The society is a big part of human life that contributes a lot a person’s life. The community helps a person develop behavior and virtues. The same society also assures a person of security. When cases like sexual assault appear in the society, the stability of the society is in question. It only means that people are not getting the desired behavior and for that reason, the security of others is threatened. Sociological theories have been used to explain such scenarios and how to deal with them
Feminist theory
Feminist theory is a contemporary theory addressing gender inequality in the society. The theory analyses the status of both men and women in the society with an aim to give women a voice and status that is equal to men. The history of feminism denotes that feminism started in in the 19 th century a time when women were undergoing a lot of oppression in the society (Carlson, & Ray, 2011) . Women were particularly denied freedom in various aspects of life in the society, For instance, women were not allowed to vote. Feminism, therefore, started as an attempt to address gender inequality and close the gap that exists. There are basic principles of feminisms that all feminists’ theorists agree with universally.
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First, all feminists work to increase equality among the genders (Crossman 2017). They also work to increase personal choice by giving men and women an equal choice. Feminists also oppose any form of gender stratification that limits women from any opportunity within the society. Lastly, feminists strive to end sexual violence and promote sexual freedom. Feminist ideas have been spread by the media in the world of today hence helping women address some of their problems. Evidently, Sexual assault is one of the issues that still faces women in the society up to today. However, through the feminist awareness in the media, many women have been saved from being assaulted sexually. The feminists’ movement has so far made huge steps towards making the society free of such issues such as sexual assault. Nonetheless, in many societies awareness in feminist is already achieved.
Social learning theory
Social learning theory by Albert Bandura was started in 1977 (McLeod, 2016). The theory conforms to behaviorist theory of learning but adds one important concept. Social learning theory believes that behavior is acquired by children or human beings from the environment through observation. The theory states that children, in particular, have models in the society from which they learn behaviors. The models can be parents, peers, or the media (McLeod, 2016). They provided examples of behaviors which the children imitate and term them as right. It is up to the society to provide a conducive environment for children to pick up the desired behavior. The theory explains socialization and its possible impacts to the self which is the individual picking up behaviors.
The theory has been widely used by sociologists to explain deviant behaviors such as crime. When there is sexual assault, it is a criminal offense to assault someone sexually. Hence the behavior of sexual assault can be attributed to a bad background. Since it's inhuman to assault people sexually, the behavior can only be due to an external influence from the society. The media is part of the society tasked with the responsibility to prevent such behaviors. Hence the media can be used as a model that provides the society with proper guidance to stop sexual assault. Through social learning theory, we can explain the scenario of the media reducing cases of sexual assault since it’s becoming a positive model that gives the right information for children to learn. With the media effectively being used, the cases of sexual assault will significantly reduce.
Functionalist theory
Functionalist theory is a major theory in socially propagated by Emile Durkheim. Durkheim was interested in how social order is possible in the society. The theory states that each part of the society has a role to play to contribute to the stability of the whole society. Other notable contributors to the theory are Hebert Spencer, Robert Merton, and Talcott Pearsons (Crossman, 2017). Durkheim envisioned a society like an organism. Each part of the society plays a major role in the functioning of the whole society.
When one part fails, the whole society will not function as expected. As such, the society will have to formulate ways of filling the gap to keep the society functioning properly. For instance, a family takes care of a child then takes the child to a school where they expect the child will get a proper education. From the school, the child will now grow to become a valuable member of the society and help the society. Hence the good citizens are the product of good nurturing by parents and a good education from school. Using the functionalist theory, vices like sexual assault means that there is a gap in the societal system. Therefore the society should look for ways to fill the gap so that they can eliminate the gap and society can go back to its normal functioning. The media can play a role in filling the gap by providing guidance. Nonetheless, more reforms are usually needed hence the existence of correctional facilities within the society.
Evidently, the answer to most of the problems in society is in such sociological theories. The theories provide guidance on how society can influence human behavior. Hence there is still an avenue for change. Nonetheless, the society strives to be stable. For stability, there is need to understand the problem first. Theories such as the social learning, functionalist and feminism are therefore very useful.
References
Carlson, J., & Ray, R. (2011). Feminist theory. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com
Crossman, A. (2017). Feminist theory in sociology. Retrieved from http://www.thoughtco.com
Crossman, A. (2017). Understanding Functionalist theory. Retrieved from http://www.thoughtCo.com
McLeod, S. (2016). Bandura- Social Learning theory. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org
