VICTIMOLOGY
Lesson 1 : origin and concepts
HISTORY
THE ORIGIN
Victimology :
- The scientific study of the extent (omvang), nature (aard), and causes (oorzaken)
of (criminal) victimization, its consequences for the individuals involved, and
societal responses, particularly those of the police, criminal justice system, as well
as voluntary and welfare sevices (VWS)
- Often considered a subdiscipline :
o Psychiatry, law, social work
o However, criminologists hae the greatest influence
o An essential component of offender studies within criminology, it has thus
become an integral part of criminological sciences
Leopold Szondi : genotropism (1930)
- Theory : reciprocal attraction of the same/similar recessive genes influencing
human behavior (instinct)
- Why do we fall in love with a person, why do we kill that certain person? ->
volgens Leopold Szondi it is because of some genes, something biological
Ted Bundy (1946-1989) : confirmed 36 victims in the 1970s
- His ideal victim was someone who was already victimized before, he selected his
victims
- Victim selection :
o A matter of opportunity
o He claimed that he could identify a potential victim by the way she walks
down the street, the way she carries her head, her body language
o Research confirms that victims exhibit (vertonen) certain typical body
language, especially in the way they walk
o Psychopaths are more accurate in recognizing potential victims
First mention of ‘victimology’
- Mendelsohn, 1947 : during the presentation of a paper
- Considered the spiritual father of the victim movement
- Werthem (1949) also advocates for a “crime victim-centered” science
o Focused particularly on murder
Von Hentig : first systematic investigation into crime victims
- The criminal and his victim (1948)
- The victim’s contribution to the genesis of the crime
o Critique of the one-dimensional perspective within criminology
- The law considers certain results and the final moves which lead to them. Here it
makes a clear-cut distinction between the one who does and the one who suffers.
Looking into the genesis of the situation, in a considerable number of cases, we
meet a victim who consents tacitly, cooperates, conspires, or provokes. The victim
is one of the causative elements
, - Number of theoretical studies :
o On victim types, the relationship between victim and offender, and the role
victims play in certain criminal phenomena
- Number of empirical studies
o Murder, rape, theft, assault, fraud, extortion, …
- Martin Wolfgang : “victim precipitated criminal homicide” (1957) = slachtoffer
veroorzaakte doodslag
o 588 murder cases between 1948-1952 in Philadelphia
o 26% VP cases where the victim was the first to engage in violence
- Menachem Amir : “victim precipitated forcible rape” (1967) = slachtoffer
veroorzaakte gedwongen verkrachting
o Active contribution : accepting a drink from a stranger, riding with a
stranger
o Passive contribution : not reacting strongly enough to sexual advances
o Examples : alcohol, reputation, place of residence, meeting place
o NO excuse for the offender
Victim precipitation or victim blaming?
- Verschil tussen begrippen :
o Victim precipitation verwijst naar situaties waarin het gedrag of de
acties van het slachtoffer bijdragen aan het ontstaan van een misdrijf of
gewelddadige situatie. Dit kan variëren van verbale provocatie tot fysieke
confrontatie, waarbij het slachtoffer mogelijk de agressor uitdaagt of
provoceert voordat het geweld plaatsvindt.
o Aan de andere kant verwijst victim blaming naar de neiging om het
slachtoffer van een misdrijf de schuld te geven voor wat er is gebeurd. Dit
kan voortkomen uit stereotypes, vooroordelen of onjuiste aannames over
het slachtoffer en kan leiden tot het minimaliseren van de
verantwoordelijkheid van de dader.
o Het belangrijkste verschil tussen beide concepten ligt in waar de
verantwoordelijkheid wordt gelegd. Bij victim precipitation wordt erkend
dat het slachtoffer een rol heeft gespeeld bij het ontstaan van de situatie,
terwijl victim blaming de schuld legt bij het slachtoffer zelf, zelfs als het
gedrag van het slachtoffer geen rechtvaardiging biedt voor het misdrijf.
- Especially in the 1970s, victim precipitation (VP) was increasingly seen as victim-
blaming
- VP research has contributed to two major criminological theories :
o Lifestyle theory (Hindelang)
o Routine activity theory (Cohen en Felson)
- At the core of these pioneers : victims of crimes
o 1950s – 1960s
o Also during the 1970s-1980s due to the emergence of professional
assistance for crime victims
- 1979 : establishment of the World Society of Victimology
EVOLUTION
Gradual broadening during the 1970s of the research focus
- Similarities with war victims, prisoners in camps, and certain types of aggression
and discrimination (Nazism, Apartheid)
, - Criminologists explore other crimes/phenomena : white collar crime,
environmental crime, …
o Who is the victim here, and what about perception?
Also within the World Society of Victimology, discussions about the research object of
victimology
- Difference between scientific victimologists and humanistic aid providers
Vertaling :
Geleidelijke verbreding tijdens de jaren 1970 van de onderzoeksfocus. Overeenkomsten met
oorlogsslachtoffers, gevangenen in kampen, en bepaalde vormen van agressie en discriminatie (nazisme,
apartheid). Criminologen verkennen andere misdaden/fenomenen: witteboordencriminaliteit,
milieucriminaliteit,... Wie is hier het slachtoffer, en hoe zit het met perceptie?
Ook binnen de WSV, discussies over het onderzoeksobject van victimologie. Verschil tussen wetenschappelijke
victimologen en humanistische hulpverleners
Division among victimologists : restrict to victims of crimes or include other victims?
- Refer to the definition of victimology by the World Society of Victimology (WSV)
- Prominent debate in the 1970s – 1980s, but largely disappeared by the late
1990s-2000s
UN Declaration of Basis Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power
(1985)
- Unanimously adopted in the General Assembly
- Objective : set minimum standards for states to meet in providing assistance to
victims
Vertaling :
Verdeeldheid onder victimologen: beperken tot slachtoffers van misdrijven of andere slachtoffers opnemen?
Verwijzen naar de definitie van victimologie door de World Society of Victimology (WSV). Prominente discussie
in de jaren 1970-1980, maar grotendeels verdwenen tegen het einde van de jaren 1990-2000 (zie VN-
verklaring).
VN-Verklaring van de Basisprincipes van Gerechtigheid voor Slachtoffers van Misdrijven en Machtsmisbruik
(1985) Unaniem aangenomen in de Algemene Vergadering. Doel: minimumnormen vaststellen waaraan staten
moeten voldoen bij het bieden van bijstand aan slachtoffers
It was a compromise :
- Developed countries : victims of crime
- Developing countries : victims of abuse of power should have the same rights as
the first category
- Much more provision for the first category than for the second
See : article 11 & 19
o 11. Where public officials or other agents acting in an official or quasi-official
capacity have violated national criminal laws, the victims should receive
restitution from the State whose officials or agents were responsible for the
harm inflicted.
= Waar overheidsfunctionarissen of andere agenten die optreden in
een officiële of quasi-officiële hoedanigheid nationale strafwetten
hebben overtreden, moeten de slachtoffers schadeloosstelling
ontvangen van de staat waarvan de functionarissen of agenten
verantwoordelijk waren voor het toegebrachte leed
o 19. States should consider incorporating into national law norms proscribing
abuses of power and providing remedies to victims of such abuses.
, = Staten zouden moeten overwegen om normen die machtsmisbruik
verbieden en voorzieningen bieden aan slachtoffers van dergelijk
misbruik op te nemen in nationale wetgeving
FROM “PENAL VICTIMOLOGY” TO GENERAL VICTIMOLOGY
Penal victimology :
- Victims of crimes takes center stage
- Delimitation of victim (afbakening van slachtoffers)
- Bayley 1991 : penal victimology
- The core rules
o They have suffered a loss a some significant decrease in well-being unfairly
or undeservedly and in such a manner that they are helpless to prevent the
loss (1)
o The loss has an identifiable cause (2)
o The legal or moral context of the loss entitles the sufferer of the loss to
social concern (3)
- Translation of the core rules
o Ze hebben een verlies geleden, een significante afname van welzijn,
onrechtvaardig of onverdiend, en op zo'n manier dat ze machteloos zijn om
het verlies te voorkomen (1)
o Het verlies heeft een identificeerbare oorzaak (2)
o De juridische of morele context van het verlies geeft de lijder van het
verlies recht op sociale bezorgdheid (3)
It is called intractionist victimology = interactionistische victimologie
General victimology :
- No restrictions (geen beperkingen) , no exclusion (geen uitsluiting van …) of harm
such as consumer fraud, pollution, work-related hazards and illnesses, police
violence, discrimination, poverty, and war
- Also referred to as assistance-oriented victimology
Human Victimology :
- Agree with general victimology but exclude (maar sluiten … uit) accidents, natural
disasters, and “acts of god’
In favour of broadening and against broadening :
- In favor of broadening
o If victimology works on prevention and alleviation (vermindering) of
suffering, then there should be no restrictions on the type of suffering
(poverty, HIV, …)
o Artificial boundaries lead to priorities : one is worse than the other
o Follow the broadening of the research focus within criminology
- Against broadening (Fattah)
o Loss of objectivity
Abuse of power ideological/normative
o Too broad research domain
o Too political
See research on victims who abuse law and order politicians
o Human victimology : qualitative distinction?
What about work-related incidents
o Anyone can feel like a victim
