Introduction
Sexual violence refers to sexual acts carried out to someone against their will. These acts include rape, indecent exposure, forced marriage, and sexually oppressing comments. The victims of sexual violence are often inferior to their assailants. For ages, sexual violence has been a major social problem as the victims are not offered sufficient legal protection. Adolescence involves a variety of changes ranging from physical changes, emotional changes, social changes, and intellectual changes. The primary significance of adolescence is identifying oneself and being able to build meaningful friendships and relationships. Teenagers that are exposed to sexual assault tend to identify themselves in negative ways following the scars left by the terrible experiences. This paper aims to analyze Respectability on Trial by Brian Donovan as a program to understand the history of sexual violence, relate it to adolescent development, derive healthy approaches to adolescence, criticize the book, and provide adjustments to be made to Donovan’s book.
Theoretical Analysis of Respectability on Trial
In his book, Respectability on Trial, Donovan (2016) analyzes seventy-five cases of sex-related crimes that were investigated in New York City during the “first sexual revolution” days (Donovan, 2016). According to Donovan, during this revolution period (the first two decades of the 20th century), most women and girls suffered sex wars that marked the modernization of New York City. These cases included sodomy cases, seduction cases, forced prostitution, and rape cases. In his analysis, he mentions that the complainants, defendants, jurors, and judges negotiated the sentence, “…actively negotiated the terms and parameters of acceptable sex and sociality” (Donovan, 2016, p 35). He concludes that justice was compromised by the conflicting perceptions of sex and gender presented by different individuals. Most of these cases that he analyzed were of sodomy and seduction victims. His study also mainly majored on women, especially those seeking legal protection from their assailants. He also targeted a few men who defended the accused by sexually oppressing the prosecuting attorney, the jury, the judge, and the accused.
Strain theory
Strain theory argues that social factors within the society may pressure community members to commit crimes. It relates societal structures to the pressure that citizens may experience. These factors include education, income, and employment. Respectability on Trial by Donovan (2016) does not consider these factors. Donovan does not consider that factors like unemployment, as established today, could cause crimes like rape or compulsory prostitution. His study is solely based on unmasking the injustice served in the courtrooms.
Differential association theory
The theory of differential association attributes the deviant behaviors of criminals to their association with other people. It explains that through interacting with other people, one can acquire their values and vices. In his book, Donovan (2016) argues that society and deviant parents pass those immoral social roles to the innocent, which later results in crimes like sexual assaults.
Labeling theory
This theory claims that how some people identify themselves depends on how others describe them. Looking into Donovan’s (2016) from the perspective of this theory, the argument he makes is legit. According to Donovan, women in the 20th century were denied their basic and protection rights. This could have derived labels that compromised their testimonies in the courtroom, making them unheard. This can be explained as social constraints compromising justice for women. Donovan says, “In the trial, Julius Bloch’s defense attorney attacked Margaret Peters’s sexual respectability. He insinuated that Margaret Peters told “smutty stories” at work. Although the judge snapped at the attorney for improperly discussing the “girl’s unchastity,” other witnesses testified that she was disreputable, and, therefore, fabricating her account of sexual assault” (Donovan, 2016, p 1).
Social disorganization theory
This theory ties one’s behavior to their surrounding environment, both internal and external. Donovan (2016) says that sexual offenders are often not subjected to the punishment they deserve because society has different ideas regarding sex-related crimes. This implies that a pattern had already developed that justice was never served. This could have encouraged the offenders to keep on committing the crimes.
Mills’ theory of power elite
- Wright Mills argues that the power elite comprises the government, the military, and big business owners that make up a ruling class that controls the society and works for itself instead of the citizens. In Donovan’s (2016), the judges, the jury, and everybody else in the courtroom worked a compromise that protected the offenders, hence serving injustice to the victims.
Adolescent Development in Relation to Respectability on Trial
Donovan (2016) outlines that how someone turns out is influenced by the people they associate with, especially their role models. For a teenager to have a healthy adolescent development, it is essential that they associate with people of good morals. Donovan also argues that some of these sexual abusers are products of sexual violence themselves. If someone is exposed to such experiences at a young age, it is possible that they would resolve to hurt others at a later age. This is relevant to adolescent development as it shows that adolescents should not be exposed to such experiences. In his analysis, Donovan claims that their superiors treated women as non-humans. He says that women were not given their basic and protection rights. This could affect how teenage girls identify themselves.
During adolescence, young people undergo many physical changes like breast and hip enlargement, broadening of the chest, voice deepening, growth of pubic hair and beards, and the onset of menstruation. Some of these changes may be intense and embarrassing. Following these physical changes, the adolescent begins to grow attraction to the opposite gender hence undergoing sexual maturation. With sexual maturity, adolescents begin developing intimate connections. During these changes, the adolescent feels the urge to define themselves and be independent. The victims detach themselves from their parents and start seeking independence, including financial freedom. While these changes seem simple and regular, they can be challenging. Adolescence occurs in three phases: early, middle, and late adolescence.
During these three adolescent phases, adolescents undergo three significant biological, social, and psychological changes. During the early adolescence phase, girls undergo biological changes like the development of breasts and pubic hair, while boys grow their genital parts. Adolescents socially separate themselves from their parents and identify with peer groups. Psychologically, they begin to learn and adapt good morals and start identifying themselves sexually, and some of them develop homosexual interests from peer pressure. Girls have their first menstrual flow during the middle phase, and their hips start enlarging. Boys begin producing sperm, they may start having ejaculations during sleep, and their voice deepens. Adolescents have abstract thinking and identify law as morality. Socially, they get into romantic relationships and begin having work plans. In the last phase, there are no distinct body changes. Adolescents understand themselves more clearly; they become impulsive and can tell the difference between law and morality. They get into more intimate relationships and are financially independent.
Peer relationships, parental relationships, and cultural and societal beliefs influence adolescent development. Young people with close and good relationships with their parents are most likely to become responsible and independent adults with good morals. Teenagers with responsible parents will also have good morals as they are very likely to develop the same values as their parents. Adolescence, however, may have a negative effect on the child-parent relationship. Driven by the urge to find their identities, teenagers tend to draw away from their parents, resulting in decreased bonding between the child and the parent. Adolescence also results in many disagreements between a child and their parent over issues like their choice of clothing, privacy, and curfew.
Adolescents get too close to their peers hence the rise of peer groups. This happens during early adolescence, and these peer groups are mostly same-gender groups. In these peer groups, adolescents develop good life skills like creativity, great reasoning, leadership, sharing, empathy, and plutonic love. They, however, may develop vices like stealing, violence, and drug use. Most adolescents are more likely to be influenced by their peers at the end of early adolescence. The peer groups become mixed-sex groups at the onset of the middle adolescence phase. Having sexually matured, romantic relationships arise from these peer groups. During this period, most adolescents define their sexuality as straight, gay, lesbian, queer, or bisexual. These romantic relationships cause adolescents to draw away from their families as they are invested in their newly found relationships. Adolescents also develop emotional and behavioral changes while in these relationships.
The societies and beliefs children are raised in are also significant in their adolescent development. Adolescents from less privileged families or communities have a lot of responsibilities to assume, unlike the more privileged, who have fewer responsibilities and more freedom. Less privileged adolescents grow to become more responsible adults as compared to the more privileged ones. Similar to peer relationships, culture, and communities influence adolescent sexual identification. Communities where gays and lesbians are resented and bullied may lead to adolescents masking their real sexuality. Beliefs define culture, and these beliefs influence adolescent development. Cultural beliefs affect how adolescent dresses and relates with other people.
Most of the knowledge on the history of sexual violence was based on Western communities or, rather, in more privileged countries. Over the years, however, research has been conducted in African countries like Tunisia, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. These studies have shown that women are mainly the victims of sexual violence. The studies have also confirmed that sexual violence, especially rape and compulsory prostitution are more common in low-income areas than in high-income areas (Dartnall, Elizabeth & Jewkes, 2013).
Strengths of the program
Donovan provides legit and credible transcripts of the court sessions hence providing verified evidence to his allegations. Apart from the transcripts, he also provides accounts of the court sessions and cases of injustice. There also were witnesses who testified to the sexual offenses. Donovan also extensively searched the documents that helped confirm the events in the courtroom during the early 20th century. He also analyzes all events of injustice, ensuring that women and inferior people get their rights even in the future. The trials conducted in the courtroom focused on establishing what was morally and physically possible rather than whether it was right. These approaches give his work and conclusions credibility.
Weaknesses of the program
Despite his robust approaches to his research, his work has a few things that could be improved. The time frame he chose to base his work on limits the number of witnesses and testimonies. Had he picked a more recent time, more witnesses would have appeared. Even though his assumptions and conclusions are well supported, conducting the research himself is a limitation. More researchers would have come up with more evidence.
Adjustments that can be made to the program
To come up with conclusions with more robust supporting evidence, Donovan should have considered more recent years in relation to his study period. This would have provided more witnesses to support his claims. The difference between the years his research was based on and his study period was too long to allow the death of most witnesses. Again, most victims of sexual violence have been known to commit suicide hence early deaths. Even though his evidence was detailed, he should have considered a collaborative study in case of missed details.
Conclusion
By analyzing the seventy-five sex-related crime trials, Donovan unmasked the injustices that vulnerable people were subjected to. Apart from that, he points out the vulnerable people in society as women, girls, and inferior men. He helped uncover indecent details that compromised the progress of the sexual revolution in New York in the 20th century. His research also allowed for further research on other topics related to sexual violence. Donovan can also be considered a hero to women and children who faced or face the threat of sexual violence. His work also teaches adolescents and their parents how to properly approach the process by pointing out the acts that could otherwise compromise it.
References
Dartnall, E., & Jewkes, R. (2013). Sexual violence against women: the scope of the problem. Best practice & research Clinical obstetrics & gynaecology, 27(1), 3-13.
Donovan, B. (2016). Respectability on Trial: Sex Crimes in New York City, 1900-1918. SUNY Press. Tetering, M. V., Laan, A. V. D., Kogel, C. D., Groot, R. D., & Jolles, J. (2020). Sex differences in self-regulation in early, middle and late adolescence: A large-scale cross-sectional study. PLoS One, 15(1), e0227607.
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