Victimology Flashcards
(26 cards)
What criticism was directed at criminology regarding its focus?
placing all of its focus on offenders of crime, neglecting victims.
What is victimology?
A sub-discipline of criminology that seeks to understand victimization and recognize victims and how they are affected by crime.
What was a key idea in victimology during the 1940s?
Victim-precipitation and provocation, suggesting that crime occurs where there is a victim, highlighting the interaction between the victim and the offender.
What criticism arose regarding the victim-precipitation theory?
Critics argued that in cases like burglary, there is no interaction between the offender and the victim, although such interactions are likely in violent crimes.
What concept emerged in the 1960s and 1970s regarding women in victimology?
Feminist input highlighted women and girls as victims in a patriarchal society, focusing on sexual violence and the dynamics of fear.
How did Feminists criticise the victim-precipitation theory?
The idea that victims did something to provoke or cause the crime, which emerged from the victim-precipitation theory.
What shift occurred in victimology in the 1990s and beyond?
focus on the diversity of experiences, recognizing women as both offenders and victims, and referring to individuals as ‘survivors’ rather than ‘victims’.
What are the categories of victims identified by Hentig?
Categories include: children, women, elderly persons, the mentally defective, immigrants, minorities, dull normals, the depressed, the acquisitive, the wanton, the lonesome and heartbroken, and the tormentor.
what empirical studies of victims are there?
household victims surveys -overlap between victim and offender
Feminist -qualitative to ‘restore a voice’ for victims
What are the types of risk factors for victims
Sociodemographic - Gender, age, ethnicity, and social class.
Dynamic- Lifestyle factors, occupation, and mental health.
What are some characteristics of individuals more likely to be victims of crime?
Being Black or Mixed Race, cohabiting, LGBTQ+, and having a higher level of education.
What emotional impacts can victimization have on individuals?
Anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and fear of crime.
What type of crime does Notte et al (2021) focus on in their interviews?
cyber-crime, including revenge porn
What psychological effect did a victim of revenge porn describe?
Constant anxiety and fear about their personal data and images being made public.
What are the four components in Left Realism’s ‘Square of Crime’?
The offender, the victim, informal social control, and the state.
What does Routine Activities Theory propose is necessary for a crime to occur?
A motivated offender, a suitable target, and an absence of capable guardians.
What is the main idea behind Reintegrative Shaming?
Offenders are shamed for their actions but given a chance to reintegrate into society, often involving victims through restorative justice.
What did Stephen Schafer (1968) propose in his study of functional responsibility?
That victims can have varying levels of responsibility for their victimisation, based on categories like provocative, self-victimizing, or socially weak victims.
Who is more likely to be seen as an ‘ideal victim’ according to Nils Christie (1986)?
Someone weaker than the offender, not known to the offender, and not at all to blame for the crime
Why might some victims receive less sympathy from the public?
if they don’t fit the image of the ideal victim (e.g., they knew the offender or weren’t perceived as entirely innocent).
What are some of the key victim-focused policies introduced in the UK since 2000?
- Victim Personal Statements (2001)
- No Witness – No Justice (2003) =make it easier for them to give evidence
- Rebuilding Lives: Supporting Victims (2005)
- Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (2006, 2013, 2015)
- victims champion and commissioner appointed
What did Walklate say about victim-oriented policies?
problematic- They serve the state’s interests more than they reflect the real experiences of victims.
What does Walklate say about the image of the victim in policy?
Victims are often seen as structurally neutral and undifferentiated, ignoring individual lived realities.
What does it mean to think of criminal justice as a ‘zero-sum’ game?
It implies that expanding victims’ rights necessarily results in reducing the rights of the accused.
