VICTIMOLOGY

Victimology
• The study of victimization, including the relationship between the
victim and the offenders, the interactions between victims and the
criminal justice system and the connections between victims and
other societal groups and institutions.
• The study between the relationship of victims and offenders.
• The study of the victim in his victimization.
VICTIMOLOGY AIMS TO ANSWER THE
• Why does a person becomes a victim of crime?
• Why are certain people victimized more than others?
• What makes a person a target of offenders?
PIONEERS IN VICTIMOLOGY
 HANS VON HENTIG (1852-1934)
• One of the pioneers in Victimology tried to discover what made a criminal
predisposed to being a criminal.
• In his 1941 publication, Von Hentig claimed the victim to contribute to the criminal
act.
• Wrote the book titled The Criminal and His Victim: Studies in the Sociobiology of
Crime.
• He described the importance of investigating the underlying factors why certain
people become vitims.
• He determined that some of the same characteristics that produce crime
also produce victimization.
• Emphasized the criminal-victim dyad and identified 13 categories of victims
based on their characteristics that may effectively serve to increase
victimization risk.
 BENJAMIN MENDELSON (1809-1947)
• A Romanian lawyer is often credited as the father of Victimology.
Mendelson was fascinated by the dynamics between the victims and
offenders.
• Coined the term, Victimology in the 1940’s in Romania.
• He used to ask victims, witnesses and bystanders to complete a
detailed and probing questionnaire before preparing a case. After
examining their responses, Mendelson found that usually there was a
strong interpersonal relationship between victims and offenders.
STEPHEN SCHAFER (1911-1976)
• Introduced the concept of functional responsibility of the
victim.
• Modified typology provided by hans von hentig and
presented his own classification.
• He proposed victim typology by using social characteristics
and behaviors; placed victims in groups based on how
responsible they are for their own victimization.
MARVIN WOLFGANG (1924-1998)
 MENACHEM AMIR (1921-1968)
• A student of Marvin Wolfgang; he conducted an empirical
investigation into rape incidents reported to the Police.
• He examined the extent to which victims precipitated their own rapes
and identified common attributes of victim-precipitated rape.
• He found out that victim-precipitated rape cases were likely to involve
alcohol and the victim was likely to engage in seductive behavior,
wear revealing clothing, use indecent language, and have bad
reputation.
KINDS OF VICTIM
• DIRECT OR PRIMARY VICTIM – the person who was actually
harmed because of the commission of the offense.
• SECONDARY VICTIM- refers to the family or loved ones of
the victim.
• INDIRECT OR THIRD PARTY VICTIM – may involved us, the
members of the community. (We might feel unprotected, we
fear for our safety) (eg. Marawi siege)
CATEGORIES OF CRIME VICTIMS
ACCORDING TO HANS VON HENTIG