Explaining Sexual Offences in their Social Context. Considerations on Integrating Social Macro- and Micro-Levels Into Analyses of Date Rapes

Abstract

Based on the observation that sexual offences are framed by societal perceptions and judgements more than any other type of crime, this article draws on Coleman’s model of sociological explanation to assess whether integrative models from the sociology of crime can help to enrich this area of study. First, existing theoretical approaches to sexual offending are introduced and integrated into a macro-micro-macro logic. Then, the model of frame selection is applied to analyse date rapes committed by offenders only briefly known to the victims. A particular focus lies on the context of the actors’ encounter and possible individual influences on how this context is perceived. The article closes by highlighting further fields of study in which integrative sociological models can be applied to examine sexual offences.