VICTIMOLOGY AS A BRANCH OF

CRIMINOLOGY
CRIMINOLOGY
VICTIMOLOGY
victimology focuses on whether the
perpetrators were complete strangers, mere
acquaintances, friends, family members, or
even inmates and why a particular person or
place was targeted
Victimology first emerged in the 1940s and ’50s,
when several criminologists (notably Hans von
Hentig, Benjamin Mendelsohn, and Henri
Ellenberger) examined victim-offender
interactions and stressed reciprocal influences
and role reversals
Criminology is so important because it tries to
understand the root of the crime, the
perpetrator. These scientists study perpetrator’s
motives; what they were looking for whether it
be for personal pleasure, to inflict fear or pain,
or even for the pure thrill of committing a crime
and the adrenaline rush it may give them
The study of Criminology focuses on the
motives of the criminal and the social impact
of the crimes they commit. According to The
Balance, they “look at every conceivable
aspect of deviant behavior. This includes the
impacts of crime on individual victims and
their families, society at large, and even
criminals themselves,”
Criminologists study elements like the
frequency, location, causes and types of
crime, then work to develop “effective and
humane means of preventing it,” The
Balance continues. This I believe is where
Victimology stemmed from. The, “effective
and humane means of preventing it”.
Victimology focuses on helping victims heal
after a crime, while criminology aims to
understand the criminal’s motives and the
underlying causes of crime. Victimologists
are concerned with fostering recovery, while
criminologists seek prevention
 Is Depression Linked to Violence?

• A 2013 review of literature revealed that

mental illness stigma is widespread in the
United States. The review found that
negative perceptions are held by both
children and adults; the most common of
which is that people with mental illness are
more likely to be violent—even dangerous
 Depression & Violence

• An example that tends to be widely

covered by the media is crimes that occur
when a person commits a murder, and
then commit suicide. Although depression
has been identified as a contributing factor
in some cases of murder-suicide, the
association does not mean people who
have depression are dangerous.
A 2015 population study in Sweden found
that people diagnosed with depression were
roughly three times more likely than the
general population to commit violent crimes
including robbery, sexual offenses, and
assault.
Seena Fazel, who led the study, pointed out
that rates of violent crime in people
diagnosed with depression were “below
those for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,
and considerably lower than for alcohol or
drug abuse.” 
 Co-Occurring Disorders & Other Risk
Factors
Research has indicated that people who
experience paranoia, hallucinations,
or delusions are more likely to become
violent than people with mental illness who
do not have these symptoms. 
Mental illness is typically not the only
contributing factor in committing a crime.
More often, it’s a combination of certain risk
factors, such as substance misuse,
socioeconomic stress, exposure to violence
in childhood, and/or experiencing domestic
violence, that make a vulnerable person feel
that violence is necessary. 
One of the major studies that support this
claim, the MacArthur Violence Risk
Assessment Study, found that people with a
dual diagnosis (mental illness
and substance use disorder) were more
likely to commit an act of violence than
people with mental illness alone (31% vs.
18%)
2010 study of people diagnosed with bipolar
disorder found that 8.5% had been convicted of
at least one violent crime, which wasn’t much
higher than the group of controls (5.1%).
However, the rate of people with bipolar
disorder and a substance use disorder who had
been convicted of violent crime was significantly
higher: 21.3%.
 Public Perception & Stigma

There are many different types of violent

crime, but some are more likely to make
headlines. For example, murder-suicides are
more likely to be covered in the news, which
makes them seem more frequent than they
really are. 
Surveys have shown that these perceptions
are even common among people who
regularly work with people who have a
mental illness such as doctors and even
among people with mental illness
themselves. 
 Issues With Public Awareness

A survey of more than 3,000 people published in

2018 found that when asked about the most
common means and causes of death in their
state, only 20% of the health care professionals
surveyed correctly identified suicide as being
more common than homicide. Of the adult
respondents who reported a history of mental
illness, just 12.4% gave the correct answer
 Stigma as a Risk Factor for Violence

Studies have shown that the stigma

attached to mental illness may itself be a
risk factor for criminality and violence.
A 2018 study found that stigma can be a
barrier to treatment for people with mental
illness
A person may not even feel they can openly
discuss mental illness, as societal stigma
can reinforce feelings of shame or guilt
toward loved ones. Society’s attitude about
mental illness can also make people fear
retaliation or prejudice at school or work,
making it less likely they will seek support
from their community
 Mental Illness & Gun Violence

In a 2019 study, researchers looked at

cases where people with diagnosed mental
illness had engaged in gun violence.
Specifically, the researchers wanted to know
if certain behaviors associated with mental
illness could predict gun violence.
The study actually found that access to
firearms, not mental illness behaviors, was
the strongest predictor of gun violence
amongst subjects in the study
A 2011 study that looked at specific disorders
considered “serious” or “severe” mental illness
 found that there was a small, but notable,
increase in risk for violence in people who had
one of these disorders compared to people who
had no mental illness. The risk was highest when
someone had both mental illness and issues
with substance use
As with previous research, the authors of the
study stated that other factors, such as 
abuse and neglect in childhood or current
social stressors, were also of importance
when determining a person’s risk for violent
behavior
Research on the incidence of all types of
violence on a national level estimates only
3% to 5% of violent acts are directly
attributable to serious mental illness.
Furthermore, guns were not used in the
majority of those acts
 Suicide & Self-Harm

Research has indicated that people who are

depressed are particularly vulnerable to
being victims of violent crimes. They are
also more likely to self-harm rather than
harm others. This includes being more likely
to commit suicide than homicide
According to the National Institute of Mental
Health, in 2017 there were 
twice as many suicides as homicides in the
United States (47,173 suicides vs. 19,510
homicides).
During the MacArthur study, the researchers
asked mental health patients taking part in
the research about their lived experiences
with three different forms of violence: self-
harm, harming others, and being harmed by
others. Over half of the patients (58%)
reported experiencing at least one form of
violence
A 
study based on more than 47,000 people in
Sweden
, emphasized that the overwhelming majority
of depressed people are neither violent nor
criminal and should not be stigmatized
The researchers found that 3.7% of men
and 0.5% of women committed a violent
crime after being identified as clinically
depressed. This compared with 1.2% of men
and 0.2% of women in the general
population
The study tracked the medical records and
conviction rates of 47,158 people diagnosed
with depression over a period of about three
years. It then compared the data with the
records of 898,454 people with no history of
diagnosed depression
Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the
mental health charity Sane, said: “The
majority of people with depression are never
violent, yet people receiving a diagnosis can
feel frustrated, angry and initially desperate
“It is also very rare for anyone with
depression to commit crime. This study
does, however, show how important it is for
professionals not to ignore those strong
feelings and make clear people can come to
terms with how they feel and recover.”
“Quite understandably, there is considerable
concern about self-harm and suicide in
depression. We demonstrate that the rates
of violent crime are at least as high, but they
don’t receive the same level of attention in
clinical guidelines or mainstream clinical
practice.”
“When a man is denied the right to live the life
he believes in, he has no choice but to become
an outlaw.”
― Nelson Mandela
END