These assignment will cover the reading material for that week. The assignment will be two full pages, single-spaced, 12-point font, 1” margins, no heading. I only want your name at the top and nothing else; again, two FULL pages, which will be between 1300-1400 words in length.
There is no prompt. These assignment will include your thoughts on the assigned reading; there is no prompt. It is expected that the assignment will be well edited, thoughtful, and written in true writing format. Points will be deducted for short , poor grammar, bullet points, and the like. The assignment will be checked with turnitin.com, so do not collaborate with others. Quotes from the book can be used but should not be the majority of your assignment and should be marked as quotations so as not to plagiarize. The assignment should not show more than 10% match with other sources in Turnitin.com. If so, points will be deducted.
These assignments can include: personal stories of experiences you have had related to this section, information from the research you found in the books that sheds more light on the topic, questions/arguments about the reading you want to bring to light, thoughts on applications of the material to your own life, etc. This is your time to show you thorough read the material and understand it.
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Mallicoat_2e_Ch02_Presentation_SO_Ed.pptx
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Mallicoat_2e_Ch01_Presentation_SO_Ed.pptx
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womengenderandcrimechapter1.pdf
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womengenderandcrimechapter2.pdf
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, Second Edition Chapter 2: Theories of Victimization
1
Victims and the Criminal Justice System (1 of 5)
Victims: tool of justice system.
Victim-assistance programs.
Federal legislations increase victim rights.
Core rights of victims.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.1. Discuss the role of victims in the criminal justice system.
2.2. Identify the rights that victims have in the criminal justice process.
Victims and the Criminal Justice System
Victims: tool of justice system:
Many victims who seek out the criminal justice system for support following their victimization are often sadly disappointed in their experiences.
Human victims of crime are reduced to a tool of the justice system or a piece of evidence in a criminal case.
Due to little representation for victim’s needs and concerns, they express frustration over the justice system.
Victims can be further traumatized based on their experiences in dealing with the criminal justice system.
Victim-assistance programs:
Many prosecutors’ offices established victim-assistance programs during the mid-1970s to provide support to victims as their cases moved through the criminal justice process.
In some jurisdictions, nonprofit agencies for crimes, such as domestic violence and rape crisis, also began to provide support for victims.
Community agencies such as rape crisis centers developed in response to the perceived need for sexual assault prevention efforts, a desire for increased community awareness, and a wish to reduce the pain that the victims often experience.
Federal legislations increase victim rights:
These policies increase the voice of victims throughout the process, training for officials who deal with victims, and funding programs that provide therapeutic resources for victims.
For example, the Violence Against Women Act provides support for criminal justice researchers studying issues related to intimate partner violence.
Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004 is a federal legislation that provides protections for all crime victims.
While attempts to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution on victims’ rights have been unsuccessful, each of the 50 states includes references to the rights of victims in criminal cases.
Core rights of victims:
The right to attend criminal justice proceedings;
The right to apply for compensation;
The right to be heard and participate in criminal justice proceedings;
The right to be informed of proceedings and events in the criminal justice process, of legal rights and remedies, and of available services;
The right to protection from intimidation and harassment;
The right to restitution from the offender;
The right to prompt return of personal property seized as evidence;
The right to a speedy trial; an
The right to enforcement of these rights.
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Victims and the Criminal Justice System (2 of 5)
Underreporting among women victims.
Reasons why victimization is not reported.
Support system for victims.
Underreporting due to fear of retaliation.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
3
2.1. Discuss the role of victims in the criminal justice system.
2.2. Identify the rights that victims have in the criminal justice process.
Victims and the Criminal Justice System
Underreporting among women victims:
A comparison between official crime data and victimization data indicates that many victims do not report their crime to law enforcement.
According to the Bureau of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey, only about half of all victims surveyed report their victimization to law enforcement.
Victims of serious violent crime are generally more likely to report these crimes compared to property offenses.
Robbery was the most likely crime reported (66%), followed by aggravated assault (57%).
Cases of personal violence are significantly underreported among women victims.
According to NCVS, only 42% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported.
Chicago Women’s Health Risk Study showed that only 43% of women who experience violent acts from a current or former intimate partner contacted the police.
The relationship between the victim and offender is a strong predictor in reporting rates, because women who are victimized by someone known to them are less likely to report than women who are victimized by a stranger.
Reasons why victimization is not reported:
Some victims feel embarrassed by the crime.
Others may decide not to report a crime out of the belief that nothing could be done.
People believe that the crime was not serious enough to make a big deal over it.
Others believe it is a personal matter.
Support system for victims:
Victims from sexual assault and intimate partner violence often seek help from personal resources outside of law enforcement, such as family and friends.
Many seek assistance through formal mental health services following a victimization experience.
Victims who receive positive support from informal social networks, such as friends and family, are subsequently more likely to seek out formal services, such as law enforcement and therapeutic resources.
Informal networks act as a support system for seeking professional help and for making an official crime report.
Underreporting due to fear of retaliation:
Fears of retaliation can affect a victim’s decision to make a report to the police.
Among the victims of intimate partner violence, research shows that violence can increase following police intervention.
The presence of children in domestic violence situations also affects reporting rates as many victims may incorrectly believe that they will lose their children as a result of intervention from social service agents.
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Victims and the Criminal Justice System (3 of 5)
Victim Blaming
Blame shifted to the victim.
A just world outlook.
Negative consequences of victim blaming.
Diffusing the responsibility of crime.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.3. Assess the impact of victim blaming on reporting rates and help seeking behaviors.
Victim Blaming
Victim blaming: shifting the blame of rape from the offender to the victim; by doing so, the confrontation of the realities of victimization is avoided.
It often influences reporting practices and help-seeking behaviors by victims.
A just world outlook:
The process of victim blaming is linked to a belief in a just world.
The concept of a just world posits that society has a need to believe that people deserve whatever comes to them.
If a bad thing happens to someone, then that person must be at fault for the victimization because of who he or she is and what he or she does.
A just world outlook gives a sense of peace to many individuals.
Negative consequences of victim blaming:
Victim blaming assumes that people are able to change the environment in which they live,
Victim blaming assumes that only “innocent” victims are true victims, and
Victim blaming creates a false sense of security about the risks of crime.
Diffusing the responsibility of crime:
Victim blaming allows society to diffuse the responsibility of crime between the victim and the offender.
The victim is blamed for every crime and the blame is shifted away from the perpetrator.
the victim is held responsible.
Victim blaming enables people to make sense of the victimization.
The process of victim blaming allows people to separate themselves from the victimized and this allows people to feel safe in the world.
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Victims and the Criminal Justice System (4 of 5)
Victim Blaming
Just world hypothesis.
Can be disproportionately gendered.
Role of victim characteristics.
Impact of racial, ethnic differences.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.3. Assess the impact of victim blaming on reporting rates and help seeking behaviors.
Victim Blaming
Just world hypothesis:
Society has a need to believe that people deserve whatever comes to them.
This paradigm is linked to patterns of victim blaming.
Under the just world hypothesis, the victim begins to assume responsibility for alleged assault in the eyes of the public.
This can impact future reporting trends, because victims may be less likely to report their own victimizations due to victim blaming.
A belief in the just world hypothesis also leads to an increased support of rape myths.
Can be disproportionately gendered:
Victim blaming can be disproportionately gendered and directed toward women as they are represented in many forms of victimization such as rape, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.
Men are more likely to blame women victims in cases of rape and sexual assault.
Victim blaming is more prevalent among older individuals and those with lower levels of education or lower socioeconomic status.
Role of victim characteristics:
Victim characteristics can also impact how much blame is attributed to the victim.
For example, victims who violate traditional gender roles or who are intoxicated are more likely to experience victim blaming.
Some victims do not physically fight back against their attacker.
Impact of racial, ethnic differences:
Women of color are more likely to be victims of violent crimes.
White victims of crime are more likely to be focused by media accounts.
Women of color are more likely to be portrayed negatively when their cases were noted by the press.
They are blamed for their victimization based on where they lived, what activities they engaged in, and who they spent time with.
Cases involving white women were more likely to focus on the sensationalism of stranger danger and their tragic victimization.
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Victims and the Criminal Justice System (5 of 5)
Victim Blaming
Linked to low reporting rates.
Internalization of victim blaming.
Secondary victimization.
Rape myth acceptance.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.3. Assess the impact of victim blaming on reporting rates and help seeking behaviors.
Victim Blaming
Linked to low reporting rates:
Victims are often met with blame and refusals to help when they reach out to law enforcement, community agencies, and family or peer networks in search of support and assistance.
These experiences have a negative effect on the recovery of crime victims.
The media can also perpetuate victim blaming, particularly in cases involving celebrities.
Internalization of victim blaming:
Victims are often blamed by those closest to them, such as friends and family.
Victim blaming can even be internalized whereby victims engage in self-doubt and feel shame for allowing themselves to become a victim.
Victim blaming can also inhibit how victims recover from their trauma.
Secondary victimization:
The idea that victims become more traumatized after the primary victimization.
It can stem from victim blaming or from the process of collecting evidence (physical or testimonial).
For those cases that progress beyond the law enforcement investigative process, few have charges filed by prosecutors, and only rarely is a conviction secured.
Rape myth acceptance:
False beliefs that are seen as justifiable causes for sexual aggression against women.
The acceptance of rape myths by jurors can ultimately affect the decision-making process.
Victim blaming can also occur by police and related justice professionals in cases of intimate partner violence, particularly in cases where a victim returns to her abuser.
The experience of secondary victimization can have significant consequences of reporting, because victims would not have reported the crime if they had known what was in store for them.
6
Fear of Victimization (1 of 3)
Distorted portrayal of crime.
News increases fear of crime.
Fear of victimization.
Contribution of gendered socialization.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.4. Explain how gender contributes to the fear of victimization.
Fear of Victimization
Distorted portrayal of crime by media:
Most Americans only view the images of crime that are generated by the portrayal of victims and offenders in mass media outlets.
These images present a distorted view of the criminal justice system.
This leads to the overexaggeration of violent crime in society.
News increases fear of crime:
Regardless of actual crime rates, gender, or a personal history of victimization, the fear about crime in individuals increase with the increase in their consumption of local and national television news.
In addition to the portrayal of crime within the news, stories of crime, criminals, and criminal justice have been a major staple of television entertainment programming.
These images present a distorted view of the reality of crime, because they generally present crime as graphic, random, and violent incidents.
Fear of victimization:
A gendered experience where women experience higher rates of fear of crime compared to men.
This idea is based on the distorted portrayal of the criminal justice system by the media.
Contribution of gendered socialization:
Girls are socialized differently than their men peers.
From a young age, girls are often taught about fear, because parents are more likely to demonstrate concern for the safety of their daughters.
This fear results in a relative lack of freedom for girls, in addition to an increase in the parental supervision of girls.
These practices, can affect their confidence levels in regarding the world around them.
The sense of fear can be transferred from the parent to the young woman adult as a result of the gendered socialization experienced throughout her life.
7
Fear of Victimization (2 of 3)
Levels of fear of victimization.
Fear of sexually based crimes among women.
“Shadow of sexual assault” thesis.
Sexual assault seen in literature.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.4. Explain how gender contributes to the fear of victimization.
Fear of Victimization
Levels of fear of victimization:
Gender plays a role in feelings of vulnerability, which can translate to fears about victimization.
The fear of crime for women is not necessarily related to the actual levels of crime.
Women are less likely to be victimized than men, yet they report overall higher levels of fear of crime than their men counterparts.
These high levels of overall fear of victimization may be perpetuated by a specific fear of crime for women: rape and sexual assault.
Fear of sexually based crimes among women:
Rape is the crime that generates the highest levels of fear for women.
These levels of fear are validated by crime statistics, because women make up the majority of victims for sexually based crimes.
Shadow of sexual assault” thesis:
Women experience a greater fear of crime in general, because they believe that any crime could ultimately become a sexually based victimization.
Even when women engage in measures to keep themselves safe, their fear of sexual assault appears to increase rather than decrease.
This sense of vulnerability is portrayed by movies as being victimized by strangers.
Most women are victimized by people known to them.
Research indicates that many women fail to see acquaintance rape as something that could impact them personally.
Sexual assault seen in literature:
While the fear of sexual assault is a common theme in the literature, scholars indicate that fears about crime can involve acts other than sexual assault.
Fear of physical harm is a stronger predictor of fear about crime for women over the fear of sexual assault.
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Fear of Victimization (3 of 3)
Difference of fear by race and ethnicity.
Hate crime victimization: LGBT community.
Negative consequences of fear.
Reflection of fears in society.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.4. Explain how gender contributes to the fear of victimization.
Fear of Victimization
Difference of fear by race and ethnicity:
Diverse populations are more likely to be victimized over the course of their lives compared to their white counterparts.
The concern of racially motivated-related victimization is a driving force for experiences of fear amongst diverse populations.
The events of 9/11 have increased fears of victimization for both bias-related crimes as well as general victimization within the Arab-American community.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian-American community have experienced increased vulnerability and fears of victimization.
Hate crime victimization: LGBT community:
In a survey of hate crime victimization among the LGBT community, researchers noted that one-third (33.6%) of the participants had been victimized as a result of their sexuality.
LGBT individuals are likely to experience multiple victimizations.
It has been found that LGBT men and women tend to have similar fears about crime and victimization.
Gay men experience similar forms of marginalization and vulnerability to that of heterosexual women.
Women who identify as lesbian may find these fears enhanced by their gender as well as sexual identity.
Fear about crime is also linked to prior experiences of victimization.
Those who experience greater levels of privilege (identifying as gay/lesbian or men) noted lower levels of fear when compared to individuals with more marginalized identities (queer and transgender).
Negative consequences of fear:
Due to fear of crime, individuals are more likely to isolate themselves from society.
Fear reflects potential victimization and a threat regarding the potential loss of control a victim experiences as a result of being victimized.
Fear of crime can affect one’s feelings of self-worth and self-esteem.
Potential victims experience feelings of vulnerability and increased anxiety.
Reflection of fears in society:
Increase of security measures in public transit agencies such as the presence of personnel, the use of video cameras in stations, and improving service reliability.
Fear impacts policy practices within the criminal justice system.
Agents of criminal justice increase police patrols, while district attorneys pursue tough-on-crime stances in their prosecution of criminal cases.
Politicians create and implement tough-on-crime legislation and target perceived crimes of danger, such as the war on drugs.
Inaccurate data on crime rates or misunderstanding about community supervision of offenders and recidivism rates can raise public’s concern.
9
Theories on Victimization (1 of 6)
Early perspectives on victimology.
Benjamin Mendelsohn.
Benjamin Mendelson’s typology.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.5. Discuss the different theories on victimization.
Theories on Victimization
Early perspectives on victimology:
To understand the victim experience, social science researchers began to investigate the characteristics of crime victims and the response by society to these victims.
The field of victimology places the victim at the center of the discussion.
Early perspectives on victimology focused on how victims, either knowingly or unconsciously, can be at fault for their victimization, based on their personal life events and decision-making processes.
Mendelsohn, Benjamin: distinguished categories of victims based on the responsibility of the victim and the degree to which the victim had the power to make decisions that could alter his or her likelihood of victimization.
Benjamin Mendelson’s typology:
It was a typology of victimization that distinguished different types of victims based on relative responsibility in their own victimization.
In his typology, victims have the power to make decisions that can alter their likelihood of victimization.
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Theories on Victimization (2 of 6)
Mendelsohn’s theory of victimology.
Hans von Hentig.
Hans von Hentig’s typology of victims.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.5. Discuss the different theories on victimization.
Theories on Victimization
Mendelsohn’s theory of victimology:
The typology is based on six categories of victims:
Innocent victim:
No responsibility for the crime attributed to victim.
Example: Institutionalized victims, the mentally ill, children, or those who are attacked while unconscious.
Victim with minor guilt:
Victim precipitates crime with carelessness/ignorance.
Example: Victim lost in the “wrong part of town.”
Voluntary victim:
Victim and offender equally responsible for crime.
This victim shares the responsibility with the offender by deliberately placing himself or herself in harm’s way.
Example: Victim pays prostitute for sex; then prostitute robs victim.
Victim who is more guilty than the offender:
Victim who provokes or induces another to commit crime.
Example: Burning bed syndrome in which victim is killed by the domestic partner he abused for years.
Victim who alone is guilty:
Victim who is solely responsible for his or her own victimization.
They engaged in an act that was likely to lead to injury on their part.
Example: An attacker who is killed in self-defense; suicide bomber killed by detonation of explosives.
Imaginary victim:
Victim mistakenly believes he or she has been victimized.
Example: Mentally ill person who reports imagined victimization as real event.
von Hentig, Hans: His theory of victimization highlights 13 categories of victims and focuses on how personal factors such as biological, social, and psychological characteristics influence risk factors for victimization.
Hans von Hentig’s typology of victims:
The categories include the young, the woman, the old, the mentally defective and deranged, immigrants, people of color, dull normals, the depressed, the acquisitive, the wanton, the lonesome or heartbroken, the tormentor, and the blocked, exempted, or fighting.
His typology includes only a single category for women.
While von Hentig’s category of mentally defective was designed to capture the vulnerability of the mentally ill victim, he also referenced the intoxicated individual within this context.
Women who engage in either consensual acts of intoxication or who are subjected to substances unknown to them can be at risk for alcohol- or drug-facilitated sexual assault.
Immigration status can play a key role for women victims as many abusers use a woman’s illegal immigration status as a threat to ensure compliance.
Von Hentig also discusses how race and ethnicity can affect the victim experience and how these factors affect the criminal justice system at every stage.
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Theories on Victimization (3 of 6)
Routine Activities Theory
Convergence of three components.
Victims and guardians exist together.
Crimes due to demographic differences.
Role of gender in victimization risk.
Mallicoat, Women, Gender, and Crime Core Concepts, 4e. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
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2.5. Discuss the different theories on victimization.
Routine Activities Theory
Routine activities theory:
It was created to discuss the risk of victimization in property crimes.
It suggests that the likelihood of a criminal act or the likelihood of victimization occurs when an offender, a potential victim, and the absence of a guardian that would deter said offender from making contact with the victim are combined.
Convergence of three components:
The likelihood of a criminal act and victimization occurs with the convergence of three essential components:
Someone who is interested in pursuing a criminal action (offender),
A potential victim (target) “available” to be victimized, and
The absence of someone or something (guardian) that would deter the offender from making contact with the available victim.
Victims and guardians exist together:
The name of the routine activities theory is derived from a belief that victims and guardians exist within the normal, everyday patterns of life.
Lifestyle changes during the second half of the 20th century created additional opportunities for the victim and offender to come into contact with each other as a result of changes to daily routines and activities.
Cohen and Felson’s theory was created to discuss the risk of victimization in property crimes.
If individuals were at work, or out enjoying events, they were less likely to be at home to guard their property against potential victimization, and burglary was more likely to result.
Crimes due to demographic difference
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