presentation. Recently, Dignity editors came across the video and asked for an update on the conversation. This piece is the result.

"Baby Factories": Exploitation Of Women In Southern Nigeria, Jacinta Chiamaka Nwaka, Akachi Odoemene

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Despite the writings of feminist thinkers and efforts of other advocates of feminism to change the dominant narratives on women, exploitation of women is a fact that has remained endemic in various parts of the world, and particularly in Africa. Nigeria is one of those countries in Africa where women are largely exposed to varying degrees of exploitation. This paper examines the development and proliferation of baby-selling centers in southern Nigeria and its impacts on and implication for women in Nigeria. It demonstrates how an attempt to give protection to unwed pregnant girls has metamorphosed into “baby harvesting” and selling …

Filling The Sex Trade Swamp: Robert Kraft And His Predecessors, Janice G. Raymond

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Sexual Assault Campus Climate Surveys: Insights From The First Wave, Kristen M. Budd, Alana Van Gundy, Rose Marie Ward, Glenn W. Muschert

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

One tool to help institutions of higher education (IHEs) to address campus sexual assault is the campus climate survey (CCS); yet little is known about the CCS implementation process. This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the implementation process of CCSs deployed during the 2015/16 academic year at 244 IHEs throughout the United States. Quantitative results indicate CCSs were designed primarily by the Title IX officer and campus administration; assessed victimization rates and knowledge about campus resources; and were voluntary. Qualitative findings generate concerns surrounding generalizability, participation rates, validity of data, and suggestions for improvement for future CCSs.

Immunity Incorporated: All The Injustice That Jeffrey Epstein Can Buy, Janice G. Raymond

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Abuse Or Be Abused: Traumatic Memory, Sex Inequality, And Millennium As A Socio-Literary Device, Kate Rose

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article applies the research of French psychiatrist Muriel Salmona to literary analysis of Stieg Larsson’s protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, in the Millennium trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2008; The Girl Who Played with Fire, 2009; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, 2010). It suggests that Larsson’s novels may be useful in raising awareness of childhood sexual abuse, through reading neglected signs linked to the neurology of traumatic memory. In the tradition of Nordic noir novels, hyperboles in Salander’s sensationalized identity serve to magnify and bring to light a misunderstood social problem. The article …

Policing For The Community, Jeffrey Munoz

Senior Honors Projects

As a society, we are currently in a period of time where the community reflects their dissatisfaction with law enforcement by staging protests, organizing groups who demand change and unfortunately at times displaying a degree of violence towards authority. These issues are products of controversial police shootings like those of the killings of Tamir rice, Freddie Gray and Eric Garner in which all demonstrated a reasonable degree of uncertainty. The fact of the matter lies within the officers’ actions as they manifest an inherent racial bias seen one to many times by populations that have been oppressed throughout history. The …

Gatekeeping Decriminalization Of Prostitution: The Ubiquitous Influence Of The New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, Janice G. Raymond

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article explores the activities of The New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective (NZPC) in promoting decriminalization of prostitution and its role in gatekeeping this legislation. The NZPC has loomed large in the government’s evaluations of the decriminalization legislation known as the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA). It has collected information, partnered on the research team appointed by the Ministry of Justice to conduct the research, and ultimately secured seats as evaluators on the Prostitution Law Review Committee (PLRC) charged with assessing the research and making recommendations. Much of its outsized influence on the research and conclusions of this report is demonstrated in …

Sadomasochism: Descent Into Darkness, Annotated Accounts Of Cases, 1996-2014, Robert Peters

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

A collection of accounts of sadomasochistic sexual abuse from news reports and scholarly and professional sources about the dark underbelly of sadomasochism and the pornography that contributes to it. It focuses on crimes and other harmful sexual behavior related to the pursuit of sadistic sexual pleasure in North America and the U.K. It is intended to be a resource to educate people about how sadomasochism can lead to harmful and even deadly sadistic sexual behavior.

The Harmful Sexual And Non-Sexual Behaviors Of Trafficked Women And Children In Mexico: A Study Of Victims Of Sexual Exploitation, Arun Kumar Acharya, Lilia Susana Padilla Y Sotelo, Jose Juan Cervantes Niño

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

During the last 17 years, since the adoption of the Palermo Protocol, authorities at international and national levels have investigated and prosecuted trafficking cases, and aided victims. Nevertheless, every day thousands of people around the world are sold, lured with false promises and exploited. In Mexico, 10,000 young girls and women are said to be trafficked into cities for sexual exploitation every year. Trafficked victims suffer a wide range of sexual exploitation, physical and psychological violence, human rights violations including their right to dignity, and cruel and inhumane treatment, creating vulnerability and isolation. To cope, many victims adopt harmful sexual …

Theoretical Explanations Of Jyoshi Kousei Business ("Jk Business") In Japan, Mutsumi Ogaki

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Jyoshi kousei (JK) means high school girls in Japanese and “JK business” is an umbrella term for commercial activities done by high school girls to provide male customers with sexual arousal. The “JK business” is considered to promote sexual exploitation or sexual assault of minors. Currently, only two prefectures out of 47 in Japan enforce ordinances that specifically regulate the “JK business.” This paper intends to explore possible theoretical explanations of the “JK business” to raise awareness on the issue. Gendered pathways theory and sexual script theory are selected as the primary source of the discussions. Policy implications and future …

Child And Adolescent Commercial Sexual Exploitation In Mexico: The Exploiters And The State, Sonia M. Frias, Mariajosé Gómez-Zaldívar

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a form of violence in which children, mainly girls and female adolescents, are reduced to sexual objects for rent. In this study, we argue that the concept of who is an exploiter must be broadened to include everyone who directly or indirectly benefits from CSEC. This paper is based on life stories of 10 female residents from a shelter, which we call Casa Libertad (a fictitious name) in Mexico City, for female victims of violence. Researchers also used semi-structured interviews with experts on CSEC to examine the exploiters' profiles. The research challenges the …

It Can't Wait: Exposing The Connections Between Forms Of Sexual Exploitation, Dawn Hawkins

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.