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Theoretical Victimology Do 23 Mai 2013
Theoretical Victimology Do 23 Mai 2013
Lecture to the
29th Postgraduate Course in Victimology
Inter University Center Dubrovnik
13 to 26 May 2013
by
Gerd Ferdinand Kirchhoff
Graduate School of Victimology
Tokiwa University Mito Japan
Victimology
implies something theoretical that fifty years ago
plainly did not exist. Fourty years ago, it was seen
as a
“hodgepodge of ideas, interests, ideologies and research
methods that have been rather arbitrarily grouped
(Cressey 1979 and 1985)
Fattah 2000
Distinguishes between
“humanistic victimology” (represented by the victim
assistance community)
“scientific victimology” which for him was part of
criminology
Territorial dug in war
Why did the criminologists have these difficulties in
accepting victimology as an independent new science?
The fight for recognition of criminology as a distinct science
interest driven:
a competitor on the fight for grants must be controlled
criminology qua criminology did nothing for the victims
in the past, victim ideas have been pretty much connected with
social democratic ideas
Lombroso
Ferri, Garofalo
that did not fit into a subconsciously capitalistic
criminology which had its own struggles to be
accepted
Sutherland and Chicago School
“victim identity” thinking of criminologists – not a
good term!
Two new things happen:
1. Hans von Hentig introduces into criminology a clearly
interactionalist element: the interaction between doer and
sufferer - clearly in the interest of social control and of
improving criminology
The new perspective does not have an own territory
Followers of von Hentig like Schafer place victimology
clearly in the field of criminology
Wolfgang was never explicitly decided but favored a look to
victim issues
“Special Victimology”
There were no chairs, no grants, and there was no future in
this field -> criminology had occupied the seats and the key
position
2. Mendelsohn “General victimology”.
Mendelsohn’s (mostly) formal
ingredients”” of a science
all victims
an international society of victimology
clearly a scientific organization
– the new kid on the block”
» concerns of criminologists
» concerns of sociologists
» concerns of practitioners
» 1976 Foundation of NOVA and 1979 Victim
Support UK
» victims are our property!
Development of two fields
Theoretical Victimology
Admittedly very conservative and
cautious
Field of Victim Assistance
Very dynamic, full of enthusiasm,
passionate claim for victims and against
the neglect of victims in the criminal
justice system
A highly interesting social movement,
Under the header “victims” strange
bedfellows meet!
1985 Hans von Hentig Award to
Marlene Young
bridge between victimology and victim
assistance, especially demanded by the
influential American EC members who
were personal friends of Marlene
difficult to maintain the separation between
victim assistance and victimology
– in victimology, victim assistance is included
– consequences
– sympathy between practitioners and scientists
1985 very successful
UN Declaration on Basic Principles of Justice
for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power
(created from within WSV by Irvin Waller and
LeRoy Lamborn in connection with Irene Mellup
from the UN.
Takeover and implementation of victim
orientation in a criminal justice system by
(South Australia, Labor) Chris Sumner
continued by followers, now the first Victim
Commissioner Michael O’Connell
l
Elections to the EC reflected the
stand-offish attitude of scientists and
the willingness of activists to move
the cause internationally
extreme skilled leadership in USA,
UK and Mexico
Peak of influence of activists in 2006
“Enhancing the Mission”
Mendelsohn 2
International Symposia
1973 Drapkin-Viano 6 readers
1976 Boston no reader
1979 Muenster 2 readers and 1 book in German
1982 Tokyo 1 reader
1985 Zagreb 1book, two readers
1988 Jerusalem 1 reader
1991 Brazil 4 readers, 1 book series
1994 Adelaide 1 reader
1997 Amsterdam 1 reader
2000 Montreal 1 reader
2003 Stellenbosch 1 reader in print
2006 Orlando 1 reader
2009 Mito 1 reader
2012 Den Haag 1 reader
Mendelsohn 3
Institutes of Victimology
(1968 - 1992 Koichi Miyazawa’s institute in
Keio, Tokyo, Japan)
Bellagio Institute 1975 (Emilio Viano)
1998 Sarajevo (WSV and University of
Sarajevo, dormant)
2003 Tokiwa University (Hidemichi Morosawa,
John Dussich)
2004 Intervict in University of Tilburg
(Groenhuijsen, van Dijk, Winkel)
Today many institutes (WSV website)
Mendelsohn 4
Journal of Victimology
1976 Emilio Viano’s “Victimology - an
international journal”
NOVA’s Newsletter, WSV Newsletter 1982,
The Victimologist
International Review of Victimology UK
International Perspectives of Victimology
(Tokiwa) since 2004
numerous other special journals
Formal requirement 5
Textbooks
numerous textbooks, the first in 1975
Schneider (in German language)
mainly English language textbooks
market situation a clear advantage
tailored to the need of the teaching and learning
and refined by competition
driven by the growing market in victim
assistance
an abundance of monographs
Friday 2000 talks about “globalization” in
victimology -
That has clear advantages
Many excellent and very often very useful
empirical contributions
triggered by the success of the National US
Crime Victim Surveys and the International
Crime Victim Survey gave a method to
measure victimizing incidents
independently from crime statistics
There is a wealth of empirical data, articles
and monographs
Development of academic teaching
All the efforts would be in vain if victimology did not enter the
classrooms of the university
Regular teaching in victimology started in sociology seminars, in
criminology classes in the seventies.
In the same time regular classes were held usually after the
Bellagio Institute 1975 by participants
1984 the first Postgraduate Course on Victimology convened in
Dubrovnik, Croatia - till now 29 conferences of this course
1985 the first panel “Young Victimologists” in Zagreb with
students
1994 in Adelaide, Hauber, Kirchhoff and O’Connell convened
workshop on “Teaching Victimology” (basically three curricular
and critique of them) overcrowded
2000 Teaching Victimology : 80 participants demanded from WSV
to develop a curriciences (culum. No doubt, victimology had
entered the classrooms
2003 Tokiwa University Mito Master in Victimology
2003 PhD in Human Sciences Subfield Victimology
2012 Tilburg University Master in Victimology and Criminal Justice
2013 PhD Victimology Tokiwa University
Fattah 1998
All in all,
victimology is no longer a subject of
bewilderment or curiosity but is slowly
becoming a household name. This is being
facilitated by the extensive coverage that crime
news and victim issues are receiving in the
mass media; by the wide publicity victims’
programs are getting and by the
proliferation of victim services and victim
assistance programs in many countries
(Fattah:
http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/PDF_rms/no56/56-06.pdf
retrieved on May 3, 2007).
Courses are given in tandem with the symposia
(Rio 1991, Amsterdam 1997, Montreal 2000, Stellenbosch 2003,
Orlando 2006, Mito 2009) - independent from WSV by Fattah and
Peters Courses in the Canaries
Numerous universities have lectures and seminars in victimology
Numerous professional courses and training academies developed
for practitioners in victim assistance
the need to train volunteers
excellent training material in USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia,
Canada
from 1995 on the National Victim Assistance Academy funded by
the Office of Crime Victims, Office of Justice Program, US
Department of Justice
Special faculties for the study and practice of Traumatic Stress
Studies - e.g. University of Charleston, South Carolina
South America: Hilda Marchiori, Elias Neuman, Manzanera and
others in INACIPE Mexico with the first master degree constituted
Problem of finding a “home faculty” for a
study that draws from sociology,
psychology, medicine, social work, political
science, criminology and law, especially
criminal law and criminal procedure.
Integrating knowledge from so many
faculties, the field has no own single
unifying theory
This is a reason that it is not regarded as a
science - but it behaves like a science.
and it is more an more accepted as such.
Master Study in Victimology e.g.
in Tokiwa University Japan
In Tilburg University Netherlands
Doctor Programs e.g.
in Tokiwa University
In Tilburg University
Fattah on Victimology
Fattah: the primary task of theoretical
victimology is to collect empirical data on
crime victims. This is done by victim
surveys. It is not yet clear what these
surveys measure. Are the surveys
designed to measure crime or
victimization? Are they meant to measure
criminal victimizations that meet the criteria
set by the criminal code? or are they meant
to measure subjective victimizations
experienced by the respondents. These
are different realities.
Fattah on Victimology
From here, he unfolds the different theoretical
models that have led to various theoretical
formulations:
- Lifestyle Model
a simple and logical extension of the medical concept into
the social sphere: smoking, sedentary way of life, aids and
eating increase health risks.
Routine Activity Approach
Opportunity Models
L and RA brings potential victims together with motivated
offenders (proximity, attractiveness and exposure) or
direct differential opportunities.
This is the model that Fattah favors:
Fattah then describes a flurry of victim legislation,
victim compensation, offender restitution and
victim services.
Information from the sociology of
social movements
Scientists form an interest group (Berger and Luckmann
1986). They are interest driven.
interests are formed by invested “capital”
by scientific convictions certainly,
by interest in being funded
by an interest of being acknowledged by peers and students
and “followers”
Theories - the special tools in the competition and identity
markets - are validated more by social support than by
empirical evidence.
The intensity of support determines the ultimate success of this
interest group - like any other interest group - in their efforts to
promote a cause, a problem, a science.
Scientific theories in any field of science are a kind of social
construction of reality. This is not different in social science,
here: in victimology.
Positivist, radical or critical versions of victimology (identified
by Mawby and Walklate 1994) are just different competing
constructions in victimology.
Individuals and interest groups construct and generate social
problems out of their interests, whether there are data in
objective reality that justify this or not.
Data can be produced ad libidum and ad nauseam!
That does not change the fact that scientists are interest
driven.
Special knowledge is formulated and administered by
specialists whose social prestiges depend on their special
ability to teach, to write, to do research, to distribute
resources, occupy the media.
To avoid their dictatorship, it is needed to keep the
connection to victim assistance.
Maus (1975) developed a convincing model that explains
how society in general reacts towards the “new kids on the
block”
Victimology was received by the relevant existing groups -
the publics in criminal law, criminology, social sciences
generally and by the stakeholders in the status quo - exactly
in the same way society deals with new social movements.
Techniques include
overlooking
rejection
ridicule “feel free to call it victimology!”
outright fanatic opposition
attacks
cooptation
that is nothing new
we embrace the efforts fully
recognition
This recognition is dangerous:
only if there is enough disquieting noise and unrest, the
stakeholders of the traditional way of thinking (or the existing
social order) will listen and finally will react.
These reactions are applauded by the outer circle and often by
the inner circle as well. Then the problem is solved.
Dangerous moment: The resounding body is leaving the
movement and turns to other goals (e.g. crime prevention,
restorative justice or transformative justice) the inner circle of
“true believers” “the activists” “the hard core” is still
dissatisfied and continues the fight.
Observations:
1985 UN Declaration
There are many examples
Nils Christie brought a practical development in
victim offender mediation to the theoretical
point: horizontal or vertical justice? The
systems often adopted horizontal elements.
Participation of victims:
full fledged participation
or fake participation:
– in Japan very new reform
– victim impact statements
– mediation, victim offender reconciliation
– victim assistance organizations:
» in Germany it is very difficult to introduce new
measures “for victims” that are not supported by
the greatest victim organization Weisser Ring.
Observations on theoretical
victimology
Victimology is the social science of victims, of
victimizations and of the reactions toward both,
towards victimization and towards victims.