1.5. Consensus View and Decriminalizing Laws 
SHANELL SANCHEZ 
Another view of how laws become created is the consensus view, which as it states, implies consensus 
(agreement) among citizens on what should and should not be illegal. This idea implies that all groups come 
together, regardless of social class, race, age, gender, and more, to determine what should be illegal. This 
view also suggests that criminal law is a function of beliefs, morality, and rules that apply equally to all 
members of society. 
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One Child per Family Policy in China 
In modern society, we tend to have consensus in the United States that people cannot kill their baby at birth 
because they wanted the opposite gender. If a person killed their child, murder charges would occur. At certain 
points in history in other countries, such as China, this was occurring and was not as deviant as some Americans 
would like to think it should have been, but it was still illegal. However, when the Chinese Government introduced 
a One Child per Family Policy, there was a surge in female infanticide. There was immense pressure on families 
to have sons because of their higher earning potential and contributions to the family. Again, that line between 
deviance and criminality can often blur, especially when trying to gain consensus. Read the BBC article below for 
more information. 
Read the BBC article below for further information. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/medical/infanticide_1.shtml 
Let us take a consensus approach to create laws, but apply it to decriminalizing laws. An act becomes 
decriminalized when it is no longer criminal and becomes legalized, ultimately reducing or alleviating 
penalties altogether. Some have proposed a hybrid between decriminalization and criminalizing behaviors, 
such as prostitution to ensure rights to prostitutes and punish offenders who harm them. 
2 An act can be 
decriminalized at the State level, but not necessarily the Federal level. 
1. Dawe, A. (1970). The two sociologies. The British Journal of Sociology, 21(2), 207-218. 
2. Lutnick, A. & Cohan, D. (2009). Criminalization, legalization or decriminalization of sex work: what female sex workers say in San 
Francisco, USA. Reproductive Health Matters, 17(34), 38-46. 
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