Victimology

8 min read

Victimology is the systematic study of victims of crime — their characteristics, relationships with offenders, experiences of the criminal justice system, and rights to assistance and compensation. It emerged as a distinct sub-discipline of criminology in the 1940s and 1950s, propelled by Hans von Hentig and Benjamin Mendelsohn.

Victim

The UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power (1985) defines victims as 'persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws'.

Pioneers of victimology

Hans von Hentig (1948), The Criminal and His Victim — typology of 13 victim categories (the young, female, old, mentally defective, immigrant, minority, dull-normal, depressed, acquisitive, wanton, lonesome, tormentor, blocked/exempted/fighting victim).
Benjamin Mendelsohn (1956) — coined "victimology"; six-category typology by degree of victim culpability (completely innocent → most guilty).
Stephen Schafer (1968) — The Victim and His Criminal; functional responsibility model.
Marvin Wolfgang (1958) — pioneering empirical study of victim-precipitated homicide.

Patterns of victimisation

Modern victimology employs victimisation surveys to overcome the dark figure of crime (offences not reported to police). Key surveys:

British Crime Survey (now Crime Survey for England and Wales) — annual since 1981.
US National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) — since 1972.
International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS) — comparative data across countries.

Common findings:

Crime is concentrated — small share of victims experience multiple offences ("repeat victimisation").
Demographic patterns: young males most victimised by violence; women more by sexual and domestic offences; elderly more by fraud.
Lifestyle and routine activities explain much of risk (Hindelang, Gottfredson & Garofalo 1978; Cohen & Felson 1979).
Reporting rates vary by offence — violence and theft more reported; sexual and domestic offences underreported.

Key Points

Primary victimisation: the direct experience of crime.
Secondary victimisation: re-traumatisation by criminal-justice processes (cold treatment, repeated questioning, victim-blaming).
Tertiary victimisation: societal stigma and labelling of victims.
Vicarious victimisation: indirect impact on family, friends, witnesses.

Victim precipitation and provocation

Marvin Wolfgang (1958), studying Philadelphia homicide data, found ~26% of murders were "victim-precipitated" — the victim was the first to use force. This concept, applied without nuance to rape (Amir 1971), proved highly controversial and is now used cautiously to avoid victim-blaming.

Victim's rights movement

Beginning in the 1970s, the victims' rights movement secured procedural and substantive entitlements:

Right to information about case progress.
Right to be present and heard at major stages (victim impact statements).
Right to protection from intimidation.
Right to compensation from offender or state schemes.
Right to assistance — counselling, shelter, restitution.

Key milestones:

UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power 1985.
EU Victims' Rights Directive 2012.
US Crime Victims' Rights Act 2004.
UK Victims' Code 2006/2015/2020.

Compensation schemes

Model	Examples	Funding
State compensation funds	UK CICA (1964), NZ ACC, Canadian provinces	Tax-funded
Offender restitution	US, Pakistan PPC §§ 544A, 545 CrPC	Offender pays
Insurance-based	Some EU states	Pooled premiums
Mixed	Most jurisdictions	Combined

In Pakistan, the Criminal Procedure Code 1898 § 544A empowers a criminal court to order compensation to the victim out of the fine imposed. § 545 CrPC governs use of fines for compensation. Diyat and arsh under the Qisas-Diyat regime function as offender-paid victim compensation.

Pakistan: victim protection framework

Punjab Victims' Protection Act 2014 — first dedicated victim-protection statute in Pakistan; covers protection orders, compensation and victim assistance.
Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021 — special procedures, victim identity protection, witness protection, DNA evidence, and Anti-Rape Crisis Cells.
Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 — civil remedy and ombudsman.
Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016 — protection committees, helpline.
Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2012 (federal, ICT).
Witness Protection Act 2017 (Punjab; replicated in other provinces).
National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) — federal advocacy body.

For CSS, structure a victimology answer with: (1) definition (UN 1985); (2) pioneers — Hentig 1948, Mendelsohn 1956, Wolfgang 1958; (3) types of victimisation; (4) modern surveys (ICVS, NCVS); (5) victim's rights movement; (6) Pakistani framework — CrPC § 544A, PPA 2014, Anti-Rape Act 2021. Cite the UN 1985 Declaration as the international baseline.

Restorative justice

Restorative justice is a victim-centred response that brings offender, victim and community together to repair harm. Modalities:

Victim-offender mediation (Norwegian model; Marshall 1999).
Family group conferences (NZ Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989).
Sentencing circles (indigenous Canadian, Australian).
Community service with victim consultation.

Evidence (Sherman & Strang 2007 meta-analysis) suggests restorative-justice processes improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending modestly for property and minor violence — though not appropriate for all offences (e.g. sexual violence, domestic abuse without victim consent).

Vulnerable victims

Special attention is given to vulnerable groups:

Children — Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989; Pakistan's Juvenile Justice System Act 2018.
Women — CEDAW 1979; Pakistan's Anti-Rape Act 2021, PPC § 354A (acid attack), PPC § 509 (harassment).
Trafficking victims — Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act 2018; UN Palermo Protocol 2000.
Older persons — recognised in WHO Global Report on Elder Abuse 2002.
Persons with disabilities — UN CRPD 2006; ICT Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2020.

Critical perspectives

Critical victimology (Mawby & Walklate 1994) emphasises the structural production of victimisation by class, gender, race and state. Feminist victimology (Stanko, Walklate) highlighted intimate violence and 'invisible' victims. Cultural victimology (Mythen 2007) examines how media and politics construct victim status, sometimes marginalising deserving victims and elevating others.