Victimology: Historical Overview, Victim Precipitation, General and Critical Victimology, Victim Movements, and Victimization Survey Data

Running head: VICTIMOLOGY
Victimology
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1VICTIMOLOGY
1. There is a historical overview of the change from a Victim Justice System to a Criminal
Justice System. It can be stated that the original discipline of victimology was born out of a
desire for studying the victims for answering all kinds of legal and social questions. The term
victimology can be defined as a preventive issue that is linked to the social health. Presently,
it has developed to a criminal justice system where the texts are treated as a presumed
victimhood for all the existing numbers that can be applied and acts as an objective for the
offender-victim relationship. However, the concept of the victim study is relatable to the legal
conflict. From the introduction of victimology till the Middle Ages the burden of the justice
system generally fell on the victim. Hence, it was observed that the justice system had
operated as per the principle of lextalionis. This suggested a theory where a criminal will be
punished according to their acts and will cause equal amount of harm. When the victim
justice system has developed in the criminal justice system, a retributive justice theory is
applied as it holds the best replies to a crime that is proportional to the offence. In the
criminal justice system, it can be said that a convicted offender can get an order of restitution
from the Court. Restitution is given on the criminals, as it is a state government program.
Previously, a set of criminologists, legal scholars and sociologists stated a similar theory
where the victims were being overlooked as a source of information regarding the criminals
and crimes. The gemeinschaft home acts a restorative justice while dealing with the
offenders. The restorative justice is a concept that has developed over the years.
2. The term Victim precipitation covers the basic degree according to which the victim is
usually held laible for her or his own victimization. As per the views of the scholars, the
typology involved with this issue implicates the contribution of the victims as a causative
factor when the crime is committed. The concept of victim precipitation deals with the
patterns of criminal behavior. For instance, there have been plenty of homicides that have
occurred due to victim precipitation. In case of victim precipitation, there has been an
interpersonal relationship between the offender and the victim. Criminal behavior also
includes rape incidents that take place in the society. There are existing factors that usually
helps in precipitating the criminal acts of the offenders. The victim can therefore state
whether precipitated rape was an essential factor. Various scholars have opined differently
regarding the concept of victim precipitation. According to the views of Amir, the victims
associated with the crime can psychologically standards of behavior. However, it might vary
between males and females. The idea of victim precipitation should not be abandoned as per
the knowledge of Cooler. Thereafter, the victim precipitation assumes in the scenario that the
offender gets activated only when the offender emits a few specific signals. The behavior of
the victim is sufficient and essential for causing a criminal act (Camp and Van). Hence, an
individual must conceive of the concept of victim precipitation as a factor of contribution.
Critical victimology refers to other factors and crimes that are associated with the victims. It
consists of war crimes, deportation, smuggling, privacy and human slave trade. Thus, these
shortcomings help in underlining the approach of victim precipitation.
3. There have been lack of theoretical advances that brings the genuine tension form the
concepts of victimology including both general and critical. According to Mendelsohn,
general victimology must come out of the provincial backwaters of criminology and the
domain, which it owns. Therefore, over the years, victimology was independent from the
term criminology (Walklate). General victimology deals with five kinds of victims. They are
the social environment, technology, a criminal, natural environment and one’s self. The
victims of social environment help in incorporating class and group oppression. Individuals
who do the scientific innovations in the society are regarded to be technological victims.
Natural environment deals with the natural calamities, which consist of hurricanes, floods and
earthquake. These were the major concerns of general victimology. Critical victimology