Victims

• A Critical View

  Criminologist Christie (1986) argued the idea of victim is socially constructed.

  The ‘ideal victim’,  the stereotype of the type of victim thought to be deserving of attention by conservatives, is seen as entirely blameless of the incident and going about their business, did not know the offender, was weaker than the offender, in no way controversial and was the victim of a one-off incident perpetrated by an individual rather than a corporation.

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• Victims who are young, white, middle class, or especially vulnerable often get a disproportionate amount of media coverage (links to news values). Examples include Madeleine McCann or Leah Betts.
• Not all victims fit this profile – e.g. working class football fans killed in the Hillsborough disaster were originally blamed for the tragedy in the Sun newspaper. Coverage of asylum seekers also fits this trend – they are often viewed with suspicion as terrorists or scroungers rather than victims of war.
• Victimology

  •This is the study of victims. There are two main approaches:

  Positivist victimology

  • Critical victimology
• Positivist Victimology


  •People become victims because of where they live/their characteristics.• Crime concentrates in some areas because criminal tend to be active in areas they know. Also more likely to commit crime in places no alarms / video cameras etc.•Interested in what situations crime arises in  - e.g. victims displaying their wealth, or initiating violence.
• Critical Victimology

  •Has roots in critical approaches including Marxism and feminism.•Argues the poor and women are greater risk of victimisation because of patriarchal and capitalist society.•Interested in how the state defines some as victims and others not (e.g. victims of health and safety violations, rape victims)
• The Impacts Of Victimisation

  This includes:

  •Emotional and psychological impact• Indirect victimisation•Waves of harm•Secondary victimisation•Fear of victimisation