Medicalization of Criminality in Society

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Medicalization refers to the process of treating problems or human beings in terms of a medical condition, and thus studying them medically. A sociological perspective is used in order to study medicalization and is treated as a social process in order to benefit society and enhance the quality of life.

According to Zola (1983, p.295), “Medicalization is a process whereby more and more of everyday life has come under medical dominion, influence and supervision”.

Thus, medicalization involves understanding "newer and newer aspects of reality in medical terms and treating them as medical problems" instead of social or political issues. Over the years, medicalization of deviance has been a popular debate among sociologists - it is essential to make an informed decision of whether or not to attribute a medical analysis in order to understand a criminal behaviour.

Origin of the Concept

Most sociologists are quick to label medicalization as a form of social control and thus this term has developed negative connotations in the discipline of sociology. The emergence of this term was first seen in late 1970s by sociologists Conrad and Schneider in their study of deviance. The major reason that many researchers began rejecting the idea of medicalization was based on their ideology of failing to attain liberation. The development of medicalization dovetailed with some components of the feminist movement and can be seen in various literary works evolving in the 1970s. In Ehrenreich's 'Welcome to Cancerland', she rages over the fact that women and their bodies were being heavily medicalised by a male dominant medical industry.

"Femininity is by its nature incompatible with full adulthood” (Ehrenreich, 2001, p.46)"

Advantages of Medicalization

The advantages of medicalization remain very evident - it largely benefits the quality of life of any individual as these conditions can be diagnosed and "treated" medically. With medical authority in almost all disciplines in this era, our society is attempting to move towards life without disease and suffering. While many might tend to see Medicalization under a positive light, critics have been quick to point out numerous disadvantages associated with the same.

Disadvantages - Medicalization or Overmedicalization?

Critics have been quick to label Medicalization as a form of social control used by the medical authority, often times manipulating the problems individuals have in order to study it 'medically'. According to Illich in 'Medical Nemesis', medicalization could lead to obsession about health, thereby individuals progressively losing the right to self determinism. In 'Social Assumptions, medical categories', Hansen discusses how medicalization allows the accused to remain blameless, thereby creating an endless circle of finding a diagnosis and a medical explanation. Therefore, it becomes extremely important to understand and differentiate between the blurred lines of medicalization and overmedicalization. Many believe that medicalization is allowing the biomedical industry to intrude into our everyday lives, and is merely a profit-making scheme. Lastly, with medicalization, individuals tend to get labeled, which attaches stigma and thus their 'illness' becomes their identity.

Understanding Medicalization of Rape

According to most jurisdictions, rape is defined as sexual penetration by the accused against the victim without consent. While the definition of rape changes according to different organisations, 'lack of consent' remains the key in all these definitions.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Centre, 91% of the victims are women, majorly making rape and sexual assault a form of Violence against Women. The probability of a man being a victim of rape is 1 out of 71, whereas that of a woman is 1 out of 5 times.

According to DSM-I, rape fell under the category of 'sexual deviance'. which also included sexual sadism. While this was consistent in both DSM-II and DSM-III, there was great emphasis on how not all rapists suffered from sexual sadism, thus reflecting the ambiguity regarding the concept of rape. The medicalization of rape remains a vague process, mainly due to the "legal system's inability to contain those 'sexually dangerous'". The medicalization of rape thus allowed governments around the world to incarcerate individuals who posed a threat to society.

The second wave of feminism focused on domestic abuse; these efforts were undermined later due to the "medicalization of rape as a symptom of illness" (Bourke, 2007). The psychiatrisation of rape falls under a much broader umbrella of medicalization of sex, wherein the psychiatry industry continually defines normative sex.

Paraphilic Coercive Disorder

With revisions to DSM III, Paraphilic Coercive Disorder or PCD was included, a disorder separate to sexual sadism. PCD is defined as "sexual stimulation from forcing sex on three or more non-consenting persons on separate occasions" (APA, 2010a). The inclusion of PCD received backlash from critics and media as it seems like an attempt to medicalise rape. According to critics, the APA demonstrates PCD using an extremely small sample and fails to differentiate between paraphilic rapists and criminal rapists - measurement of arousal using a phallometer showcases similar results in ‘coercive’ and those defined as ‘non-coercive’ (Lalumiere & Quinsey, 1996).

Concerns

With existing difficulties and discrimination faced by females, the 'overmedicalization' of rape remains a concern for women. As Szasz states in "The Medicalization of Sex", ‘‘Therapists treating rapists’? This is bad enough as a pun. It is intolerable as a social reality.’ (p.36)

References

1. A., & Kohli, S. (2012). Medicalization : A Growing Menance. DELHI PSYCHIATRY JOURNAL, 15(2), 255-259.
2. Conrad, P., & Bergey, M. (2015). Medicalization: Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 105-109. doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.64020-5
3. Melick, M., Steadman, H., & Cocozza, J. (1979). The Medicalization of Criminal behavior among Mental Patients. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 20(3), 228-237. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2136448
4. Mitjavila, M., & Mathes, P. (n.d.). (PDF) Labyrinths of crime medicalization - ResearchGate. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313796565_Labyrinths_of_crime_medicalization
5. Timmermans, S., & Gabe, J. (2002, September 16). Introduction: Connecting criminology and sociology of health and illness - Timmermans - 2002 - Sociology of Health & Illness - Wiley Online Library. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-9566.00306