Legal regulation and punishment of so-called "moral offences" with emphasis on gender differences in communist Czechoslovakia

• In Event: Governing Crime and Deviance: State Power, Morality, and Comparative Legal Frameworks

Abstract

This paper focuses on the legislation and punishment of so-called "moral offences" in communist Czechoslovakia between 1948 and 1989, with a focus on gender differences in an application of this legislation. These criminal acts included, among others, rape, sexual abuse, homosexual intercourse, incest, and trafficking in women. For example homosexual intercourse was partially decriminalised in Czechoslovakia in 1962. Its criminalization signified discrimination against homosexual relationships compared to heterosexual ones. Additionally, in practice, it was prosecuted only among men, while rape was legally defined such that only a woman could be the victim (similarly offence of trafficking in women). This reflected the gender stereotypes and unequal treatment of the time. This paper will analyse the different attitudes and sanctions applied to men and women and show how this part of the criminal law reinforced gender disparities and traditional social roles. The research draws on an analysis of specific court decisions and archival materials that demonstrate how the regime enforced control over social life and individual sexuality. Legislation of moral offenses served not only to punish individual acts but also to reinforce authoritarian control over the private lives of citizens, resulting in the restriction of personal freedoms and the strengthening of patriarchal values.

Author

• Milan Dobes, Masaryk University