Victimology Study Unit 1

Study Notes

Conservative Law and Order Paradigm: Defines a victim as someone who suffers harm, loss, or injury due to another. Emphasizes victim rights, blaming solely the offender.
Radical Victimology Paradigm: Examines the interplay between victim and offender, recognizing that both parties play roles in the victimization process. Acknowledges the need for victim rights without compromising offender rights.
Critical Victimology Paradigm: Considers offenders as potential victims influenced by societal factors. Views crime as a reaction to societal conditions, highlighting the importance of context.

Victimization consists of four stages:
- Physical injury or suffering caused by another.
- The victim's perception of suffering as unjust.
- Seeking acknowledgment of victimization from others.
- Recognition by others solidifies the individual’s status as a victim.

Secondary Victimization: Individuals face further victimization through insensitivity from those supposed to assist them after the crime.
Repeat Victimization: Some individuals endure multiple victimizations (e.g., being robbed more than once).

Target Vulnerability: Physical or social weaknesses can make individuals more susceptible to victimization.
Target Gratifiability: Victims with valuables are more attractive to offenders.
Target Antagonism: Membership in minority groups may increase vulnerability.

Precipitation: Behavior that encourages offender actions, categorized into
- Active Precipitation: Intentional provoking of conflict.
- Passive Precipitation: Unintentional behaviors or traits that antagonize offenders.
Facilitation: Situations where the victim unknowingly eases the criminal's task.
Impunity: A condition where certain individuals (e.g., sex workers) face barriers to seeking justice, increasing their vulnerability.

Victimization rates correlate with demographic factors like age, gender, and marital status; younger males and singles are deemed more at risk.
An encounter between a victim and an offender at a specific time and place is crucial for victimization to occur.
Lifestyle influences, structural constraints, and adaptations affect the likelihood of victimization.

Role Expectations: Behavioral expectations that may increase vulnerability to victimization.
Structural Constraints: Socioeconomic factors limiting individual choices affect exposure to risk.
Adaptations: Behavioral adjustments based on lifestyle, potentially leading to risky situations.
Exposure: Direct link between lifestyle choices and high-victimization situations.
Associations: Indirect links arise from social interactions that may heighten victimization risks.

Exposure: The visibility and accessibility of potential victims influences victimization risk.
Proximity: Physical closeness of potential victims to areas where offenders are concentrated increases vulnerability.
Guardianship: Presence of protective individuals or security measures deters crime.
Target Attractiveness: The desirability of potential victims or their property as targets.
Properties of Specific Offences: Constraints based on the nature of offenses can determine victimization risk levels.

Socio-Structural Perspective: Economic and power structures contribute to patterns of victimization.
Socio-Cultural Perspective: Historical treatment of women reflects ongoing victimization trends and male dominance.
Physical Milieu Perspective: Geographic and environmental factors (e.g., living in high-crime areas) increase vulnerability.

Socio-Interactionist Perspective: Focuses on the dynamics of interactions between victims and offenders.
Victim Precipitation: The victim's actions or characteristics may instigate violent encounters, categorized as:
- Active Precipitation: Initiates confrontations that lead to victimization.
- Passive Precipitation: Unintentional traits or behaviors that provoke offenders.