How should a liberal system of criminal law protect individuals in their right not to be subjected to sexual contact against their will, while also safeguarding their right to engage in (private consensual) sexual conduct in which they do wish to participate? Criminalizing Sex develops a framework for harmonizing these goals across a wide range of sexual offenses — including rape and sexual assault, sexual harassment, voyeurism, indecent exposure, incest, sadomasochistic assault, prostitution, bestiality, and necrophilia.
Taking on a collection of fascinating moral and legal puzzles, arising out of real-world cases of alleged sexual misconduct, the book situates the theory of sexual offenses in the current cultural context — including the #MeToo movement and the ongoing revision of the American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code. It is sure to spark conversations, and potentially change the way we think about some of the most contentious legal, moral, and social issues of the day.
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Released: March 13, 2020
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0197507484
ISBN-13: 978-0197507483
“[A] highly engaging, well written and meticulously researched monograph. It is extremely bold in its legal and jurisdictional coverage and, consequently, offers many useful insights into the changing law on sexual offences throughout the West.”
MATTHEW GIBSON
Cambridge Law Journal
“[C]onfident and compelling . . . . a must-read for anyone interested in sexual offences and criminal law.”
AMANDA SPALDING
Criminal Law Review
“[C]arefully-researched and elegantly written . . . a blockbuster of its philosophical genre.”
ROGER CLARK
Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books
“Green has a style that sparkles . . . blending theory and legal doctrine. . . . [The result is] a text that not only provides a comprehensive framework for academics and postgraduate students, but also provides a readable account for well-equipped undergraduates.”
CHRIS ASHFORD
The Law Teacher
“Green’s book offers an invaluable addition to existing literature on the criminal regulation of sexual misconduct. His unified conceptual framework for understanding the justifications for criminalizing some sexual acts while decriminalizing others, will be helpful for various audiences, including legislatures, courts, and advocacy groups.”
MICHAL BUCHHANDLER-RAPHAEL
Criminal Justice Ethics
“[T]hrough the use of accessible language, rigorous reasoning, and sometimes amusing examples, Green succeeds in offering both state-of-the-art knowledge on the subject and in elaborating a legal system that allows for the advancement of thinking in the area of sexual offenses according to the liberal ethics of harms and wrongs.”
REGIS SCHLAGDENHAUFFEN
Grief, Revue sur les Mondes du Droit
“[A]n essential work for those interested in delving into the distinctive aspects of the contemporary debate on sexual crimes, based on a methodical analytical framework and developed in an understandable language.”
JORGE HERNAN FERNANDEZ MEJIAS
Forum Internacional Sobre Justicia Penal
“[Criminalizing Sex] is incredibly important in ensuring that the law on sexual offences evolves rationally rather than in a reactionary manner. . . . The author eloquently makes the case for considering carefully what offences we need to criminalise and those we do not.”
CAITRIONA MCCLAUGHLIN
Law Society Gazette
“Stuart Green’s Criminalizing Sex is the most important contribution to the scholarly literature regarding sexual offenses in decades. Even those who may disagree with some of his arguments will find themselves grateful for his clear, careful, and insightful analysis. A must-read for scholars, policy-makers, and lay readers alike, Green’s book is, quite simply, a masterpiece, by one of the leading criminal law scholars of our generation.”
Professor Michelle Madden Dempsey
Villanova University
“In this magisterial work, Green uses his powerful intellect and tender spirit to produce an insightful, rigorous, and sensitive critique of sexual offences law. Marked by care, precision and a deep understanding of the law, the book provides an overview of all sexual offences, taking the reader back to the starting points to examine how we categorize and label these crimes. I am sure it will come to be recognized as a work of enormous significance in this area of the law.”
Professor Jonathan Herring
University of Oxford
“Criminalizing Sex tells us why fortifying negative rights to freedom from sexual assault can undermine positive rights to consensual relations. An engaging and brilliant writer, Green leaves readers more sophisticated consumers of contemporary controversies that swirl around such characters as Brett Kavanaugh, Louis C.K., and Larry Nassar. Highly recommended.”
Professor Sherry F. Colb
Cornell University
“An indispensable read for anyone interested in criminal law theory and sexual offenses, Green’s newest book scrutinizes the foundations of prohibitions that target a large variety of sexual misconduct, from rape to necrophilia. Readers from all over the world will profit from this clear, analytical approach that transcends the boundaries of national law.”
Professor Dr. Tatjana Hörnle
Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law
Copyright © 2020, Stuart P. Green. All Rights Reserved.
