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Crime, Gender and Sexuality - SOC00059H

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  • Department: Sociology
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
    • See module specification for other years: 2024-25

Module summary

What is the significance of gender and sexuality to understanding crime and deviance in contemporary societies? In this module, we introduce you to a range of theoretically informed socio-legal accounts of sexual offences and behaviours.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2023-24

Module aims

What is the significance of gender and sexuality to understanding crime and deviance in contemporary societies? In this module, we introduce you to a range of theoretically informed socio-legal accounts of sexual offences and behaviours. You will gain insight into how these sexual offences and behaviours have provoked, and continue to provoke, high levels of anxiety and concern in the social world. We will engage with historical and contemporary responses to these offences and consider the effectiveness of various strategies of social control in policing and regulating both formally and informally gender and sexuality.

Module learning outcomes

Demonstrate your understanding of sociological and criminological approaches to sexuality and gender

Apply sociological theories and concepts to a number of different substantive issues around gender, sexuality and sexual offences

Critically discuss formal and informal social responses to crimes related to gender and sexuality

Articulate your understanding of how strategies of formal and informal social control shape practices and identities related to gender and sexuality

Analyse how legislation, state policies and policing strategies shape the regulation of gender and sexuality in contemporary societies

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

For formative work - small group blog post (500 words)- students will receive written feedback on how to improve their skills in areas that will contribute towards their summative assessment. This formative provides practice for the summative tasks, which entail a critical writing exercise and are in line with MLO 1-5.

For summative work - essay (3,000 words) - students will receive an overall mark and grading according to clearly defined criteria for assessing their knowledge, skills and abilities in line with MLO 1-5. They will also receive written feedback showing areas in which they have done well, and those areas in which they need to improve that will contribute to their progress.

Indicative reading

Johnson, P. and Dalton, D. (2012) Policing Sex. Routledge.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.