Victimology

Victimology

Victimology - “A victim is defined as those who have suffered harm including mental, physical or emotional suffering, economic loss and impairment of their basic rights through acts or omissions that violate the law of the state” - The United Nations

Key Initial Theorists:

• Quincey -  Argued that for someone to be recognised as a victim, there needs to be some agreement within society.
• Mendelson - The first scholar to introduce the term “victimology” in 1947.

5 Areas of Victimology:

• Traditional vs. new victimology
• Patterns of victimisation
• Changes in the study of victimology
• Impact of victimisation
• Explanations of victimisation

Traditional vs New Victimology:

Traditional views of victimology take an assumptious, almost stereotypical approach

Examples of Key Characteristics of Victims (Traditional):

• Female
• Innocent
• Weak
• Elderly
• Blameless

New victimology takes a positivist approach and looks at statistical evidence to predict victims.

Examples of Key Characteristics of Victims (New):

• Male
• 19-28
• Ethnic Minority

Office of National Statistics:

Between 2017/18 and 2019/20, almost half (49%) of homicide victims aged 15 to 17 and 37% of victims aged 18 to 20 were from the Black ethnic group.

During this three-year period, 38% of the victims come from ethnic minorities and were of age 20 or younger.

Patterns of Victimisation:

Class

Working class and underclass people are more likely to be a victim of crime although middle class are more likely to fear being a victim of crime.

For instance, crime rates are typically highest in areas of high unemployment and deprivation, since they have low enforcement of social control

• Witte (1980) claimed that by looking at victimology mathematically, you can clearly see that “the problem of crime is alleviated by decreasing poverty” as it removes suitable, potential and idealistic targets.

Age

Infants are most likely to be victims of murder. Teens are most likely to be victims of theft, violent crime and sexual crimes. The elderly are the most likely to be victims of abuse.

For the majority of crimes, 19-28 year olds have the highest likelihood to become victims.

• Study at the University of Glasgow found that the risk of being a victim of any crime decreases with age: 16% of those aged between 16 and 24 were at risk of being a victim of any crime, compared to 5.3% of those aged 60 or over

Ethnicity

Ethnic minorities are more likely to be victims of crime, especially those of mixed ethnicity.

Many theorists state that the increase in lone-parent households for ethnic minorities, had implications as it can make boys more likely to become offenders due to the absence of a male role model to “supervise” or “guide” them.

• The Home Office estimates around 106,000 hate crimes per year equivalates to around 300 per day

Gender

Men are more likely to be victims of violent crime and theft, while 70% of homicide victims are male.

Women are more likely to be victims of sexual crimes, domestic violence and trafficking.

• Sutherland claims that the tendency to teach boys to be “rough and tough” makes it more likely for them to engage in delinquent behaviour. Increasing the likelihood of men on men violence.

Inverse Victimisation Law

Those that have the least power, most deprived and have the least material possessions are the most likely to be victims of crime and are also the most likely to be the ones committing the crime

Newburn and Rocks:

• Studied 300 homeless people spread throughout three English 
• Found that they were 12x more likely to experience violence.
• Additionally 1/10 had been urinated on.
• Interactionist approach to looking at victimology.

Changes in the Study of Victimology

Victims as Consumers of CJS

In recent years, victims are seen as consumers of the CJS and the CJS is also judged by its ability to meet the needs of the victims.

2002 National Crime Recording Standard

Adopted by all police forces in England and Wales and gave priority to the victims recollection of the crime rather than the police interpretation of the evidence.

Impact of Victimisation

Looking at how the notion of labelling people as victims and the study of victimology can have a negative or positive impact

Hoyle (2014)

Identifies 12 reactions to being a victim of crime, these include: sleeplessness, fear of re-victimisation, PTSD, shock, anxiety, poor health.

Points to a range of possible effects, apart from physical or financial/material loss. When looking at the CSEW you can see that high levels of worry developed around the fear of crime. She also looked at the idea that whole industries have been developed to combat these reactions, such as victim support services.

Walklate (2004)

Double victimisation: the defence team during trials, will try to find ways to blame the victim for their victimisation.

Looks at the idea of double victimisation being a secondary victimisation that occurs. This can be seen in rape trials, by the defences legal team and then also is a common occurrence in honour killings where the victim is often blamed for their imminent death.

Fear of crime

The fear of re-victimisation can cause a victim's behaviour and lifestyle to alter.

Explanations of Victimisation

Positivist Victimology

Tierney suggests that positivists' approach to victimology involves identifying something in the characteristics or circumstances of victims which makes them different from non victims.

Victim proneness - identifies the characteristics if individuals that make them more vulnerable (such as financial capabilities)

Victim Precipitation - Suggests that victims are involved in their victimisation, examples include women “leading men” on.

Hans Von Hentig:

• Developed a typology of victims based on the degree to which the victims contributed to the causation of the act.
• 13 characteristics of victims: some examples include - young, female, old, immigrant.

Critical Victimology

Mawby and Walklate: Social Structures as a Cause of Victimisation

The way society views women, institutional racism and poverty.

Tombs and Whyte - Hierarchy of Victimisation

For example; the way that victims of safety crimes are passed up as clumsy workers. 

Labelling - Denial of Labels

When victims refuse to take the label of victim and either respond proactively or inactively.