“28-year-old woman found dead in her home. Her husband called the police shortly afterwards to confess to her murder and then shot himself in the head with a gun”

This type of news, unfortunately, is published or broadcast with some frequency by the media when a crime is committed. When such acts occur, the police services and the judiciary act, investigating what has happened and taking into account a wide range of knowledge in determining what may have happened and why it happened, based on the evidence.

The science that deals with the study of crime and its causes, the ways to prevent it and the way to deal with criminals is criminology. However, there is an essential element that does not appear among the previous ones… Where is the victim? There is a discipline, currently inserted within criminology, that is in charge of its study: victimology .

What is victimology?

Coined by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham , this term refers to the scientific discipline derived from criminology that studies victims of crime in the various phases of victimization.

The creation of this discipline has allowed both the study and the treatment of victims and relatives of all kinds of crimes, which traditional criminology ignored in order to focus on the figure of the offender. It is a relatively young scientific discipline, having its scientific beginnings in the 1930s.

This discipline has numerous variants that have been focusing their attention on different aspects and having different interpretations of reality. However, all the theories and perspectives have in common their objective of study .

It can be said that, in a way, victimology focuses its attention precisely on the people who are in the greatest situation of vulnerability and who, therefore, are the first ones who need to be studied the type of experiences they go through, their sources of discomfort and possible solutions.

Object of study of victimology

The main object of study of this discipline is the victim and his or her characteristics , as well as his or her relationship with the offender and his or her role within the criminal situation.

Specifically, it analyses the set of factors that cause a person to become a victim, whether the situation has been caused by a second person or is due to his or her own actions or chance (such as an accident at work, for example), the relationship of the facts with the law in force and the possible compensation for damages, and the relationship between the aspects that can cause a person to become a victim and the occurrence of the crime.

What is a victim?

To better understand this object of study, it is necessary to define what is meant by a victim. According to resolution 40/34 of 1985 of the UN General Assembly, it is understood as the subject(s) who have suffered physical, psychological or emotional harm, or an attack and diminution of their fundamental rights as a result of actions or omissions that violate the law.

Similarly, his relatives or persons who have suffered damages for assisting the victim will also be considered as such .

Thus, it is understood that the damage experienced by the victims is not an isolated phenomenon that only affects individuals, but that the person who suffers it is inserted in a social fabric through which the discomfort and the deterioration of the quality of life is transmitted.

Methodology

As a scientific discipline, victimology has always been placed in an empirical position , making inductive hypotheses from the observed cases. In this way, it requires surveys and observations of cases and victims to be able to develop valid hypotheses that can contribute to explain the processes of victimization.

Biopsychosocial elements, relationship with the subject who commits the crime and the crime are fundamental clues in order to elaborate a consistent study of the victim and his or her situation in the crime. However, this science must take into account both the need for its immediate use and the need to resemble other natural and social sciences.

The techniques used are the observation of reality, the study and analysis of cases and statistics, interviews and techniques from other sciences such as psychology, medicine, history, economics or computer science, among others.

The main mechanism by which victimology can act is through the denunciation of a crime, together with the testimony of those affected. Even the absence of these elements is an important source of information, since it reflects the position of the various social groups and individuals with respect to the system.

Types of victims

As a science that studies the victims of criminal offences, many authors have made various classifications on typologies of victims.

One of them is that of Jiménez de Asúa , who divides the victims into:

1. Victim identified

It is considered as such the one that is voluntarily chosen by the criminina l , not being its choice the product of chance. An example would be crimes of passion, revenge or crimes carried out by relatives or close associates.

2. Indifferent victim

Chosen at random . The crime could be carried out with any other person without any change in the criminal. An example of this could be fraud or scams, such as tricksters. It is also seen in some criminal acts carried out by psychopaths and serial killers.

3. Resistant victim

A victim who is capable of resisting and defending himself , or who is attacked because or knowing that the subject was going to defend himself.

4. Adjuvant victim

Not every time there is a situation in which a subject is a victim of a crime, he is a subject with no connection to the criminal act. Thus, there are victims who actively participate in the crime, although it is possible that they act under coercion .

Role in victim protection

Apart from studying the victim and the process through which he or she has become a victim , victimology also plays a very important role in post-crime performance .

Specifically, its scope of study allows the creation of services for victims, contributing together with psychologists and other professionals to prepare assistance programs , such as the creation of crisis centers, official protection floors, witness protection programs. Also, information and support provided to victims are generally the most important services.

On the other hand, efforts are also made to prevent the dynamics of personal relationships that often lead to the appearance of victims. In this way, victimology is in contact with many branches of psychology and forensic sciences.

Ethical Caution

As a science that establishes a close contact with the victims of crime, victimology must have special caution in the procedures used when carrying out its activity . It must be taken into account that the victim of a crime, in addition to suffering the crime per se, is subjected to the stress and tension produced by the investigation process (also reliving the often traumatic event), and subsequently dealing with the consequences (physical, psychological, social or occupational) produced by the crime.

In this sense, victimology must try not to cause secondary and/or tertiary victimization in practice, that is, it must try to prevent the victim from being harmed by the mere fact of telling, repeating or reliving traumatic experiences, both at the institutional and social levels.

Bibliographic references:

  • Fattah, E.A. (2000). Victimology: Past, Present and Future. Criminologie, vol. 33, 1. p.17-46
  • Gulotta, G. (1976). La vittima. Milano, Italy. Editore Guiffré
  • Jiménez, L. (1961). The so-called victimology. In Estudios de Derecho Penal y Criminología, I. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Bibliográfica Omeba
  • Langton, L. (2014). Socio-emotional impact of violent crime. Washington: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
  • Lauritsen, J.L. (2010). Advances and Challenges in Empirical Studies on Victimization, Journal of Quantitative Criminology 26: 501-508.
  • Márquez, A.E. (2011). Victimology as a study. Rediscovery of the victim for the criminal process. Prolegomenon Magazine. Rights and Values. Bogotá. Vol. XIV, 27.
  • Marshall, L. E. & Marshall, W.L. (2011). Empathy and Antisocial Behaviour, Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology 22, 5: 742-759.
  • McDonald, W. (1976). Towards a bicentennial revolution in criminal justice: the return of the victim, The American Criminal Law Review 13: 649-673.
  • Neuman, E. (1994). El rol de la víctima en los delitos convencionales y no convencionales, 2nd ed: Buenos Aires: Universidad.
  • Varona, G.; de la Cuesta, J.L.; Mayordomo, V. and Pérez, A.I. (2015) Victimology. An approach through its fundamental concepts as tools for understanding and intervention.