Topic Summary 💜
VICTIMOLOGY
· This has been a 10 marker but NOT a 30 marker!!
· It appeared in last year’s paper – 2022 Paper Series (lots of common errors – people wrote about offending INSTEAD)
· This could appear with Gender, Ethnicity or Social Class.
· 30 markers on its own!
30 markers on Victimhood – positivist victimology and then critical victimology, gender and victimhood, ethnicity and victimhood and then finish with social class and victimhood
The social construction of being a victim (Christie) – reference to the idea that victimhood IS a social construct. Defined what being a victim is, what it looks like and to some degree who is or is not the right victim!
Definitions of victimhood = OXFORD DICTIONARY
1. “a person harmed, injured or killed as a result of a crime, accident or other event or action”
2. “a person who is tricked or duped”
3. “a person who has come to feel helpless and passive in the face of misfortune or ill-treatment”
The purpose of victimology is to study the likelihood of being a victim, the factors that can lead to victimhood and what could increase your chances!
Fear of victimhood is often more powerful than anything else – pre-empt victimhood then things are put into place to prevent it
Driving restrictions for young people – currently being discussed – Per 100,000 people – 3 times as many people between the ages 18 and 20 and twice as many aged between 21 and 24 die in cars compared to people aged between 25-65
Young male drivers account for 80% of young driver fatalities
POSITIVIST VICTIMOLOGY | CRITICAL VICTMOLOGY |
Explores how victims contribute to their own victimhood – random acts of violence but also interpersonal violence Miers – Three main elements of this: 1. Interpersonal Violence 2. Factors of victimisation 3. Victim Contribution Implying that to some degree victims have a part to play in their victimhood. The decisions we make or don’t make, the routes we take or the situations we place ourselves in. Wolfgang – 588 homicides in Chicago and found that 28% of the victims contributed to their death in some way – 164/588 Not accurate because of the low percentage Von Hentig – victim proneness – characteristics make us more vulnerable Victim precipitation – sought out because of these factors 13 characteristics: Female, minorities, elderly, young person, disabled, lonely & heartbroken, depressed, immigrants, ‘dull normals’, blocked victims (victims of circumstances), tormentors, acquisitive (gaining lots of material products) and wanton (aka sexually promiscuous women) “Perfect Victim” - performance of being a victim – domestic abuse (men less likely to be seen a victim as they do not fit the typical profile) | Structural causes of victimhood (how does the structures in society - i.e. education, economy etc – lead to victimhood) Factors such as a sexism, racism, ageism reinforce powerlessness and create an element of victimhood Mawby – structural powerlessness – some individuals within certain structures will not succeed or achieve therefore more likely to be a victim Merton – internal critique for Fu – not all structures work for everyone!! States (government, CJS) have the power to place or remove victim status – they essentially decide who or what a victim is! - CJS will decide whether they will have a successful prosecution based on all the evidence gathered, from there they will decide whether to prosecute 99% of all sexual assault cases result in no prosecution – that is if it is taken to trial Creates double victimhood – victim of a crime but a victim of the system Aiya Napa – attacked, questioned (with no translator, water, fresh air, food, sleep), ‘forced’ into signing a retraction, then charged with public mischief Failure to label the victim as a victim – denies powerless victims, often ignores the crimes of the powerful Tombs and Whyte - ‘safety crimes’ - in workplaces when someone is a victim of negligence of health and safety laws they are labelled ‘clumsy’ or ‘careless’ |
Right Realism – Routine Activities Theory – Cohen and Felson = 1. lack of appropriate persons, 2. right location and 3. right victim Postmodernism – Panoptican – Foucault – constant surveillance, feel a false sense of security and therefore maybe put ourselves at risk Feminism – HIGHLY CRITICAL!! Victim blaming, ‘done everything right’ - women shouldn’t have to self police and have safety techniques just because they are a woman. Yorkshire Ripper – women were given a curfew #reclaimthenight – Sarah Everard #reclaimthestreets Labelling (SAT) - Becker, Rosenthal and Jacobson | Left Realism – marginalisation, subcultures and relative deprivation that can lead to crime Marxism – health and safety laws designed for the upper class (Box), ISA an RSA (Althusser) and Dog eat dog (Gordon) Postmodernism – Harms of Repression – crime prevents human improvement (e.g LGBTQ+ rights etc) - Henry and Milovanovic |
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