2. VICTIMOLOGY
Presented By: Harshita Niranjan
Volunteer Of Applied Forensic
Research Sciences(Criminology)

3. CONTENT
• Introduction
• Victim and Victimization
• Types of Victimization
• Theories of Victimization
• Theories of Victimology

4. INTRODUCTION
Victimology can be defined as the scientific
study of victimization, that describes the victim-
accused relationship. It is a branch of
criminology, that studies the victims of crime by
looking at victim’s experiences.

5. The term ‘victimology’ was coined by Ivan de
Fleur in 1943, who was also the co-founder of the
International Society for Victimology with Erling
Bern. Another person along-with Ivan de Fleur who
is considered as the founder of victimology is
Gerbert van der Kol, the father of Dutch
victimology, who established the Association for
Victimology and Criminology in 1969. Dean G.
Kilpatrick is referred to as the founding father of
modern victimology.

6. VICTIM AND VICTIMIZATION
Victim refers to a person who has suffered harm,
either physical or mental, emotional suffering,
economic loss, property damage, etc.
Victimization refers to the act of making someone
into a victim by harming or killing them. It
includes crimes against a person, property crimes,
sex crimes, etc.

8. Stages of victimization :
• Impact
• Recoil
• Reorganization
Impacts of victimization : Victimization often
causes different levels of trauma in people as crime
affects each person differently. Victimization, in
general impacts people on an emotional, physical,
financial, psychological and social level.

9. TYPES OF VICTIMIZATION
• Sexual misconduct
• Rape
• Sexual harassment
• Stalking
• Theft
• Physical assault
• Domestic violence
• Threat of harm

10. National Crime Victimization Survey

11. THEORIES OF VICTIMIZATION
• Primary Victimization
• Secondary Victimization
(post crime victimization)
• Re-Victimization
(repeatedly became the victim)
• Self-Victimization
(variety of reason to justify abuse)

12. THEORIES OF VICTIMOLOGY
A victim is needed for a crime to occur. Several theories
are devised through the study of victims which
determines the risk factors increasing an individuals
chance of becoming a victim. These theories explain
various characteristics of a victim which explains why a
specific group is targeted by criminals.

13. • Victim Precipitation Theory
According to victim precipitation theory, some people
may actually initiate the confrontation that eventually
leads to their injury or death. The interaction is
supposedly of 2 types, namely active interaction and
passive interaction.

14. • Lifestyle Theory
According to lifestyle theory the criminologists believe
people may become crime victims because their
lifestyle increases their exposure to criminal offenders
such as walking alone at night, being promiscuous,
excessive drinking, doing drugs, etc.

15. • Deviant Place Theory
According to deviant place theory the more often
victims visit dangerous places, the more likely they’ll be
exposed to crime and violence. Victims do not
encourage crime but are victim prone because they
reside in socially disorganized high-crime areas where
they have the greatest risk of coming into contact with
criminal offenders, irrespective of their own behavior or
lifestyle.

16. • Routine Activities Theory
According to routine activities theory the volume and
distribution of predatory crime are closely related to the
interaction of 3 variables that reflect the routine
activities of the typical American lifestyle namely,
availability of suitable targets, absence of capable
guardians and presence of motivated offenders.

17. Thank You