Week 9: Victimology

CRM101 Understanding Crime in Canada

 Agenda
By the end of class today, we will discuss…

• The Critical Collection Assignment

• What victimology is and why it is important.
• Who is most likely to be the victim of a crime.
• Victimology theories, models and typologies +
critiques.
• Understand difference between positivist
victimology and critical victimology.
• Practical applications of victimology including
policy and legislative applications.
Critical Collection Assignment
Due Friday, March 31 at 11:59 via D2L

Detailed assignment outline and rubric available on D2L.

What is Victimology?
Victimology is a sub-field of criminology that focuses on the relationship
between victims and perpetrators of crimes, against the backdrop of
social institutions such as as the criminal justice system.

Why Victimology?
• Until recently, victims were not considered an important topic for
criminological inquiry.
• Victimogenesis – What is the cause of victimization?
• Understanding the nature of harm.
• Being the victim of a crime has considerable consequences.
Mainstream & Critical Approaches
Mainstream approaches to victimology
• Focuses on the victim and their relationship to the
criminal justice system.
• Considers the formal role of the victim in criminal
processes.
• Considers the rights of victims.
• The state and the criminal justice system are viewed as
”value-neutral” and operating in the best interests of the
public.
• Positivist approach that emphasizes “determinism,
differentiation [and] pathology” (Walker as cited in
Landau, 2014, p. 22).

(. (Landau, 2014)
Critical Approaches to
Victimology
• Questions the social processes of defining the victim and victimology.
• Racism, sexism, capitalism, ableism, settler colonialism, etc.
• Focuses on social-historical context, power and class.
• Rejects notion that the criminal justice system is neutral and objective.
• Examines the social construction of victims – how media and state can
deny justice to certain groups.
• Considers state-sanctioned violence, corporate and white-collar crime,
colonization, genocide, etc.
• Grenfell Tower fire
• Grassy Narrows mercury contamination
Defining the ‘Victim’
• Quinney (1972) – who is a victim is “optional, discretionary and by no
means innately given” (p. 314)
• Nils Christie (1986) developed the ‘ideal victim’ theory.
• The ideal victim is ‘a person or category of individuals, who, when
hit by crime, most readily are given the complete and legitimate
status of being a victim’.
• 6 attributes of the ideal victim: 1) the victim is weak; 2) c
• Fattah (1991) – the ‘worthless victim’
• BIPOC, women, sex workers, drug dealers, homeless are seen as
‘acceptable targets’ of violence.
Costs and Consequences of Crime
• Health-related costs Secondary Victimization
• Direct financial costs Refers to insensitive, victim-blaming, and trauma-
• Stolen or damaged property compounding attitudes and behaviours across the social
• Loss of productivity sector and justice system towards victims of violence.
• Days lost from school, work, etc. Other examples?
• Criminal justice costs
• Intangible costs
• Psychological impacts
• Stigma
• PTSD
The Roots of Victimology
• Benjamin Mendelsohn is considered the ‘father’ of
victimology.
• Von Hentig

• Early positivist victimologists focused on the

relationship between perpetrators and their victims.

• Early positivist victimologists were concerned with

theorizing the causes of crime, including the victim’s
role & victim typologies.

• Critiqued for placing too much emphasis on the role of

the victim in precipitating crime.
 Victim-Blaming
• Victim Blaming: “A devaluing act that occurs when the
victim(s) of a crime or an accident is held responsible –
in whole or in part – for the crimes that have been
committed against them” (Canadian Resource Centre
for Victims of Crime)
• Sexual assault: “What were you wearing?”
• Domestic abuse: “Why did you stay?”
• Assault: “Why didn’t you fight back?”
• Burglary: “Why didn’t you lock your door?”
• Robbery: ”Why did you take your wallet out in public?”
Why do we victim-blame?
• Sexism, rape culture
• Just World thinking – Belief that the world is a safe,
just place where people get what they deserve, and
social systems are fair and legitimate.
• Promotes belief that somehow person who is
victimized is different.
• False sense of security from risks of crime and
victimization.
• It can’t happen to me! It doesn’t happen here!
 Victim Precipitation Theory: Victim-Blaming?
Victim Precipitation Theory • Active precipitation: The aggressive behaviour of
The theory that some people make themselves targets victims which provokes a reaction.
for victimization, through their actions or inaction. • Lorena Bobbitt
• Popularized by Marvin Wolfgang (1958)
• Passive precipitation: The view that personal and
social characteristics of victims make them attractive
targets for predatory criminals.
 Positivist Victim Typologies
Mendelsohn’s Six Victim Typologies (1937) Von Hentig’s 13 Victim Typologies (1940s)
1. The young
1. Completely innocent victim
2. The female
2. Victim with minor guilt due to ignorance
3. The old
3. Victim who is as guilty as the offender
4. The mentally ill
4. Victim who is slightly guiltier (provoker)
5. Immigrants
5. Exclusively responsible victim
6. Minorities
6. The imaginary victim
7. Dull normals
8. The depressed
9. The acquisitive
10. The lonesome and heartbroken
11. Tormenters
12. The blocked
 Theoretical Models & Victim Typologies
Lifestyle Model Routine Activity Theory
• The theory that some people experience a greater risk • The theory that the risk of victimization increases when there
of being victims of crime because of their lifestyle is:
habits and patterns of behaviour. • The presence of a motivated offender or offenders;
• Associated with the work of Hindelang (1978). • An availability of suitable targets;
• The absence of capable guardians
• Includes three related hypotheses:
1. Equivalent groups hypothesis
2. Proximity hypothesis
3. Deviant place hypothesis
Critiques of Positivist Victim Typologies

• Victim-blaming approach based on social

standards of morality – criticized
particularly by feminists.
• Ignores the role of the offender, suggesting
that the victim is at fault.
• Ignores power, social context.
• Assumes unlimited ability to change
environment.
The Emergence of
Victims’ Rights
Canadian Victims Bill of Rights Act (2015)
The Victims Bill of Rights includes four main rights for
victims:
1. The right to information
2. The right to protection
3. The right to participation
4. The right to restitution
State Reponses: Victim Impact Statements

• In 1988, the criminal code was amended to permit the

submission of a VIS (Section 735).

• A VIS is a statement is presented by the victim (or

spokesperson) during sentencing to inform the court
of the personal impact of the offender’s behaviour.

• Bill C-37 (1995) allowed VIS in youth courts.

 Victim Assistance Programs
• Victim Restitution: Victims have the right to seek financial
redress for crimes they have experienced.

• Victim Compensation: Payments made directly by the state to

victims in compensation for financial losses and/or suffering.

• Court Services: Services required to assist victim and address

their needs with respect to attending court and dealing with
the criminal justice process in general (e.g transportation,
counselling, etc.)

• Victim Service Programs: Every province and territory offers

some form of victim/witness assistance programs. à

• Public education

• Crisis intervention
Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs
Restorative justice: A direct and indirect mediation model that
emphasizes restitution and community participation, aimed at
rehabilitating offenders and reintegrating them back into their
communities.
• Origins in Indigenous communities

Principles underlying restorative justice:

• Emphasizes social rather than moral responsibility.
• Forces the offender to face his or her accuser and the accuser’s
supporters.
• Crime is seen as an injury to a person and a community that must be
repaired.
• The process of restitution should respect all parties involved.
 Summary
• The study of victims has become a major criminological
focus in recent years.
• Crime victims are sometimes subject to secondary
victimization.
• Positivist approaches to victimology have been critiqued for
victim-blaming and and overly individualized, acontextual
analysis.
• The Lifestyle Model and Routine Activity Theory are the two
dominant theories of victimization.
• Practical applications of victimology theory include VIS,
public education programs and reconciliation initiatives.
• Despite the growth in victim services, gaps remain in both
coverage and service availability.
 Thank You
And See You
Next Week!