Describe the history and key concepts of the study of victimology.
Victimology is linked to the field of criminology, which is the scientific study of crime. It began with the works of Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794), who critiqued the way that crimes were punished, and Jeremy Bethman (1748–1832), whose work focused on how social and legal reforms could create a better moral society. Both were highly influential on the future of criminology. Criminologists have focused on the criminal understanding of why crime occurs and how to prevent it, and for good reason. If we want to stop crimes from occurring, we need to focus on the criminals—what motivates them and how to prevent them from engaging in criminal activity. In fact, the history of the legal system is based on the idea of bringing society back into balance.
Often overlooked or marginalized in the conversation are the victims of crime. Victimology is the study of the victims of crime with the goal to create a general theory to help prevent victimization. The field has expanded to examine the following:
• How victims are treated by both society and the criminal justice system • How victims seek help and recover from their victimization • How victims seek compensation
In addition, within the field are conversations about whether victimology should be a movement around victims and victims’ rights in addition to the scientific study of victims (Ben-David, 2000).
Studying victims can evoke strong emotional reactions that can affect how we deal with victims and crime, so the end goal for the field is to study victimization from a scientific approach to ensure objectivity and an unbiased understanding of victimization. In addition, crime is often messy and complex, complicating the study of victimization. Figuring out who the victim and offender is can be difficult, depending on the crime.
The term “victim” comes from the Latin word victime, which were humans and animals that were to be sacrificed to please the gods (Karmen, 2012). For most of the history of Western society, the burden of proving victimization and seeking justice rested on the victim alone. Justice often took the form of retaliation or retribution against the offender. Most societies have felt that the punishment should fit the crime. One example of this is the lex talionis: an eye for an eye. This
is the idea that should punishment be warranted, it should be equal to the amount of harm done. Most retribution came from either the victim themselves, stealing back what was stolen or being compensated for the loss, or their families being compensated. Early criminal codes demonstrate this notion of retribution, such as the Code of Hammurabi (1754 BC).
The idea of the state or government as both the victim and the one who should seek justice began during the industrial revolution (1760–1820). It is government, representing the victim and society, that has both been harmed by the crime and ensures punishment. Victim compensation was not a common part of the punishment process. Fortunately, the focus, at least in terms of research, has swung back around to looking at the plight of victims. Many of the changes in the legal system have occurred because of research around victimization and social movements that focused on the rights of victims.