Week 9 : Victimology Flashcards
1
Q
victimology is…
A
- the scientific study of the extent, nature & causes of criminal victimization, its consequences for the persons involved & reactions to it by society, the police & the criminal justice system, as well as voluntary workers & professional helpers
- *a sub-field of crim
- *really focuses on relationship between victims & perps of crime, against backdrop of social institutions like CJS
2
Q
secondary victimization…
A
- indirect consequence of the criminal act & ‘perpetrated’ unwittingly
- victims account might be discredited/may not be provided with support & services they need
- there is a ton of ways that a victims experience may be compounded into secondary victimization
- Non-emotional victims are more likely to experience secondary victimization than emotional victims
- Some of the most notorious cases of secondary victimization involve missing + murdered indigenous women + girls in Canada
3
Q
History of victimology…
A
- first, ppl who cause injury/death of someone had to pay compensation to victims family/clan… this was replaced by harsh physical punishment (death penalty)
- criminology was a thing but victimology was not until 19th century
- started cuz idea that criminal deeds have an offender-victim relation let researchers to focus on relationships between perps & victims… this lead to victim blaming
- then society shifted to more humanistic victimology and gained formal recognizing in 1985
4
Q
*Victimization surveys…
A
- study vulnerable groups of ppl
- attempt to understand the victimization process
- new instrument was needed to collect data
- ask respondents whether they have been a victim of crime & if they have, it will ask abt their experiences, their impressions of how the CJS dealt with them + their crime
5
Q
Benefits to victimization surveys…
A
- *Tap into the dark figure of crime (unreported)
- The extent and distribution of selected crimes
- The impact of selected crimes
- The risk of victimization
- The victims perception of the functioning & effectiveness of aspects of CJS
6
Q
*Disadvantages to victimization surveys…
A
- honesty
- non responsiveness
- forgetful &may not feel comfortable
- may not fully understand a question on the survey
- they’re expensive + time consuming
- need a large sample
- provide more questions than answers (produce anxiety/fear)
7
Q
Canadian victimization surveys…
A
- 1980s Canadian Urban Victimization Survey (CUVS) = phone interviews w some 60,000 randomly sampled ppl over 17 in 7 cities & covered 7 categories of crime
- 1988 Statistics Canada included a victimization survey in its General Social Survey (GSS) = replaced CUVS, focuses on different topic each year
- 1993 cross-Canada Violence Against Women Survey (VAWS) = designed to overtime limitations of traditional survey techniques in IPV issues
8
Q
Canadas Violence Against Women Survey (VAWS)
A
- *examines women’s safety inside and outside the home
- since 2001 the federal government has conducted annual surveys on family violence
- sexual harassment, sexual violence, physical violence, perceptions of fear
- *50% of women, according to VAWS, reported they had experienced at least 1 incident of violence since the age of 16
- *Indigenous threat of victimization is way higher compared to general pop… more likely to experience sexual & physical abuse by a partner & abuse reported is much more violent
- Indigenous women twice as likely to be victimized thru assault w a weapon, beating or strangulation, threats involving firearm/knife or being forced into committing sex acts
9
Q
International crime victims survey…
A
- conducted 6 times between 1989-2005
- 80 countries
- data allowed international comparisons of crime
- shows… Canada had a downward trend in victimization rates, car theft first to decline, assault victimization declined & drop In reported crime pretty universal
- the concerns here are the methodologies
10
Q
Age - (victim characteristics)
A
- *15-24 has the highest rates of victimization across all major categories (sexual & physical assault, robbery & theft of personal property)
- *65+ more likely to the victims of fraud but nothing else even close to the younger ones… they have a big fear of it tho
- just under 20% of Canadians 15+ report being a victim in last 12 months
- 45% of all cases involving kids investigates by welfare ppl constituted substantial cases of abuse
- strong correlation between lifestyle, age & victimization
11
Q
Gender - (victim characteristics)
A
- *women in Canada more likely to be victims of sexual assault & theft than men
- *men more likely to be victims of robbery & assault
- women are more likely to be victimized than men by a margin of 212 vs 187 per 1000
- 4 in 5 Canadian undergrad students claimed to have experienced violence in a dating relationship
- before 1983, Canadian law did not recognize rape within marriage
- 8% of women and 5% of men experience IPV and the incidence rate for men has increased
12
Q
Household income - (victim characteristics)
A
- *household incomes above $100,000+ are more likely to have their houses vandalized/broken into (more valuables and good shit)
- violent victimization rates reported high among families w/ income of less than $40,000 per year
13
Q
Marital status - (victim characteristics)
A
- *IPV more likely to be committed by husband against wife
- dramatically underreported
14
Q
Sexual orientation - (victim characteristics)
A
- *LGBTQ+ individuals experience victimization more than heterosexual ppl
- 2.5 times more then heterosexual ppl
- bisexual ppl specifically experiencing higher victimization rate
15
Q
Race & ethnicity - (victim characteristics)
A
- *Racial discrimination is over represented in the CJS
- *Indigenous women and black ppl are disproportionately likely to be street checked
- In Canada, the government does not release crime statistics broken down by ethnic background of the victims or the perpetrators… so its hard to gain insight
