Necrophilia : notorious yet obscure

Abstract

Since time immemorial, necrophilia has presented itself both as a horrifying and a fascinating subject. Its taboo and perversion make it a compelling subject matter for stories, novels and movies. Yet, in spite of its notoriety, it remains relatively under-documented and under-researched within various academic spheres. Given its idiosyncratic association with the bizarre, the issue has been primarily explored from a psychiatric and psychological dimension. The issue has been largely overlooked from a legal and criminological perspective. This paper aims to address this lacuna and contribute towards a more inter-and multi-disciplinary analysis of the subject by focussing on the legal aspects of necrophilia. The study utilises comparative and documentary content analysis to examine existing legal frameworks governing sexual offences with a specific focus on necrophilia. The analysis presents the ambiguous findings that despite its unorthodoxy, necrophilia is rarely addressed as an offence on its own right and contrary to expectations, it is generally meted out a more lenient punishment than other forms of sexual offences. The paper highlights that necrophilia, both in its notoriety and ambiguity, presents us with a deviant paraphilia which, although having a far-reaching impact on perpetrators, victims and society in general, still needs to be critically re-examined and adequately addressed.