LT13- Victimisation

What are the two victimology approaches?

1) Positivist victimology, 2) Critical victimology

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What positivist victimologist provide three aspects of the positivst victimology approach?

Miers

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What does Miers suggest positivist victimology aims to identify what factors?

Aims to identify the factors that produce patterns of victimisation- especially those that make a person or group more likely to be a victim,

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What does Miers suggest positivist victimology aims of identify of the victims?

Aims to identify those victims who have contributed to their own victimisation,

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What does Miers suggest positivist victimology focuses on?

Focuses on interpersonal crimes of violence,

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What studies have focused on 'victim proneness' and what is it?

-Early positivist studies, -Social and physical characteristics of victims that make them different from and more vulnerable than non-victims,

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What sociologist supporting positivist victimology theories identified how many characteristics of victims?

-Van Hentig, 13,

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Give three example characteristics of victims Van Hentig suggested?

-Women, -elderly, -'Mentally subnormal',

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What does Van Hentig argue is the interference and an example?

The interference being that victims somehow 'invite' victimisation'. -Example- those that ostentatiously display their wealth,

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Give the name of a sociologist who conducted a example study into victims 'inviting' victimisation?

Wolfgang

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What did Wolfgang study?

He studied 588 homicides in Philadelphia,

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What did Wolfgang find?

He found 26% involved victim precipitation- the victim triggered the event leading to the homicide e.g. starting the violence,

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For evaluation of positivist victimology, who provides empirical support for Wollfgang and why?

-Brookman, -Argues that Wolfgang shows the importance of the victim-offender relationship and the fact that in many homicides it is a matter of chance as to which person becomes the victim,

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What two theorists are critical of positivist victimology?

-Feminists, -Marxists,

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Why are feminists critical of this approach?

As it ignored wider structural factors influencing victimisation such as patriarchy,

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Why are marxists critical of this approach?

AS it ignores wider structural factors influencing victimisation such as poverty,

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Why has the approach been criticised due to its theory on victims 'inviting' crime?

It has been criticised as it can easily tip over into 'victim blaming',

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What sociologist that supports positivist victimology is criticised due to 'victim blaming'?

-Amir's claim that one in five **** cases are victim precipitated is not very different from saying that the victim 'asked for it',

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What has positivist criminology been criticised for ignoring?

It has been criticised for ignoring situations wwhere victims are unaware of their victimisation, as with some crimes against the environment and white collar crime,

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What is critical victimology based on?

Conflict theories such as Marxism and Feminism

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What two elements make up critical victimology arguments?

1) Structural factors, 2) The state's power to apply or deny the label of the victim,

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Give two examples of structural factors and what groups does this place as more likely to be victims?

-Poverty and patriarchy, -Places some powerless groups such as women and the poor at greater risk of victimisation,

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What sociologists argued victimisation is a form of what?

-Mawby and Walklate, -Argues victimisation is a form of structural powerlessness

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For the state's power to apply or deny the label of victim, how do criminal victimologists view consider 'victim' like what?

'Victim' can be considered a social construction (just like 'crime' and 'criminal')

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Why do critical victimologists see the distinction of a 'victim' as a social construction?

As through the CJS, the states applies the label of victim but withholds it from others.

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Give an example of this through the police?

The police may decide not to prosecute a man who beats his wife, thus she isn't a victim,

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What sociologists discuss what types of crimes lead to death or injury to workers?

-Tombs and Whyte, -Safety crimes such as employer's violation of laws,

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What are safety crimes often explained away as?

The fault of 'accident prone' workers,

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What other type of crime is this often the case with?

**** crimes- A women seems to have to prove her innocence rahter than the man's guilt,

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What do what sociologists add that the denial of the label serves what?

-Tombs and Whyte, -They add the denial of the label serves an ideological function,

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What does denying the label hide and what can the victims do?

Denying the label hides the true extent of victimisation and its real cause, the crimes of the powerful, -The powerless victims have no comeback,

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What does the 'hierarchy of victimisation' mean for the powerless?

It means the powerless are most likely to be victims but least likely to have this acknowledged by the state,

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For an evaluation, why has this approach been criticised for disregarding what?

-Criticised for disregarding the role victims play in bringing victimisation on themselves through their own choices or their own offending,

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However, what theorist has given critical victimology support and why?

-Marxists, -Argue that the approach is valuable in drawing attention to the way that 'victim' is constructed by power and how this benefits the powerful at the expense of the powerless,

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For patterns of victimisation, that is the average chance of an individual being the victim of crime?

In any one year, it is about 1 in 4,

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However, what doesn't this statistic recognise?

It doesn't recognise the risk is unevenly distributed between social groups,

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What are the four social groups that victimisation differentiates between?

-Class, -Age, -Ethnicity, -Gender,

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For class, who are most likely to be victims and an example fo where crimes rates are highest?

Poorest group, -Crime srates are typically highest in areas of high unemployment and deprivation,

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What sociologists conducted a suvery with who?

-Newburn and Rock, -Conducted a survery of 300 homeless people,

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What did Newburn and Rock find?

They found homeless people were x12 more likely to have experienced violence than the general public and 1 in 10 had been urinated on,

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Who does this show are most likley to become victims?

The marginalised,

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For age, who are most liklely to be victims of crime?

Younger people

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Who are most likley to be at risk of murder?

Children under the age of 1,

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What crimes are teenagers more likelu to be vulnerable to than adults?

-Asssault, -Sexual harrassment, -Theft and abuse,

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What crimes are the old most likely to be victims of and the problem with statistics?

-Abuse in care homes, -Victimisation is often invisible e.g. unreported,

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For ethnicity, who are more likely to be victims of crime in general and what crime specifically?

-Ethnic minorities, -Racially motivated crime,

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Ethnic minorities are more likely to feel what yet are over controlled?

They are more likely to feel under protected and fear crime,

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For gender, who are at greater risk of becoming victims of violent attacks by who?

-Males, -Especially by strangers,

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What percent of homicide victims are male?

70%

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What crimes are women more likley to be victims of?

-Domestic violence, -Sexual violence, -Stalking -Harrassment, -People trafficking,

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In times of war, what crime specifically are women likely to be victims?

-In times of war, mass **** as a weapon of war,

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BCS report that what percent of the population have not been victims of any kind in a given year?

60%

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BCS report that what percent of the population are victims of what percent of all crimes that year?

-4% of the population are victims of 44% of all crimes that year,

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For the impact of victimisation, what impacts can crime have on victims?

Serious physical and emotional impacts,

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Give four effects that have been citied in victims?

-Disrupted sleep, -Feelings of helplessness, -Increased security consciousness, -Difficulties in social functioning,

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How can one crime create more victims than the original victim?

Crime may create 'indirect' victims such as friends, relatives and witnesses,

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What sociologist looked into child witnesses of what crimes? What did he find?

Pynoos et al, -Child witnesses to a sniper attack, -They continued to have grief related dreams and altered behaviour a year after the event,

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What crimes against minorities can create what?

-Hate crimes, -Can create 'waves of harm' that radiate out and affect others,

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What types of crimes are 'Hate crimes' and who are they aimed at?

-'Message crimes', -They are aimed at intimidating whole communities not just the primary victim,

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What is secondary victimisation?

The idea that in addition to the impact of crime itself, individuals may suffer further victimisation at the hands of the CJS,

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Give an example Feminists give for further victimisation by the CJS?

-**** victims are often poorly treated by courts and the police so it amounts to a double violation,

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What fears can crime create?

Fears of victimisation,

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However, what do surveys often show about this fear? Give an example?

-They can be irrational, -E/g. women are often fearful of going out, but it is young men who are more likely to be victims of violence from strangers,

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What theorist has attacked the emphasis on the 'fear of crime' and why?

-Feminists, -They argue it focuses on women's passivity when we should be focusing on their saftety e.g. focus on structual threat of patriarchal violence,

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To conclude, what do positivist and critical victimology focus on?

Positivist criminology focuses on victim proness and critical victimology emphasises structural factors,

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Whichever approach is used, what is clear as who is to be a victim of crime?

It is clear that the poor, ethnic minoroties and the young males are at the greatest risk of crime,

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LT13- Victimisation

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