Victims of Crime
- Created by: rebeccamellors
- Created on: 02-03-17 18:47
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- Victims of Crime
- United Nations Definition Victims = those who have suffered harm through acts or omissions that violate laws of the state
- Christie (1986) argues 'victim' is socially constructed
- Positivist Victimology
- Miers (1989) defines positivist Victimology as having 3 features:
- Aims to identify factors that produce patterns in victimisation
- Focuses on interpersonal crimes of violence
- Aims to identify victims who have contributed to their own victimisation
- Evaluation
- Identifies certain patterns of interpersonal victimisation but ignores wider structural factors that have an influence
- Easily tip over into victim blaming
- Ignores situations where victims are unaware of their victimisation
- Miers (1989) defines positivist Victimology as having 3 features:
- Critical Victimology
- Based on conflict theories & share same approach as critical criminology
- Focuses on two elements
- Structural factors
- E.g. poverty & patriarchy
- Place powerless groups at greater risk of victimisation
- States power to apply or deny the label of victim
- Victim is a social construct
- State applies label of victim to some but withholds it from others
- Structural factors
- Evaluation
- Disregards role victims play in bringing victimisation on themselves
- It's valuable in drawing attention to way that 'victim' status is constructed by power & how this benefits the powerful
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