It is appropriate for law courts in the United States to take into consideration the cultural values and practices of various sub-cultural groups. On the one hand, it will help in providing the basis of criminalization, which should necessarily be founded on the foundation of cultural assumptions. Through the consideration of the cultural values of different groups, it will be possible to avoid harm, while ensuring the respect of human rights and ensuring that victim protection is achieved (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2017). For instance, protection of minors, gender equality, and public safety aspects are some of the most critical areas impacted by the criminalization of behaviors that although devastating to some subjects could be considered accepted in some of the cultural groups. From this point of view, considering the cultural values of groups would help in the evolution of legislations to ensure the criminalization of behaviors without disrespecting the individual, as well as collective rights to culture by some of the subjects in the respective cultural groups.
As such, considering cultural values would ensure coming up with more efficient and sound legislations that respect the rule of the law and human rights. A good example is the criminalization of behaviors on domestic and sexual violence that could have been considered “normal” by the majority of the populations a few decades ago (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2017). It can be deduced that considering the cultural values of different cultural groups helps in enacting laws that are objective in light of the human and collective rights at play, for example by criminalizing values that are openly violating the rights of the individuals, including child marriages, as well as female genital mutilation.
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Furthermore, considering the cultural values of certain cultural groups would help in the objective decriminalization of specific behaviors that are considered reasonable by certain groups, and that could allow them to adhere to their customs and traditions (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2017). Such will help in protecting individuals, especially from minority groups such as the LGBT community by ensuring that they perform their cultural values without punishment. The objective criminalization and decriminalization of some practices ultimately lead to the achievement of a system where human and collective rights are respected.
References
Ferraro, G., & Andreatta, S. (2017). Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective . Cengage Learning.
