Obscene phone call

An obscene phone call, as the term is commonly used, is an unsolicited telephone call where a person derives sexual pleasure by using sexual or foul language to someone, who may be known to them or who may be a complete stranger. (There are many varieties of consensual sexual phone calls.) Making obscene telephone calls for sexual pleasure is known as telephone scatologia and is considered a form of exhibitionism.[1] It is usually classed as a paraphilia from a psychiatric viewpoint, in the DSM under the heading "Paraphilias Not Otherwise Specified". Related psychiatric terms (such as coprophonia) were coined in Australia, the U.S., and Germany; most of the pertinent literature is North American.[2] From the viewpoint of the recipient of the calls, obscene calls may be considered to be either a form of sexual harassment or a form of stalking, or both.[3][4][5] In some US states, making obscene telephone calls is a Class 1 Misdemeanor.[6] In the United Kingdom, obscene phone calls are punishable by a fine of up to £5000 or up to six months in prison under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994.[7][8]

Generally, unwilling recipients of obscene phone calls are advised to simply hang up on obscene callers, and to report the incident to the telephone company and/or the police. Even when Caller ID is not shown, calls are logged by the telephone company, so the perpetrator's phone number can be discovered. However, many people who regularly engage in obscene phone calls use payphones or prepaid cell phones, and in these cases, a more extensive investigation is necessary.

The demographic that most commonly commits obscene phone calls ranges from the age of 12 to 16 years, with an average of 14 years of age. Often they are emotionally or behaviorally maladjusted and have shown previous signs of sexual abuse, as well as having already committed sexual abuse.[9] Obscene phone callers are often male, feel inadequate, have feelings of isolation, have trouble forming relationships and consider making obscene phone calls to be the only way that they can sexually express themselves.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dalby, J. T. (1988). "Is telephone scatologia a variant of exhibitionism?". International Journal of Offend er Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 32: 45–49. doi:10.1177/0306624X8803200106.
  2. ↑ Janssen, D.F. (2018). ""Telephone Scatologia": Onomasiological and Historical Note". Archives of Sexual Behavior. doi:10.1007/s10508-018-1297-1. ISSN 0004-0002.
  3. ↑ "Buss Lab — Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Texas". homepage.psy.utexas.edu.
  4. ↑ "What Is Stalking?".
  5. ↑ Obscene Phone Call,
  6. ↑ "§ 18.2-427. Use of profane, threatening, or indecent language over public airways or by other methods". Virginia Law, Code of Virginia. January 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ Nuisance/Malicious calls(archived), West Midlands Police
  8. ↑ "Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994". www.legislation.gov.uk.
  9. ↑ Saunders, E. B., Awad, G. A. (1991). "Male adolescent sexual offenders: Exhibitionism and obscene phone calls". Child Psychiatry & Human Development. 21: 169–178.
  10. ↑ ""Nuisance Sex Behaviors"" (PDF).
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