Sex crimes are forms of human sexual behavior that are crimes. Someone who commits one is said to be a sex offender. This article is about sex acts and practices (i. ...

Some sex crimes are crimes of violence that involve sex. Others are violations of social taboos, such as incest, indecent exposure or exhibitionism. Violence refers to acts of aggression and abuse which causes or intends to cause criminal injury or harm to persons, and (to a lesser extent) animals and property. ... A taboo is a strong social prohibition (or ban) relating to any area of human activity or social custom declared as sacred and forbidden; breaking of the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. ... Incest is sexual activity between close family members. ... A man exposing himself outdoors Indecent exposure is the unwelcome display of bare parts of the human body that, according to the standards of the individuals cultural surroundings, would otherwise be covered by clothes. ... Exhibitionism is the psychological need of a human being to exhibit naked parts of the body to other people — that is, parts of the body that would otherwise be covered by clothes according to the standards of the individuals cultural surroundings. ...

There is much variation among cultures as to what is considered a crime or not, and in what ways or to what extent crimes are punished.

Acts regarded as crimes almost universally include the following non-consensual sex crimes:

• Lust murder
• Rape, sexual assault and other forms of sexual abuse.
• Incest against young children by their parents or other relatives.
• Sexual harassment (including voyeurism) is also viewed as a crime in Western cultures.
• Child sexual abuse or molestation, including incestuous rapes by elders in responsible roles.
• Child pornography

Western cultures are far more tolerant of acts, such as oral sex or cross-dressing, that have traditionally been held to be crimes in some other cultures, but combine this with lesser tolerance for the remaining crimes. A lust murder is a homicide in which the offender stabs, cuts, pierces, slashes, or otherwise mutilates the sexual organs or areas of the victims body. ... Rape is forced sexual activity. ... Sexual abuse is a relative cultural term used to describe sexual relations and behavior between two or more parties which are considered criminally and/or morally offensive. ... Incest is sexual activity between close family members. ... Sexual harassment is harassment of a sexual nature, typically in the workplace or other setting where raising objections or refusing may have negative consequences. ... Voyeurism is a practice in which the individual derives sexual pleasure from observing other people. ... The term child sexual abuse (CSA) is commonly defined in contemporary western culture as any sexual acts engaged in by minors and adults. ... Generally, child pornography (sometimes referred to as CP, child porn, KP, or kiddie porn) is an illegal form of pornography, featuring minors. ... Oral sex (from Latin os, oris mouth) consists of all the sexual activities that involve the use of the mouth, tongue, etc. ... This articles is about cross-dressing in general, that is the act of wearing the clothing of another gender for any reason. ...

Many consensual sexual actions or activities are viewed as crimes in some jurisdictions and/or including: It has been suggested that Victimless crime be merged into this article or section. ...

• Adultery
• Anal sex
• Sex by an adult with juveniles (usually as Statutory rape)
• Homosexuality
• Oral sex
• Various Paraphilias/Fetishes (Sexual) such as
  • transvestic fetishism
  • BDSM
• Pornography
• Prostitution and/or pimping
• Ownership of vibrators and other sex toys
• Incest between close (and consenting) adult relatives up to and including first cousins.

Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan, around 1860 Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their lawful spouse. ... Roman men having anal sex. ... The term statutory rape is used when national and/or regional governments, citing an interest in protecting minors, consider people under a certain age to be unable to give informed consent, and therefore consider sexual contact with them to be equivalent to rape regardless of their stated consent. ... The word homosexuality had acquired multiple meanings over time. ... Oral sex (from Latin os, oris mouth) consists of all the sexual activities that involve the use of the mouth, tongue, etc. ... In psychology and sexology, paraphilia (in Greek para παρά = besides and -philia φιλία = love) is a term that describes sexual arousal in response to sexual objects or situations which may interfere with the capacity for reciprocal affectionate sexual activity. ... Sexual fetishism, first described as such by Alfred Binet in his Le fétichisme dans l’amour, though the concept and certainly the activity is quite ancient, is a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is a specific inanimate object or part of a persons body. ... Also, not every sexual behaviour where clothes of the other gender are involved are transvestic fetishism, they are also often used in sexual roleplay without being a fetish. ... A collar is a common symbol of BDSM. BDSM is a term which describes a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. ... Pornographic movies Pornography (from Greek πορνη prostitute and γραφία written material) (also informally referred to as porn, or porno) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but distinct from, erotica, though the two terms are often used interchangeably. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services. ... A pimp manages and finds clients for a prostitute, engaging them in prostitution, often street prostitution, in order to profit from their earnings. ... A vibrator is a mechanical device that is designed to generate vibrations. ... A sex toy is a term for any object or device that is primarily used in facilitating human sexual pleasure. ... Incest is sexual activity between close family members. ...

See also:

• Sodomy law
• Sex offender registration
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit-Original name was Sex Crimes.

A sodomy law is a law which makes certain sexual acts into sex crimes. ... In 1990, Washington in the United States became the first state to require the registration and community notification of the release of sex offenders from incarceration. ... Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Season 5 DVD Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (also known as Law & Order: SVU) is the first of three spin-offs of Law & Order (the other two being Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury; all series are presented on the NBC... Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Season 5 DVD Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (also known as Law & Order: SVU) is the first of three spin-offs of Law & Order (the other two being Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury; all series are presented on the NBC...

External links

Examples of laws in various localities:

• California
• Canada
• Highland Park, Illinois (PDF file)