Positivist Victimology: A Critique

Abstract

This article traces the development of two main theoretical accounts of victimisation. The first of its two parts is an intellectual history of positivist victimology. In its attempt to define victimisation by an examination of those held to be victims, positivist victimology has traditionally pursued three major concerns: the identification of factors in individuals or their environment that conduce to a non-random risk of victimisation, a concentration on inter-personal crimes of violence, and the identification of victims who may be held to have contributed to their victimisation. The article argues that each of these concerns suffers from serious difficulties which have inevitably limited the potential of positivist victimology to explain the everyday social process of identifying and responding to victimising events. The second part argues that this process performs a central role in social life; it is a principal means by which societies maintain their values and identify the limits of non-compliance with them. Critical victimology argues that as the process of labelling individuals as victims involves a statement of values, it is essential to analyse how, when and why some who sustain injury are labelled victims, and others not. The article draws on work within social psychology to explain the main parameters of these decisions.

Words as Weapons?When Do They Wound? Investigations of Harmful Speech

“…The victim of crime as an object of study has received an increased interest in the past couple of decades in both academic (e.g., child and elderly abuse, domestic violence, date rape, sexual harassment) and policy (e.g., establishment of victim/witness, offender restitution, and victim assistance programs) circles. Traditionally, the victim of wrongdoing had largely been ignored because law enforcement agencies had an overriding interest in detecting offenders (Miers, 1989). As the American Psychological Association (1985) documented, billions have been spent to apprehend, prosecute, incarcerate, rehabilitate, and study criminals.…”

Exploring Race Hate Crime Reporting in Wales Following Brexit

“…Schafer (1968) extended this work yet there was a clear distinction between victim typologies that held a greater level of responsibility over becoming a victim and those that were simply easy targets and held no responsibility such as the biologically weak and socially weak, which would include people with a disability and racial immigrants and minorities, which we would associate as "hate crime victims". Miers (1989) focussed on Positivist Victimology, identifying factors that contribute to non-random victimisation and identified victims who are prone to contributing to their own victimisation through the victim precipitation theory. The theory suggests that the victim exhibits behaviours or hold characteristics that encourage the attack.…”

Miedo común y precauciones normales. Mujeres, seguridad y control social

“…La culpabilidad de la víctima ha sido uno de los temas más importantes en la literatura de la victimología (Miers 1989, Walklate 1989) y, más específicamen-te, en la literatura sobre victimización femenina. Aún más, las imágenes de la víctima culpable se han convertido en un elemento muy importante del diario discurso sobre los criminales y las víctimas (Madriz 1995).…”