Chapter IV

VICTIMOLOGY

LESSON 1: Victimology
Victimology is the scientific study of the psychological effects of crime and the relationship
between victims and offender. It examines victim patterns and tendencies; studies how victim interact
with the police and the legal system; and analyses how factors of class, race, and sexual orientation
affect the perception of the victim by different constituents, including the public, the court system and
the media.

Who is a Crime Victim?

Crime victim generally refers to any person, group, or entry who has suffered injury or loss due
to illegal activity, the harm can be physical, psychological, or economic. Legally, “victim” typically
includes the following:
a. The person who has suffered direct, or threatened, physical emotional or pecuniary harm as a
result of the commission of a crime; or
b. In the case of a victim being an institutional entity, any of the same harms by an individual or
authorized representative of another entity.

Victimology versus Criminology

Victimology focuses on helping victims heal after a crime while Criminology aims to understand
the criminals’ motive and the underlying cause of crime. Criminologist “look at every conceivable
aspects of deviant behavior, this includes the impacts of crime on individual victims and their families,
society at large, and even criminal themselves” according to The Balance Criminologist study elements
like frequency location, causes and types of crime, then work to develop “effective and humane means
of preventing it.”
Victimology is concerned with fostering recovery, while Criminologist seeks to prevention.

Victimity and Victimizer

Victimity refers to the state, quality or fact of being a victim while Victimizer refers to a person
who victimizes other.
Theories of Victimization
Over the years, ideas about victim precipitation have come to be perceived as a negative thing;
victim blaming it is called. Research into ways in which victims “contribute” to their own victimization is
considered by victims and victim advocated as both unacceptable and destructive. Yet a few enduring
models and near theories.

1. Luckenbill Situated Transaction Model

This one is commonly found in sociology of deviance textbook. The idea is that at the
interpersonal level, crime and victimization is a contest of character.
a. Insult
b. Clarification
c. Retaliation
d. Counter Retaliation
e. Presence of Weapon

2. Benjamin & Master’s Threefold Model

This one is found in a variety of criminological studies, from prison riots to strain theories.
The idea is that conditions that support crime can be classified into three general categories:
a. Precipitating Factor – time, space, being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
b. Attracting Factor – choices, options, lifestyles (the sociological expression “lifestyle” refers to
daily routine activities as well as special events one engages in on a predictable basis).
c. Predisposing Factor – all the sociodemographic characteristics of victims, being male, being
young, being poor, being a minority, living in squalor, being single, being unemployed.

3. Lawrence Cohen & Mareus Felson Routine Activities Theory

This one is acquire popular among victimologist today who are anxious to test the theory.
Briefly, it says that crime occurs whenever three conditions come together.
a. Suitable Targets
b. Motivated Offenders
c. Absence of Guardians
 4. Victim Precipitation Theory
Victim Precipitation Theory was first promulgated by Von Hentig and applies only to violent
victimization. Its basic premise is that by acting in certain provocative ways, some individual initiate
a chain of events that lead to their victimization
Also, this theory suggests that some people may actually initiate the confrontation that
eventually leads to their injury or death. Victim precipitation can be either Active or Passive.
a. Active Precipitation – it occurs when victims act provocatively, use threats or fighting words, or
even attach first.
b. Passive Precipitation – it occurs when the victim exhibits some personal characteristics that
unknowingly either threatens or encourages the attacker. The crime can occur because or
personal conflict. This may also occur when the victim belongs to a group whose mere presence
threatens the attacker’s reputation, status, or economic well-being.
5. Lifestyle Theory
Some criminologists believe people may become crime victims because their lifestyle increases
their exposure to criminal offenders. Victimization risk is increase by such behaviors as associating with
young men, going out in public places late at night, and living in an urban area. Conversely, one’s
chances of victimization can be reduced by staying out in public places, earning more money, and
getting married. The basis of this theory is that crime is not a random occurrence but rather a function
of victim’s lifestyle.
People who have high-risk lifestyle are – drinking, taking drugs, getting involved in crime –
maintain a much greater chance of victimization.
a. The Equivalent Group Hypothesis: victims and criminals share similar characteristics because
they are not actually separate groups, and a criminal lifestyle exposes people to increase levels
of victimization risks.
b. The Proximity Hypothesis: some people willingly put themselves in jeopardy by choosing high
risk lifestyles or because they are forced to live in close physical proximity to criminals (they are
in the wrong place and the wrong time).
c. The Deviant Place Hypothesis: there are natural areas of crime, e.g., poor, densely populated,
highly transient neighborhoods in which commercial and residential property exist side by side.
6. Deviant Place Theory
According to deviant place theory, victims do not encourage crime but are victim prone because
they reside in socially disorganized high-crime areas where they have the greatest risk of coming into
contact with criminal offenders, irrespective of their own behavior or lifestyle. Deviant places are poor,
densely populated, highly transient neighborhoods in which commercial and residential property exist
side by side.

LESSON 2: Victim and Victimization

Who are Victims?
Victims in general, means persons who, by reason of natural disaster or man-made cause,
individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering,
economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are
in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those laws proscribing criminal
abuse of power.
Victims in the country, refers to a person who sustains injury or damage as a result of the
commission of a crime.

Effects and Consequences of Victimization

A. Physical Consequences
The physical consequences of victimization are often visible and range in seriousness from
bruises and scrapes, to broken bones to fatal injuries. Other, less foreseeable injuries, such as the threat
of sexually transmitted diseases, can also be the result of a victimization incident. Forensic evidence
collection can detect physical injury and other useful evidence to support the claim of a crime.

B. Psychological/Emotional and Mental Consequences

Emotional psychological and mental consequences of victimization may be less externally
obvious but are just as serious as physical injury. Stress, depression, anxiety and other mental distinct
mental stages that follow victimization incident: At first, victim feels shock ad fear, and perhaps retreat
from society; after this initial feeling of shock begins to subside, victims experience a range of emotions
as they begin to readopt to their lives; finally, but reconcile and find a balance to allow them to pick up
with their lives and routines where they left off. Persistent mental consequences substance dependency
can occur.
C. Financial Consequences
The monetary costs of victimization to the victim are at times easy to calculate at other times
impossible to measure. Medical expenses, property losses, lost wages and legal cost are financial
consequences that victims and their families must bear. Losses to the victim that are not as easy to
estimate a dollar value for, but are nevertheless salient, are pain and suffering, and fear, among others.
These are also financial consequences of victimization that society must bear, it includes:
1. Victim services;
2. Witness assistance programs,
3. Cost to the criminal justice system, and
4. Negative public opinion

Trauma in Victimization
A. Primary Injuries
Primary injuries include physical trauma, intense stress reaction, and emotional trauma.
1. Physical Trauma
Crime victims may experience physical trauma – serious injury or shock to the body as from
a major accident. Victims may have cuts, bruises, fractured arms or legs, or internal injuries.
2. Intense Stress Reactions
Victims breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate may increase, and their muscles may
tighten. They may feel exhausted but unable to sleep, and may have headaches, increased or
decreased appetites, or digestive problems.
3. Emotional Trauma
Victims may experience emotional trauma – emotional wounds or shocks that may have
long-lasting effects. Emotional trauma may take many different forms.
a. Shock or Numbness – victims may feel “frozen” and cut off from their own emotions. Some
victims say they feel as if they are “watching a movie” rather than having their own experiences.
Victims may not be able to make decisions or conduct their lives as they did before the crime.
b. Denial, Disbelief and Anger – victims may experience “denial” an unconscious defense against
painful or unbearable memories and feelings about the crime. Or they may experience disbelief,
telling themselves, “this just could not have happened to me!” They may feel intense and a
desire to get even with the offender.
 c. Acute Stress Disorder – some crime victims may experience trouble sleeping, flashbacks,
extreme tension or anxiety, outburst of anger, memory problems, trouble concentrating, and
other symptoms of distress for days or weeks following a trauma. A person may be diagnosed as
having acute stress disorder (ASD) if these or other mental disorders continue for a minimum of
two days to up to four weeks within a month of the trauma. If these symptoms persist after a
month, the diagnosis becomes posttraumatic stress disorder.
B. Secondary Injuries
When victims do not receive the support and help they need after the crime, they may suffer
“secondary” injuries. They may be hurt by a lack of understanding from friends, family, and the
professionals they come into contact with – particularly if others seem to blame the victims for the
crime. Police, prosecutors, judges, social service providers, the media, coroners, and even clergy and
mental health professionals may contribute to such secondary injuries.

C. Common Injuries
It includes bruises, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, sexually transmitted diseases, and a wide range
of internal injuries. Also, physical reactions to the emotional wounds caused by the crime.

Stages of Trauma Recovery

Stage 1: Silence
People who experience adverse situations, such as a traumatic event involving actual or
threatened danger, face incredible challenges. The initial stage following a traumatic event is often a
time of silence for the victim. It’s common for recently victimized people to refuse to talk about what
happened. This may be due to a number of things, including stigma, isolation, shame, guilt, confusion, or
denial about the event.
A person emerging from trauma may have low self-esteem at first and may feel overwhelmed
and disconnected from the rest of the world.

Stage 2: Victimhood
Eventually, the traumatized self may start to long for change as the on-going suffering interferes
with daily life tasks and a need to grow and recover begins to form. As this need grows, it allows the
person to begin exploring ways to move through the trauma. According to available research, there is
often a tug-of-war taking place within the individual between a need to be safe and protect emotions
and a need to grow and confront the traumatic memories.

Stage 3: Survivorhood
Once a person processes the traumatic event and continues transitioning away from the victim
experience, he or she often begins identifying as a survivor. During this stage, a person has had an
opportunity to talk about his or her experience and has gained some sense of clarity. He or she begins to
identify the ways in which he/she preserved and the strengths that helped make moving forward
possible. The person hasn’t forgotten the event, but he or she has a greater understanding about what
the event means and the impact it has made on his or her life.

Stage 4: Thriving and Transcendence

Most people I’ve worked with seem content reaching the stage of survivor hood. They feel like
they are managing challenges better and have a greater awareness about themselves and their
experiences. Other people, the person hasn’t forgotten the event but he or she has a greater
understanding about what the event means and the impact it has made on his or her life. However, have
told me they’re not done growing, and some of them have even said they don’t want to be called a
survivor.

Kinds of Crime Victim

1. Direct or Primary Crime Victim – this kind of victim directly suffers the harm or injury which is
physical, psychological and economic losses.
2. Indirect or Secondary Crime Victim –victims who experience the harm second hand, such as
intimate partners or significant other of rape victims or children of a battered woman. This may
include family members of the primary victims.
3. Tertiary Crime Victim – victims who experiences the harm vicariously such as through media
accounts, the scared public or community due to watching news regarding crime incidents.

Mendelsohn’s Types of Victim

Mendelsohn interviewed victims to obtain information and his analysis led him to believe that
most victims have an unconscious aptitude for being victimized. The types of victim according to
Mendelsohn are:
 1. Innocent – portrayed as just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
2. Victim with only minor guilt and was victimized due to ignorance.
3. Victim who is just as guilty as the offender and the voluntary victim. Suicide case is common to
this category.
4. The victim guiltier than the offender – this category was described as containing persons who
provoked the criminal or actively induced their own victimization.
5. The most guilty victim – “who is guilty alone” – and attacker killed by a would-be-victim in the
act of defending themselves is an example of this.
6. The imaginary victim – a victim suffering from mental disorders or those victims with extreme
mental abnormalities.

Hans Von Hentig’s Taxonomy of Murder Victim

1. Depressive Type – a victim who lacks ordinary prudence and discretion. It is an easy target,
careless and unsuspecting. They are submissive by virtue of emotional condition.
2. Greedy of Gain or Acquisitive Type – a victim who lacks all normal inhibitions and well-founded
suspicious. This victim is easily duped because his or her motivation for easy gain lowers his or
her natural tendency to be suspicious.
3. Wanton or Overly Sensual Type – a victim where “females foibles play a role. This victim is
particularly vulnerable to stresses that occur at a given period of time in the life cycle, such as
juvenile victims. Further, this victim is ruled by passion and thoughtlessly seeking pleasure.
4. Tormentor Type – the victim of attack from the target of his or her abuse such as with battered
women, the most primitive way of solving a personal conflict is to annihilate physically the cause
of the trouble.
5. Lonesome Type – this is the same with the acquisitive type of victim, by virtue of warning
companionship or affection.
6. Heartbroken Type – this victim is emotionally disturbed by virtue of heartaches and pain.

Von Hentig’s Classes of Victim

1. The Young – the young is weal by virtue of age and immaturity.
2. The Female – female is physically less powerful and is easily dominated by male.
3. The Old – the old is incapable of physical defense and the common object of illegal scheme.
4. The Mentally Defective – mentally defective person is unable to think clearly.
 5. The Immigrant – immigrant is unsure of the rules of conduct in the surrounding society.
6. The Minorities – racial prejudice may lead to victimization or unequal treatment by the agency
of justice.

LESSON 3: Right of Victim

What are Victim’s Right?
All states and the federal government have passed laws to establish a set of victim rights. In
general, these laws require that victims have certain information, protection, and a limited role in the
criminal justice process. Victims’ rights depend on the law of the jurisdiction where the crime is
investigated and prosecuted: state, federal or tribal government, or military installation.

Who May Exercise Victim Rights?

A victim is usually defined as a person who has been directly harmed by a crime that was
committed by another person. It some states, victims’ rights apply only to victims of felonies while other
states also grant legal rights to victims of misdemeanors. Some states allow a family member of
homicide victim or the parent or guardian of a minor, incompetent person, or person with a disability to
exercise these rights on behalf of the victims.

Victims’ Right
1. Right to be treated with Dignity, Respect, and Sensitivity
Victims generally have the right to be treated with courtesy, fairness and care by law
enforcement and other official throughout the entire criminal justice process. This right is included
in the constitutions of most stated that have victims’ rights amendments and in the statutes that
have than half the starts. Many victims have reported that making victim impact statements
improved their satisfaction with the criminal justice process and helped them recover from the
crime. In some states, the prosecutor is required to confer with the victim before making important
decisions.
2. Right to be Informed
The purpose of this right is to make sure that victims have the information they need to
exercise their rights and to seek services and resources that are available to them. Victims generally
have the right to receive information about victim compensation, available services and resources,
how to contact criminal justice officials, and what to expect in the criminal justice system. Victims
 also usually have the right to receive notification of important events in their cases. Although state
laws vary, most states require that victims receive note of the following events:
 The arrest and arraignment of the offender
 Bail proceedings
 Pre-trial proceedings
 Dismissal of charges
 Plea negotiations
 Trial
 Sentencing
 Appeals
 Probation or parole hearings
 Release or escape of the offender

States have different ways of providing such information to victims. Usually, information about
court proceedings is mailed to the victim. Some states have an automated victim notification system
that automatically call or e-mails the victim with updates on the status of the offender, while others
require the victim to telephone the authorities to receive such updates.

3. Right to Protection
In many states, victims have the right to protection from threats, intimidation or retaliation
during criminal proceedings. Depending on the jurisdiction, victims may receive the following types
of protection:
 Police escorts
 Witness protection programs
 Relocation
 Restraining orders

Some states also have laws to protect the employment of victim who are attending criminal
proceedings.
4. Right to Apply Compensation
All states provide crime victim compensation to reimburse victims of violent crime for some
of the out-of-pocket expenses that resulted from the crime. The purpose of compensation is to
recognize victims’ financial losses and to help them recover some of these costs. All states have a
cap on the total compensation award for each crime, and not all crime-related expenses are
covered. To be eligible for compensation, victims must submit an application, usually are claiming
occurred through no fault of their own. Some types of losses that usually covered include:
 Medical and counselling expenses
 Lost wages
 Funeral expenses

Compensation program seldom cover property loss or pain and suffering. Also, victim
compensation is a payer of last resort; compensation programs will not cover expenses that can be
paid by some other program, such as health insurance or workman’s compensation.

5. Right to Restitution from the Offender

In many states, victims of crime have the right to restitution, which means the offender
must pay to repair some of the damage that resulted from the crime. The purpose of this right is to
hold offenders directly responsible orders the offender to pay a specific amount of restitution
either in a lump sum or a series of payments. Some types of losses covered by restitution include:
 Lost wages
 Property loss
 Insurance deductibles

6. Right to Prompt Return of Personal Property

Crime investigators must often seize some of the victim’s property as evidence for a
criminal case. In most states, authorities must return such property to the victim when it is no
longer needed. To speed up the return of property, some states allow law enforcement to use
photographs of the item rather than the item itself, as evidence. The prompt return of personal
property reduces inconvenience to victims and helps restore their sense of security,
7. Right to a Speedy Trial
8. Right to Enforcement of Victims’ Right
To be meaningful, legal rights must be enforced. States are beginning to pass laws to
enforce victims’ rights, and several states have creates offices to receive and investigate reports
of violation of victims’ rights. Other states have laws that permit victims to asset their rights in
court.