Public humiliation 544223 216413431 2008-06-01T15:15:45Z 68.39.174.238 SA {{Unreferenced|date=March 2008}} '''Public humiliation''' was often used by local communities to punish minor and petty criminals before the age of large, modern [[prison]]s (imprisonment was long unusual as a punishment, rather a method of coercion). == Shameful exposure == [[Image:Pillory 9105377.jpg|thumb|225px|punishment in a [[Pillory]]]] This involved a variety of methods, most often placing a criminal in the center of town and having the local populace enact a form of "[[mob justice]]" on the individual. The punishment of public humiliation could range from anything to an offender being forced to relate his crime (Such as by exaggerated physical parody, a 'shame [[flute]]' for a bad musician or a giant [[rosary]] for someone late to church (Applications of the 'poetical justice' principle of ''mirror punishment'').) or just of condemnation (''schandstenen'' ([[Dutch language|Dutch]]: "stones of shame", worn at the neck)). The offender could alternatively be sentenced to remain exposed in a specific public place, in a restraining device. The arsenal in the [[Netherlands|Low Countries]] included the ''schandstoel'' ("Chair of shame"), the ''kaak'' or ''schandpaal'' ("pole of shame", a simple type of [[pillory]]), the ''draaikooi'', customary for [[Adultery|adulteresses]], and the ''schopstoel'' (A [[scaffold]]ing which one is kicked off to land in [[mud]] and dirt). In the more extreme cases being subjected to verbal and physical abuse from the crowd, which could have serious consequences especially when the hands are not free to protect himself. Some sentences actually prescribe additional humiliation, such as shaving, or combine it with painful corporal punishments, see below. *In [[Colonial America]], common forms of public humiliation were the [[stocks]] and [[pillory]], imported from [[Europe]]. Nearly every sizable town had such instruments of public humiliation, usually at the town square. Historic public humiliation displays can still be seen in the historic [[Virginia]] town of [[Colonial Williamsburg]]. [[Image:Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan-J. M. W. Silver.jpg|thumb|250px|Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan, around 1860]] In pre-World War Japan, [[adulterer]]s were publicly exposed purely to shame them. In the modern age, judicial public humiliation punishment has largely died out, most importantly when it is outlawed as by the [[United States Constitution]] since public humiliation is today considered [[cruel and unusual punishment]], which is banned by the [[UN]] [[Convention on Human Rights]], but not precisely defined. This is why some judges are allowed to use shaming as a form of punishment, whereby an individual may have to parade in public with a sign explaining their behavior and misdeed. Just like painful forms of corporal punishment, it has parallels in educational and other rather private punishments (but with some audience), in school or domestic disciplinary context, and as a [[rite of passage]]. Physical forms include being forced to wear some sign such as '''donkey ears''' (simulated in paper, as a sign one is--or at least behaved--proverbially stupid), wearing a "Dunce Cap", having to stand, kneel or bend over in a corner, or repeatedly write something on a blackboard ("I will not spread rumors" for example). Here to physical discomfort or even pain can be added, such as having to hold heavy objects or kneeling on an uneven surface. Like physical punishment and harsh hazing, these have become controversial in most modern societies, in many cases leading to legal restrictions and/or (sometimes voluntary) abolishment. == Painful humiliation == <!-- This paragraph needs explanation --> [[Image:1774 lynching.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The 1774 [[tarring and feathering]] of British Commissioner of Customs John Malcolm 4 weeks after the [[Boston Tea Party]] ]] Apart from specific methods essentially aiming at humiliation, several methods combine pain and humiliation or even death and humiliation. In some cases, pain or at least discomfort is insignificant or rather secondary to the humiliation, as school children made to kneel facing the blackboard, possibly on a hard object. In other cases they are roughly matched, as assuming such position while holding heavy objects. Especially in judicial use the combination often results in a very severe punishment. === Public punishment === The simplest is to administer painful [[corporal punishment]] in public - the major aim may be [[deterrence (psychological)|deterrence]] of potential offenders - so the public will witness the victim's fear and agony. This can either take place in a [[town square]] or other public gathering location such as a school, or take the form of a procession through the streets. This was not uncommon in the sentences to ''Staupenschlag'' (whipping or [[birching]], generally on the bare [[buttocks]]) in various [[German language|German-speaking]] states, till the 19th century. A naval equivalent was [[flogging through the fleet]] on a raft taken from ship to ship for consecutive installments of a great total of lashes, that could even be lethal. [[Image:Koerperstrafe- MA Birkenrute.png|thumb|290px|right|Medieval schoolboy birched on the bare buttocks- spanking was often on the spot]] *The humiliation is generally intensified if the victim is unclothed (either partially or completely) as the exposure leaves the victim feeling vulnerable and helpless. *Even when not strictly public, humiliation can still be a psychologically "painful" aspect of punishment because of the presence of witnessing peers (such as fellow prisoners), relatives, staff or other onlookers, or simply because the tormentor witnesses how self-control is broken down. This is also true for punishments in class. *Sexually promiscuous women and girls were sometimes punished by having their pubic hair cut short or their genital areas shaved bald. *[[Crucifixion]] was used by the romans to add public humiliation to a [[death penalty]]. The crucified were also ridiculed by the soldiers, and the mob. People were crucified naked, and often ended up crying, and vomiting and defecating on themselves before dying. Crucified bodies were left to decay on the cross for weeks, and crows would come to feed on it, which can be seen as post-mortem public humiliation. See also [[gibbeting]]. <!--*{{Fact|date=March 2008}}Public shaving was also applied to (true or alleged) collaborators after the [[Allies of World War II|Allied liberated]] occupied territories from the [[Storm Troopers|Nazi troops]]; being thus marked, they would remain in danger from [[molestation]].{{Fact|date=March 2008}}--> === Torture marks === *The humiliation can be extended - intentionally or not - by leaving visible marks, such as [[scar]]s, notably on body parts that are normally left visible. This also serves as a virtually indelible criminal record. * This can even be the main intention of the punishment, as in the case of [[scarification]]s, such as [[branding persons|branding]]. It invariably is essential in forms of mutilation, such as [[docking (animals)|(ear) cropping]], though the functional loss is even greater; pain may even be intentionally minimized as in the case of surgical amputation, eliminating the risk of accidental death. == See also == * [[Badge of shame]] * [[Parading on donkey]] * [[Tumbrel| Cucking/Ducking Stool]] [[Category:Corporal punishments]] [[Category:Punishments]] [[Category:Torture]] [[fi:Häpeärangaistus]]