The Impact of Victimization

Introduction

Criminology is defined as a scientific study that looks into the causes of crime, nature of the crimes committed, ways to control the criminality behavior of those engaged in crime, and to what extent the crime affects individual members of the society and the society as a whole (Levinson, 2002). To best deal with the effects or causes of the major component of the social science, criminology, it is usually best to understand the main component; which in this case is the crime itself. There are three main sides to any crime: The crime perpetrator, the victim of the crime, and lastly the investigative authority. The perpetrator is usually the individual who benefits the most from the occurrence of any crime, while the victim is the person or group of persons that bear the greatest blunt of the crime, usually those who suffer directly from the acts of the perpetrator. The investigative authority is the last side that is usually charged with the task of finding the usually mysterious perpetrator and kick starts the process of justice for the victims by identifying the perpetrator.

Based on the fact that it usually is the crime victim who stands to loose the most from the occurrence of a crime, criminology takes a closer look at these individuals through a sub section known as victimology. Victimology can loosely be defined as the study outlaying the effects of victimization ranging from the victims to the offenders and their interaction during the search for justice via criminal courts, and how the victims connect with the social systems such as businesses, media or any other institutions (Levinson, 2002). The aim of this research paper is to look at the different types of criminal victimization, the domain of where greatest victimization takes place and mainly though, the main impact of victimization to individuals, society, law enforcement and children.

Types of victimization

By the most basic of definitions in the context of criminology, victimization can be seen as the act or process of an individual, group or even society becoming the main target or main recipient of a crime. Before the impacts of victimization can even be looked at, it is important to look into the various kinds of victimization that exists.

Intimate partner victimization

In the many interpersonal close and intimate relationships that exist in the society there usually lies a very bitter hidden truth. Many people are of the illusion that love, romance and marriage are a bed of roses; however, the harsh reality is that it is in these very relationships that many end up suffering the most. Sexual and physical victimization occurs with women usually hurting the most. According to a survey conducted in both 1998 and 2000 by the National Violence Against Women Survey, 25% compared to 8% of men reported physical assault or rape in their lifetime (Miller, 2009).

Property victimization

Based on a combination of perceived relative wealth, ease of access or just plain hatred, people who, for instance, live in large apartments in the city be it rental or otherwise end up being victims of targeted crime in most cases. It has been shown by statistics that by ratio they suffer the highest incidents of household burglary and vehicle theft. Generally the ratios show that those living in urban areas experience the most burglar attacks followed by those in suburban and the least victimized are rural residents (DeValve, 2005).

Victimization by strangers and victimization by friends and acquaintances

The risk of theft and personal violence by strangers can largely be attributed to predator victimization whereby the risk factor for its occurrence can strongly be linked to community characteristics and theft risk. These risks are most likely in places where large crowds of strangers come together for whatever reason. However, one of the greatest risks of crime victims is those that are perpetrated by friends or close acquaintances. This is because the victim is mostly blindsided by the smokescreen, that is, their familiarity and friendship to the perpetrator. Statistics show that as many as 38% of female victims of rape reported that their attackers were people whom they considered to be their friends (Miller, 2009).

Domains or places of victimization

The precursor to the occurrence of any crime is the opportunity presented by the surroundings. It is no wonder that different locations seem to have different susceptibility to a variety of different crimes. For instances due to the organizational structure of a workplace, some employees in different levels of administration will tend to have a higher risk factor of a crime being committed to them or in close proximity to them (Miller, 2009). The mere position of a bank teller makes them very highly susceptible to injuries and even death during a bank robbery. Another case in point is that management level employees, especially of color, are likely to be the victims of racially targeted crimes and abuse from their junior staff. Schools and colleges provide a very rich environment where victimization can occur. Since these are places where a multitude of young people from different moral and financial backgrounds come together, conflicts are bound to occur. In schools, if these conflicts are not properly checked they may result in violence breaking out within parking lots and hallways were there is minimal teacher presence. In colleges, theft among students is a very real and likely occurrence (Miller, 2009). However, it is in leisure joints such as parks, bars, movie theaters and beaches where strangers interact that the risk of stranger victimization is at an all new high. For example, in a place with many bars, the kind of crowds that gather in them greatly increase the risk of crimes such as robberies, scuffles in the bar room or even assault in the area.

The Impact of Victimization

The impact of victimization is similar in more ways than one to crime. The reason is quite simple as it is the commission of the crime that results to the victim undergoing suffering (Levinson, 2002). So the compositional effects of a crime, where by the consequences of the crime is correlated to the individuals, also affect how the crime victims are affected. In the compositional effects, characteristics of persons from different demographics tend to have different likelihoods to be involved in criminal activity. It is a well known fact that crime rates in the United States are highest in inner city regions where drug abuse, sexual trade and gang related violence are rampant. Consequently, it is in these same neighborhoods where the greatest victims of the very crimes perpetrated in the neighborhoods also reside. The impacts also vary depending on the type of crime that was committed in the first place. Thus these impacts vary from emotional, social, financial and physical impacts all the way to psychological impacts (Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, 2005). The impact of victimization is however not just limited to the person who suffered the initial crime but rather it is a web that entangles the society as a whole and the legal apparatus of law enforcement and courts of law that are legally tasked to reduce crime rates.

Physical impacts

These sorts of impacts result from the physical nature of the crime that the victim endured. As a result they end up with physical injuries (DeValve, 2005). An example of such crimes is spousal abuse whereby the resulting injuries could be minor scratches but could also be broken bones to severe stab wounds. However, not all of these injuries are visible as some lie beneath the surface, such as punctured lungs, a bruised liver or even brain injury. The danger with the internal injuries is that they are not instantly apparent but may show much later, causing long-term difficulties in the future. The statistics also do not seem to favor children when it comes to physical victimization; young children at their tender ages are put through sexual abuse by pedophiles who rape them, causing them severe anatomical injuries.

Financial impacts

This category is not usually very apparent in all crimes except where the main crime was robbery of money or money-valued products. Nonetheless it is a harsh reality on all crimes as the victims will have to spend financially in order to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. The impact may come from expenses accrued from paying hospital bills, upgrading security, child care, morgue expenses in case of death and accessing psychiatric help (Farrell, Sousa & Weisel, 2002). The major expense could be that the victim is forced to move houses to a perceived safer neighborhood. All these, coupled with the fact that the attacks could end up putting his job security at risk, further worsen his financial position in the long run.

Social impacts

Crime victims may end up resenting the society for the way they are treated during or on the aftermath of the crime. Society can frustrate them by treating them insensitively or they may fall victim to secondary victimization. Here, law enforcement may act in a manner to suggest that it was the victim’s fault that she for instance became a victim of rape. Also a rape victim in a court process may be forced by either the prosecution or defense to recount the ordeal in front of a court room audience; this may make her feel that justice might not be worth embarrassing herself in such a manner. In some cases family members of murdered victims may be denied access to their kin due to police policies or even sexual abuse victims may be discouraged when they go to report a crime only to be labeled as liars.

Emotional and psychological impacts

Victims may suffer emotionally by being shocked and in denial about what might have happened to them. After a while they start experiencing very deep seeded anger towards those who either hurt or failed to protect them, they are later on engulfed by fear and tend to be frustrated by the slow rate at which the wheels of justice are turning. Victims will then develop self-blame whereby they end up blaming themselves for being victims. If the emotional impacts are not dealt with, they usually end up causing psychological effects; the most common being stress which if also not dealt with may lead to depression. Psychological impacts are however more dangerous to children. What has made children victimization a very sad sight is that any acts of crimes that children experience during their formative years tend to stick with them for a long period of time. Children at their tender ages happen to be in the peak of their developmental cycle whereby their minds are at an impressionable age at which they tend to absorb whatever is happening around them (Finkelhor, 1995).

Conclusion

The reality is that victimization is a very sad reality that will continue to engulf our society if nothing is done to mitigate the levels of crime that we continue to experience. The type of victimization that individuals face differs in terms of intensity due to the nature of the crimes. It is however paramount that law enforcement and the court system put measures in place to be able to solve crimes with urgency and conclusively. It is the laxity of the authorities to put away criminals that is the major cause of emotional, psychological or physical effects due to repeat victimization of the victims by the same perpetrators who continue roaming the streets unabated, in full view of their victims and other potential victims. Therefore in order to curb incidents of runaway crime levels, necessary legislation and policies should be enacted that will serve to restore the victims confidence and trust in the social system. This will make people feel that they are in a secure environment where their grievances are attended to swiftly and the perpetrators of crime dealt with in the most effective ways. These measures will surely serve to minimize the emotional, social and psychological impacts of victimization, otherwise “justice delayed, is justice denied.”