Forensic - Victims Flashcards
Victims are people who have suffered harm, including _____ or _______ injury, emotional suffering, _______ loss or substantial impairment of their rights, through acts or ________ that are in violation of _____.
Victims are usually:
- from _______ areas (18 vs 12%)
- _______ offenses - usually young professionals
- age ______ yrs
- single
- _____ income
- unemployed
- active _______ life
- high _____
BUT generally crime is decreasing!
physical mental economic omissions laws
urban property 16-24 low evening alcohol
Despite victim characteristics, who fears crime and what do they fear?
What does Australian data say?
- elderly women report highest fear
- young males least fear
- most fear violence from strangers, but crimes are generally committed by non-strangers
- 80% Australians feel safe inside their homes, 40% feel safe outside at night
- Most feared activity - catching the train
Historical Views of Crime
Early middle ages - Victims or their survivors played a _____ role in _____ proceedings and _______. But this “golden age” ended when crimes were thought of as a crime _______ the ______. Victims were just part of the _______. This was so the court system could become more _______. Until recently, little _____ for victims in criminal justice system.
1960s - criticisms that the government offered the victims little support.
1970s - popularisation of ______ the victim
key trial sentencing against the state evidence objective rights blaming
Discuss the two reasons why we might blame the victim:
- Fundamental Attribution Error
- Just-World Hypothesis
- the tendency for observers to underestimate the situational/environmental impact and overestimate the dispositional impact. We assume something happened to them because of something they did.
eg: “they’re a bad driver” as opposed to “they’re a bad driver in this situation because they’re running late”
eg: “she’s crabby because she’s self-involved” vs “she’s crabby because she’s under a lot of pressure”. - We like to believe the world is fair and that people get what they deserve - the good are rewarded and the bad are punished - fairy stories. This satisfies our need to feel safe; “if I’m a good person it won’t happen to me”
Blaming the victim shapes our ______ to victims. Societal norms demand that we ____ others. But if people are responsible for their own suffering we do not feel ______ to help.
responses
help
obliged
What is secondary victimisation?
Issues after the crime due to the criminal justice system can lead to secondary victimisation.
Victims have:
- uncertainty about their role in the justice process
- lack of knowledge of how the system works, jargon, procedures, etc
- trial delays means missed work, wasted time, frequent travel
- fear of retaliation from defendant
- trauma of testifying and cross-examining
- media - homicide cases
Victims are often ________ with the criminal justice system. Some said the courts were too _____ and wasted time, others that the criminal was not ________ enough and only 30% felt the court _____ about their needs
dissatisfied
slow
punished
cared
Response to Victims - Compensation of the crime victims
What is restitution and what are the pros and cons?
Defendant has to compensate the victims. The government can also compensate victims to pay medical expenses and lost wages.
Pros
- victims reimbursed
- helps offenders appreciate how crimes have hurt others (as they have to pay up themselves)
Cons
- There is no defendant if the crime is not solved or is acquitted
- Defendant may not be financially able to compensate victim…how can you put a dollar value on rape, murder?
Response to Victims - Participation by victims in criminal proceedings
There is a concern that important ______ are made without the ______ of the victims. In Australia, victims have a ______ to be _______ of and ______ court proceedings and a right to make their ______ known, either to the prosecutor or to the judge.
Further, after court proceedings have been finalised, it is possible for the victim to read a _____ _______evidence. This is evidence offered after ________ to show the _______ on the victim of the crime for which the ________ had been convicted.
decisions input right notified attend views
victim impact evidence
sentencing
impact
defendant
Response to Victims - Legislative changes protecting victims’ rights
Many states have passed ____ to _______ victims’ rights. These include:
- _______ of proceedings
- ________ of defendant being released from custody
- _________ in trial and proceedings
- to be heard at ______ stages, such as offender ______, plea bargaining and _______.
- to receive ________
laws protect notification notification inclusion crucial release sentencing restiution
Response to Victims - Reconciling victims and offenders
What is restorative justice and what are the pros and cons?
Restorative justice are resolution conferences between victim and offender where they discuss the crime. They come to an agreement of what could be done to make things better.
pros
- closure for the victim - helps them understand why the offender committed the crime
- can help offender to realise victims pain
- accountability - offender has to take responsibility for their actions
- competency development - helps offender develop empathy, communication skills, conflict resolution skills, etc
- community safety
cons
- both parties have to agree to it
Psychological effects of victimisation
What is stockholm syndrome?
Paradoxical phenomenon where hostages exhibit empathy and positive regard for their captors, sometimes to the extent of defending them.
Often is derived from the victims feeling a sense of gratitude that nothing more serious happened to them.
Psychological effects of victimisation
Victims can be at risk of developing ______ ______ disorder (ASD) or later (after 1 month), ______. The extent of life ______ increases the degree of PTSD. It more commonly occurs in _______. High levels of _______ immediately following the event cen prevent PTSD. Cognitive biases which lead to PTSD include:
- perception of the world as a _________ place
- _______ themselves for the event
- viewing themselves as _________ to deal with stressors
acute stress disorder PTSD threat women support dangerous blaming helpless
Psychological help for victims
Describe the 4 stages of the PTSD prevention course by Foa et al. 1995. Is it effective at preventing PTSD?
- education - about common reactions to trauma
- training - skills such as relaxation to cope with stress
- emotionally reliving of the experience - imaginal exposure - allows diffusion of fears of the trauma
- cognitive restructuring - helps replace negative beliefs about their competency and have realistic views about the world and themselves
Very effective - two months after trauma, 70% of untreated women developed PTSD, and only 10% of treated women
Psychological help for victims
Many victims prefer the term _______. Traditionally, destructive consequences of _______ events have been emphasised. But researchers have been balancing this out by also focusing on ______ and ______. We need to know more about those who are doing well!
survivors
negative
coping
resilience
