FL10 - Victims of Crime II

Question 1

What is the definition for a victim of crime?

Answer 1

• People who 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“
  
  • So don’t have to have been at the scene, can be close family to victim due to effects of trauma
• Can be addressed as survivors over victims

Question 2

Who are normally the victims of crime? Aka what are the demographics?

Answer 2

• For victims of homicide and related offences:
  
  • 70% were male
  • 63% occurred at a residential location
• For victims of sexual assault in 2021:
  
  • 86% were female
  • 67% occurred in a residential location
  • 37% were FDV-related
• For victims of robbery in 2021:
  
  • 75% were male
  • 34% occurred on a street/footpath
  • 48% armed robberies
• Most crimes are going down due to increased technology but DV and SA are increasing

Question 3

Who fears being a victim of crime?

Answer 3

• Groups at highest risk of becoming crime victims not necessarily those who experience the greatest fear of crime
  
  • Elderly and women report highest fear
  • Young males report least fear but are most likely to be victims of homicide
• Although people most fear violent victimisation from strangers, many crimes are committed by non-strangers
• Only 39.8% of Australians feel safe outside at night
• Most feared public activity - train at night

Question 4

How can you manage fear of crime?

Answer 4

• Increase security measures at home
  
  • In public try to avoid “unpredictable strangers”
  • Go out in groups
  • Monitor environment/ stay alert
• These strategies can increase a sense of control that they won’t be victimised
• However constant attention to signs of danger can increase fear and perceptions of risk

Question 5

Are crimes reported?

Answer 5

• Crime stats = Reflect reported crimes but many crimes go unreported
• Only 30% of SA = Reported
• Factors that influence crime reporting
  
  • Nature of offence (benefit from reporting, such as insurance, or the seriousness)
  • Bystanders/support networks who encourage supporting
  • Characteristics of victim are less important

Question 6

What was the historical view of victims?

Answer 6

• Early Middle Ages: Victims or their survivors played a central role in trial proceedings and sentencing
• This ‘Golden age’ of the victim ended with monarchs who declared that vengeance was theirs alone - wanted the system to be more objective
• Crimes are often thought of as hostile acts against the state, rather than the events that hurt a specific person
  
  • Victim becomes complainant
• Until recently, victims have had few rights in the criminal justice system
• 1960s-1970s: Criticisms that the government offered the victims little to no support, even though ostensibly the criminal justice system was established to serve them
• 1970s: Concept of “Blaming the victim” recognised and popularised
  
  • e.g. Jill Meagher - Spontaneous rape and murder - catholic priest blamed her for being out

Question 7

Why do we blame the victim?

Answer 7

Fundamental attribution error - Tendency for observers, when analysing another’s behaviour, to underestimate the impact of personal disposition

• Just-world hypothesis → Need to believe the world is fair and people get what they deserved
  
  • Bad people are punished & good are rewarded
• Blaming victims shapes our responses to victims
  
  • Norms of society demand that we help others that deserve our help but if people are responsible for their own suffering = no obligation to help
    
    • E.g. AIDs blood scandal

Question 8

What is the victims view of the criminal justice system?

Answer 8

• Victims are often dissatisfied with the criminal justice system
• Common complaints include:
  – Courts were too slow and wasted time
  – Offenders weren’t punished enough
  – Courts don’t care about the victims’ needs
• This can lead to secondary victimisation
  
  • Uncertainty as to their role in the criminal justice process
  • A general lack of knowledge about the criminal justice system, courtroom procedures, and legal issues
  • Trial delays that result in frequent travel, missed work, and wasted time
  • Fear of the defendant or of retaliation from defendant’s associates
  • Trauma of testifying and cross-examination - Get victim blamed
  • Media – especially in homicide cases

Question 9

What are the responses being made to the concerns of victims?

Answer 9

• Increasingly, legislators, prosecutors, and court systems are trying to respond to the concerns of crime victims by:

1. Compensation of the crime victims

• Restitution → Judge orders defendant to compensate victims for losses
• Pros
  
  • Victim reimbursed
  • Helps offenders appreciate how their crimes have hurt others
• Cons
  
  • Often no defendant as crime isn’t solved or perpetrator may be acquitted
  • Can’t financially reimburse from defendants money or not material loss
• Government often has victim compensation funds to pay for lost wages and medical expenses
• These funds usually do not cover property losses and have fairly low caps on how much compensation will be provided

2. Participation by victims in criminal proceedings

• Many states provide victims the right to be notified of or attend court proceedings to make their views known
• Victims are concerned that important decisions are made without their input &/knowledge
• Victim impact evidence → Evidence offered at sentencing to show the impact on the victim of the crime for which the defendant has been convicted (doesn’t impact actual sentences - just a healing process for victim)

3. Legislative changes protecting victims’ rights

• States have passed special laws to protect victim’s rights
  
  • To be notified of proceedings
  • Notified of release of perpetrators
  • Freed from unreasonable delay in proceedings
  • Right to receive restitution payments

4. Reconciling victims and offenders

• E.g. restorative justice
  
  • Resolution conferences - can cause offender to realise the victims pain and the victim to understand why the offender committed the crime
  • Provides benefits in the areas of:
    
    • Accountability & sense of closure
    • Competency development
    • Community safety
  • Only takes place if both agree to take part in the process
    
    • Come to an agreement about what could be done to make things better
• Satisfaction that accused people are treated fairly but only 44% that CJS meets the needs of the victims

Question 10

How common is trauma in Australia?

Answer 10

• 57–75% of Australians will experience a potentially traumatic
  event at some point in their lives (Mills et al. 2011; Rosenman 2002).
• How common is PTSD in Australia?
  
  • 12% of Australians experience PTSD in their life with women
    being at almost twice the risk of men (ABS 2007).
  • 1.7% of women and 1.3% of men reported that they had been
    told by a doctor, nurse, or health professional that they have
    PTSD (ABS 2019).

Question 10

What are the psychological effects of victimisation?

Answer 10

• Stockholm syndrome → Paradoxical phenomenon where hostages exhibit empathy and positive regard for their captors , sometimes to the point of defending them
• Only 8% of people who are held hostages experience this
  
  • E.g. Bank robbery in Stockholm, became protective over captors
• Depends on the type of crime
• Victims can be at risk of developing acute stress disorder (ASD) - Only occurs a month following the event, if more than one month, it is PTSD
  
  • Trauma must have been sufficient to have threatened the victim with mortal danger or serious bodily harm
• DSM-V criteria for PTSD
  
  • Stressor, intrusion symptoms, avoidance, negative alteration in cognitions and mood
  • Alterations in arousal and reactivity

Question 11

How do people develop PTSD from crime?

Answer 11

• 26% of women whose trauma was crime related eveloped PTSD
• Only 9% of noncriminal trauma victims developed
  PTSD symptoms
• Women who were injured by a trauma were more
  likely to get PTSD than those who were not
• The belief that the victim’s life is in danger and that he or she has no control over the trauma increases risk for PTSD

Question 11

Why do only some people develop PTSD? How is stress different to trauma?

Answer 11

• Although many people experience ASD, most don’t develop PTSD
• High trauma but no PTSD = often due to high social support
• Some people only develop trauma symptoms
• Cognitive Biases
  
  • PTSD sufferers often perceive the world as a dangerous place
  • They blame themselves for the event
  • They often come to view themselves as helpless to deal with stressors
  • If these misconceptions can be eliminated, PTSD may be prevented

Question 12

What psychological help is there for victims?

Answer 12

• Foa, Zoellner & Feeny (2006) developed a Brief Cognitive Behavioural Intervention (B-CBT) to attack these misconceptions:
  
  • Education about common psychological reactions so victims know their responses are normal
  • Training in skills such as relaxation so they are prepared to cope with stress
  • Emotionally reliving the trauma through imaginal exposure methods to allow victims to diffuse fears of the trauma
  • Cognitive restructuring to help replace negative beliefs about competence and adequacy with more realistic appraisals
• Systematic review of early posttraumatic interventions for victims of violent crimes
  
  • CBT is the most promising early intervention for prevention of PTSD
  • No proof of efficacy of psychological debriefing compared to other interventions or a control group
  • CBT is better than PD for early intervention with victims of violent crime

Question 13

What are principles of trauma informed practice?

Answer 13

• Safety: physical, emotional, environmental, cultural, systemic
• Trust: clarity, consistency, interpersonal boundaries
• Collaboration: Sharing power
• Choice: Maximizing client choice and control
• Empowerment: Prioritizing empowerment and skills
• Respect for Diversity: Respect diversity in all its forms
• Trauma enforced practice gives a sense of empowerment to provide support