Victimology

Victimology

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant information relating to the issue of Victimology. The phenomenon of Victimology is a science dealing with victims of crime and a clinical role in the genesis of crime victims, especially the determination of factors that create vulnerability to become a victim of crime and methods of prevention. Victimology is the study of the reasons why certain people are victims of a crime and how the lifestyle leads to a greater or lesser probability that a given person is a victim of the same. The field of victimology includes or may include a number of disciplines or subjects, such as sociology, psychology, criminal law and criminology (Wallace, 2007).

Discussion

The study of the victim is particularly important in terms of "participant role”. Both psychologists, such as forensic professionals, authorities and even the public should be aware of the causal relationship between the occurrence of crime and the contribution of the victim in their victimization, it is essential to determine the contributions of both the aggressor and victim. The word victim has no single meaning, but are assigned different meanings depending on the context in which it is used, so it is sometimes synonymous with injured or offended by the crime, while others are presented in a more loose and considers any person (natural and legal) or number of those suffering from natural or human causes (Schafer, 2008).

Victimology is a science that studies scientifically the victim and their role in the offense. The study of the victims is multidisciplinary and does not refer only to the victims of a crime, but also those that are a result of accidents (traffic), natural disasters, war crimes and abuse of power. Professionals involved in victimology may be scientists, operators, legal, social or political. The study of the victims can be done from the perspective of a particular victim or from an epistemological point of view by analysing the reasons why groups of individuals are more or less likely to be affected (Mendelsohn, 1976).

The study of victimology is not limited only to the victim, so to be tested three levels: The first is called, the victim, his personality and characteristics. The second is the behavioural level, in which, we study the behaviour of the victim alone in relation to criminal behaviour. Finally there is the third level, called general, which should study the phenomenon of victimhood, as the sum of victims and victimization. Since the eighties, and as a result of the World Symposium on Victimology, the emerging discipline emphasis is emancipated from mere criminal and start advocating for the rights of victims from a constitutional perspective, which put more emphasis on macro-victimization events, i.e. events in which large groups are victimized. There is talk of macro-victimizations for abuse of power, something that Benjamin had outlined, and disciplinary autonomy begins to cease being an appendage of the criminal law and criminology (Karmen, 2007).

Speaking of victims, sometimes, is to refer to human ...