1: HISTORY, ORIGIN & CONCEPTS
1 THE ORIGIN
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Victimology
- = The scientific study of the extent, nature, and causes of (criminal) victimization, its
consequences for the individuals involved, and societal responses, particularly those of
the police, criminal justice system, as well as voluntary and welfare services (VWS)
o Criminal is between brackets, which might be an exam question!
o So victimology is the scientific study of crime victims
§ It looks at how people become victims, how they are affected by crime,
and how society and the justice system respond to them
- Often considered a subdiscipline: psychiatry, law, social work
o However, criminologists have the greatest influence
o It is an essential component of offender studies within criminology, so
victimology has thus become an integral part of criminological sciences
- Exercice: Who’s the victim? D
o Criminals, especially the ones that expose themselves to violent circumstances,
have a much higher chance to become a victim of violence themselve
Leopold Szondi: genotropism (1930s)
- = Reciprocal attraction of the same/similar recessive genes influencing human behavior
(instinct) → this theoretical insight hasn’t been proved yet!
o People are unconsciously drawn to others who share similar hereditary traits…
o Szondi believed that genetic factors influence our life choices, for example who
we marry, befriend, or even come into conflict with
- So why would you go for this person, and how come certain people become more or are
more likely to become victims of crimes?
o It has something to do with genes, however, this was not proven
o It led to thinking about victimization and people started asking questions
§ Why do people become victims? Is it a coincidence?
o There appears to be something behind
§ Not everyone had an equal opportunity to become a victim, because
some are more likely to become a victim than others
Ted Bundy (1946-1989)
- Serial killer that confirmed 36 victims in the 1970s, all of them were women
- Victim selection is a matter of opportunity
1
, o He claimed that he could identify a potential victim by the way she walks down
the street, the way she carries her head, her body language...
o Research confirms that victims exhibit certain typical body language, especially
in the way they walk ~ victim selection: Ted Bundy only selected women
o Studies have shown that psychopaths are more accurate in recognizing potential
victims because of their heightened sensitivity to vulnerability cues
1.2 FIRST MENTION OF VICTIMOLOGY
First mention of 'victimology'
- Mendelsohn (1947): during the presentation of a paper
o Hence, he is considered the spiritual father of the victim movement
o He said that we need to look at the role of victims
§ Because at that point in criminology the focus was always on the
perpetrator and the crime but never on the victim itself
§ So therefore he came with the idea to change that whole narrative
- Werthem (1949) also advocates for a "crime victim-centered" science
o Focused particularly on murder, more specifically the murdered victim
First systematic investigation into crime victims by von Hentig
- He was the first to address the role of the victim in crimes with his book "The Criminal
and his Victim" (1948) and part 4 "The Victim's contribution to the genesis of the crime"
o He was the first to state that the victim may not be as neutral as we
thought, and that they play an active role in the way that crime occurs
- Critique of the one-dimensional perspective within criminology
o The victim might play a role in the genesis or the establishment of the crime
o Ex. sometimes people get murdered, while in reality the victim was the first one
to begin the violent act of crime → Why victims do what they do?
"The law considers certain results and the final moves which lead to them. Here it makes a
clear-cut distinction between the one who does and the one who suffers. Looking into the
genesis of the situation, in a considerable number of cases, we meet a victim who consents
tacitly, cooperates, conspires, or provokes. The victim is one of the causative elements."
- If you want to understand crime, you need to understand the victim’s behavior as well
- Von Hentig came with the idea of “victim proneness”
o He made a classification (categorization) based on the traits of victims
o In this he stated that some people are more likely to become victims because of
their traits, for example: young, old, female, drunken…
- Conclusion: this is the first study within “victimology”
o In the beginning they focused on the “victim precipitation”
§ The victim plays an active role, either intentionally or unintentionally at
start, provoking or escalating the events that lead to their victimization
o However, in the 70’s there was a lot of critique on this way of thinking
§ Therefore they called it “victim blaming”
2
,Number of theoretical studies
- Studies on victim types, studies on the relationship between victim and offender, and
studies on the role victims play in certain criminal phenomena
- Mendolsohn (1956) spoke of “victim culpability”
o He developed a typology related to the degree of victim blame
o Therefore he created six categories in which he classified victims depending on
how much responsibility they had for their own victimization
§ 1 = completely innocent victim (ex. children)
§ 6 = most guilty victim (ex. victim is the main cause of the crime)
Number of empirical studies
- Murder, rape, theft, assault, fraud, extortion...
- Martin Wolfgang: "victim precipitated criminal homicide" (1957)
o Precipitating = not really contributing to the genesis of crime, but facilitating the
crime, so this is not victim blaming but trying to understand the act of crime
o 588 murder cases between 1948-1952 in Philadelphia
§ 26% victim precipitated cases where the victim was the first to engage in
violence, so in one to four cases the victim was the one starting the fight
§ Main message: some victims, especially in violent crimes like homicide,
may play an active role in triggering the incident…
• He called it “victim precipitation” (= aandeel van het slachtoffer)
• He conducted a real empirical research on victim precipitation
- Menachem Amir: "victim precipitated forcible rape" (1967)
o Active 'contribution': accepting a drink from a stranger, riding with a stranger
o Passive 'contribution': not reacting strongly enough to sexual advances
o Ex. alcohol, "reputation", place of residence, meeting place...
§ No excuse for the offender, but our gut feeling tells us it is wrong
1.3 THE 1970’S, A PERIOD OF CRITIQUE
The following three individuals are considered the founders of victimology
- But their perspective was not particularly victim-friendly
o That’s why their work received a lot of criticism in the 1970s, mainly
from feminist scholars, for containing too much victim blaming
o First attention to the victim in criminology, previously no attention at
all, focused on the role of the victim in the occurrence of the crime
- Theoretical studies without empirical basis ~ typologies of victims
o Von Hentig (1948): victim proneness
§ It created a categorization based on the characteristics of the
victim, which made them more likely to become a victim
o Mendelsohn (1956): victim culpability
§ It developed a typology related to the victim’s blame, dividing
victims into six categories based on the degree to which they
3
, were responsible for their own victimization, ranging from
completely innocent to fully guilty
- First empirical research → Wolfgang (1957): victim precipitation
o He analyzed 588 case files and he argued that in ¼ of the cases,
women themselves contributed to the fact that they were murdered,
for example, by initiating the attack
Victim precipitation or victim-blaming?
- Especially in the 1970s, victim precipitation was increasingly seen as victim-blaming
o That is the reason why studies on victim precipitation (= het aandeel van
slachtoffers bij de totstandkoming van criminaliteit) was declining…
o Victim preciptated crime, means that the victim has something to do with the way
that the crime occurs, for example is the first to attack
§ Now it is very sensitive because of the way that they “blame the victim”
§ At the core of these pioneers: victims of crimes
• Robbery, rape, murder… was their focus
• Not victims of accidents or natural disasters
- Difficult to tell the difference between victim precipitation and victim-blaming
o Victim precipitation: ex. you opened the door and the person killed you
o Victim-blaming: ex. the killer says that he was attracted to commit the act of
crime because the person himself/herself had opened the door
- Victim precipitation research has contributed to two major criminological theories
o Lifestyle theory from Hindelang (1978)
§ This theory was developed based on the results of a large-
scale survey study among victims, in which researchers
examined what common characteristics the victims shared
§ Main finding: there is a connection between the likelihood of
victimization and individual (differences in) lifestyle activities
§ Certain lifestyle activities lead to a higher level of exposure to
risky situations at specific times and places
• Ex. young people have different lifestyle activities
(nightlife-oriented) than older people
• This increases the likelihood of victimization related to
going out, for example assaults at bars or at parties
o Routine activities theory from Cohen and Felson (1979): this theory states that
crime occurs when three elements come together:
§ Motivated offender: someone with the intent to commit a criminal act
§ Suitable target: attractive in terms of value, visibility, accessibility… or on
the other hand lack of protection (policing strategies)
§ Absence of capable guardianship: lack of social control or supervision
o At the core of these pioneers: victims of crimes
§ 1950s-1960s, but also during the 1970s-1980s
§ Due to the emergence of professional assistance for crime victims
§ Ex. Sutherland looked at offenders of regulations (white collar crime)
4
1 THE ORIGIN
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Victimology
- = The scientific study of the extent, nature, and causes of (criminal) victimization, its
consequences for the individuals involved, and societal responses, particularly those of
the police, criminal justice system, as well as voluntary and welfare services (VWS)
o Criminal is between brackets, which might be an exam question!
o So victimology is the scientific study of crime victims
§ It looks at how people become victims, how they are affected by crime,
and how society and the justice system respond to them
- Often considered a subdiscipline: psychiatry, law, social work
o However, criminologists have the greatest influence
o It is an essential component of offender studies within criminology, so
victimology has thus become an integral part of criminological sciences
- Exercice: Who’s the victim? D
o Criminals, especially the ones that expose themselves to violent circumstances,
have a much higher chance to become a victim of violence themselve
Leopold Szondi: genotropism (1930s)
- = Reciprocal attraction of the same/similar recessive genes influencing human behavior
(instinct) → this theoretical insight hasn’t been proved yet!
o People are unconsciously drawn to others who share similar hereditary traits…
o Szondi believed that genetic factors influence our life choices, for example who
we marry, befriend, or even come into conflict with
- So why would you go for this person, and how come certain people become more or are
more likely to become victims of crimes?
o It has something to do with genes, however, this was not proven
o It led to thinking about victimization and people started asking questions
§ Why do people become victims? Is it a coincidence?
o There appears to be something behind
§ Not everyone had an equal opportunity to become a victim, because
some are more likely to become a victim than others
Ted Bundy (1946-1989)
- Serial killer that confirmed 36 victims in the 1970s, all of them were women
- Victim selection is a matter of opportunity
1
, o He claimed that he could identify a potential victim by the way she walks down
the street, the way she carries her head, her body language...
o Research confirms that victims exhibit certain typical body language, especially
in the way they walk ~ victim selection: Ted Bundy only selected women
o Studies have shown that psychopaths are more accurate in recognizing potential
victims because of their heightened sensitivity to vulnerability cues
1.2 FIRST MENTION OF VICTIMOLOGY
First mention of 'victimology'
- Mendelsohn (1947): during the presentation of a paper
o Hence, he is considered the spiritual father of the victim movement
o He said that we need to look at the role of victims
§ Because at that point in criminology the focus was always on the
perpetrator and the crime but never on the victim itself
§ So therefore he came with the idea to change that whole narrative
- Werthem (1949) also advocates for a "crime victim-centered" science
o Focused particularly on murder, more specifically the murdered victim
First systematic investigation into crime victims by von Hentig
- He was the first to address the role of the victim in crimes with his book "The Criminal
and his Victim" (1948) and part 4 "The Victim's contribution to the genesis of the crime"
o He was the first to state that the victim may not be as neutral as we
thought, and that they play an active role in the way that crime occurs
- Critique of the one-dimensional perspective within criminology
o The victim might play a role in the genesis or the establishment of the crime
o Ex. sometimes people get murdered, while in reality the victim was the first one
to begin the violent act of crime → Why victims do what they do?
"The law considers certain results and the final moves which lead to them. Here it makes a
clear-cut distinction between the one who does and the one who suffers. Looking into the
genesis of the situation, in a considerable number of cases, we meet a victim who consents
tacitly, cooperates, conspires, or provokes. The victim is one of the causative elements."
- If you want to understand crime, you need to understand the victim’s behavior as well
- Von Hentig came with the idea of “victim proneness”
o He made a classification (categorization) based on the traits of victims
o In this he stated that some people are more likely to become victims because of
their traits, for example: young, old, female, drunken…
- Conclusion: this is the first study within “victimology”
o In the beginning they focused on the “victim precipitation”
§ The victim plays an active role, either intentionally or unintentionally at
start, provoking or escalating the events that lead to their victimization
o However, in the 70’s there was a lot of critique on this way of thinking
§ Therefore they called it “victim blaming”
2
,Number of theoretical studies
- Studies on victim types, studies on the relationship between victim and offender, and
studies on the role victims play in certain criminal phenomena
- Mendolsohn (1956) spoke of “victim culpability”
o He developed a typology related to the degree of victim blame
o Therefore he created six categories in which he classified victims depending on
how much responsibility they had for their own victimization
§ 1 = completely innocent victim (ex. children)
§ 6 = most guilty victim (ex. victim is the main cause of the crime)
Number of empirical studies
- Murder, rape, theft, assault, fraud, extortion...
- Martin Wolfgang: "victim precipitated criminal homicide" (1957)
o Precipitating = not really contributing to the genesis of crime, but facilitating the
crime, so this is not victim blaming but trying to understand the act of crime
o 588 murder cases between 1948-1952 in Philadelphia
§ 26% victim precipitated cases where the victim was the first to engage in
violence, so in one to four cases the victim was the one starting the fight
§ Main message: some victims, especially in violent crimes like homicide,
may play an active role in triggering the incident…
• He called it “victim precipitation” (= aandeel van het slachtoffer)
• He conducted a real empirical research on victim precipitation
- Menachem Amir: "victim precipitated forcible rape" (1967)
o Active 'contribution': accepting a drink from a stranger, riding with a stranger
o Passive 'contribution': not reacting strongly enough to sexual advances
o Ex. alcohol, "reputation", place of residence, meeting place...
§ No excuse for the offender, but our gut feeling tells us it is wrong
1.3 THE 1970’S, A PERIOD OF CRITIQUE
The following three individuals are considered the founders of victimology
- But their perspective was not particularly victim-friendly
o That’s why their work received a lot of criticism in the 1970s, mainly
from feminist scholars, for containing too much victim blaming
o First attention to the victim in criminology, previously no attention at
all, focused on the role of the victim in the occurrence of the crime
- Theoretical studies without empirical basis ~ typologies of victims
o Von Hentig (1948): victim proneness
§ It created a categorization based on the characteristics of the
victim, which made them more likely to become a victim
o Mendelsohn (1956): victim culpability
§ It developed a typology related to the victim’s blame, dividing
victims into six categories based on the degree to which they
3
, were responsible for their own victimization, ranging from
completely innocent to fully guilty
- First empirical research → Wolfgang (1957): victim precipitation
o He analyzed 588 case files and he argued that in ¼ of the cases,
women themselves contributed to the fact that they were murdered,
for example, by initiating the attack
Victim precipitation or victim-blaming?
- Especially in the 1970s, victim precipitation was increasingly seen as victim-blaming
o That is the reason why studies on victim precipitation (= het aandeel van
slachtoffers bij de totstandkoming van criminaliteit) was declining…
o Victim preciptated crime, means that the victim has something to do with the way
that the crime occurs, for example is the first to attack
§ Now it is very sensitive because of the way that they “blame the victim”
§ At the core of these pioneers: victims of crimes
• Robbery, rape, murder… was their focus
• Not victims of accidents or natural disasters
- Difficult to tell the difference between victim precipitation and victim-blaming
o Victim precipitation: ex. you opened the door and the person killed you
o Victim-blaming: ex. the killer says that he was attracted to commit the act of
crime because the person himself/herself had opened the door
- Victim precipitation research has contributed to two major criminological theories
o Lifestyle theory from Hindelang (1978)
§ This theory was developed based on the results of a large-
scale survey study among victims, in which researchers
examined what common characteristics the victims shared
§ Main finding: there is a connection between the likelihood of
victimization and individual (differences in) lifestyle activities
§ Certain lifestyle activities lead to a higher level of exposure to
risky situations at specific times and places
• Ex. young people have different lifestyle activities
(nightlife-oriented) than older people
• This increases the likelihood of victimization related to
going out, for example assaults at bars or at parties
o Routine activities theory from Cohen and Felson (1979): this theory states that
crime occurs when three elements come together:
§ Motivated offender: someone with the intent to commit a criminal act
§ Suitable target: attractive in terms of value, visibility, accessibility… or on
the other hand lack of protection (policing strategies)
§ Absence of capable guardianship: lack of social control or supervision
o At the core of these pioneers: victims of crimes
§ 1950s-1960s, but also during the 1970s-1980s
§ Due to the emergence of professional assistance for crime victims
§ Ex. Sutherland looked at offenders of regulations (white collar crime)
4
