Victimology Flashcards
(18 cards)
Why might victims not report their crimes?
Victim precipitation
Lack of confidence in the police
Unaware of their victimisation
Wish to protect
Social pressure like shame
Fear of consequences
What are the three features of Positivist Victimology according to Miers?
Identifies patterns and factors of victimisation
Focuses on interpersonal crimes of violence
Examines how victims may contribute to their own victimisation
What is victim proneness?
Certain characteristics of people make them more likely to become a victim than other people.
What is victim precipitation?
Victims contribute to them becoming a victim
What was Wolfgangs study and what did he find?
588 homicides found that 28% involved the victim triggering the events leading to death
What are criticisms of positive victimology?
Ignores wider structural factors influencing victimisation like patriarchy or poverty.
Ignores crimes where the victim doesn’t know they’re a victim.
What does Amir claim that criticises positivist victimology?
1/5 rapes are victims precipitated
Not very different from saying that victims asked for it
Victim blaming
What is critical victimology?
Based on conflict theories
2 focuses
Structural factors
Patriarchy
Poverty
Which place powerless groups at greater risk of victimisation
What do the state do about victims?
Apply or deny the label of the victim
Being a victim is a social construct
What did Tombs and Whyte show?
Employers violate the law and it leads the death the victim is called ‘accident prone’ rather than victim
The powerful can de-label or avoid being labelled.
What is a criticism of critical victimology?
Ignores whether victim brought it onto themselves
What is a positive of critical victimology?
Highlights how the label of the victim is given by the powerful at the benefit of the powerful.
What are patterns of victimisation in class?
The poor are likely to become victims
Huge concentration of crime in poor areas with high unemployment
What are patterns of victimisation in age?
Young are more likely to be assaulted and face sexual harassment, theft and abuse at home.
Old may be more subject to abuse in nursing homes, but less visible here.
What are patterns of victimisation in ethnicity?
Minority groups more at risk than whites of being victims of racially motivated offences
What are patterns of victimisation in gender?
Men at greater risk of violent attacks
Women more likely to be victims of sexual or domestic abuse, stalking and harassment
What is secondary victimisation?
Hate crimes don’t just affect individuals but whole communities
What is the impact of victimisation?
Individuals may suffer further victimisation
Fear of victimisation, crimes create fear
