victimological theory gerd kirchoff

Theoretical Victimology
by
Prof. Dr. Gerd Ferdinand Kirchhoff

Victimology as a Science


Victimology as word:
– Victima
– Logos

06/11/17

Latin, the victim
body of theoretical knowledge,
teaching

Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Victimology
A theoretical body of knowledge
 This is not


– practical victim assistance
– a political movement
– creation of social programs
– victim related legislation
– Practical application of victimologiocal
knowledge
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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Basic Structure of Victimology



Dealing with
– Victims
– Victimizations
– Reactions to both,
» To victims
» To victimizations

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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Who is theVICTIM?


Answer 1:
– Victims of crime
» Hans von Hentig
» Stephen Schafer

» Ezzat Fattah

– Result:
» special victimology
» penal victimology


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superfluous endeavor!
Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Who is the VICTIM


Answer 2:
– Victims of everything
– Benjamin Mendelsohn

Result: General Victimology
To overcrowded
and therefore empty

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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Who is the VICTIM


Answer 3:







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Menmade victims
Zvonimir Paul Separovic
Elias Neumann
Robert Elias
Gerd F. Kirchhoff

Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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victimologia - Victimologia
victimologia = science of the crime victims
 Victimologia – toda victima social









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Poverty
Marginalization
Creation of masses excluded from decent living
Excluded from hospitals, schools, labor market
Victims of globalization

Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Elias Neuman I


Victimologia – el rol de la victima en los delitos
convencionales y no convencionales









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2nd ed. 1994
The poor, the marginalized,
The socially submerged
Victims of political systems and ideologies
Victims of religions
Victims of the justice system
Victims of slavery and inhuman labor conditions
Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Elias Neuman II 1994


Victimology is an autonomous science if it looks
at all the
– victims of abuse of power,
» national or supranational,

– Victims of all oppression and terrorism in a society,
» as individuals,
» groups or
» All people in a country.




Answer 4:
Victims of Human Rights Violations


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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Robert Elias





Criminal victimization
Social sources of victimization
Governmental sources of victimization
Framework of Human Rights






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Critical of traditional victimology:
Law and order lobby has coopted victim assistance
Victims have gained far less than promised
Consumer frauds, poluution, unnecessarý drugs and
surgery, food additives, discrimination, poverty,
exploitation and war
Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Answer 5: Victims of disaster and climate change


Victimology includes victims of disaster and
natural catastrophes including climate
change






Newest Development since 10 years, mainly
Dussich Fachry, Mundy, Susetyo
Local: geographic situation in danger zone
Relationship to the newest UN discussions that
look at global sources of Human (In-) Security
» Social Consequences of Human Omissions to
Secure Safe Life” - more publications needed

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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Towards „Interim“ Consensus
1985 Declaration of Basic Principles of
Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of
Power
 One of the most important achievements of
„victimology“
 Deals with crime victims and with victims
of „Abuse of Power“
 Attempts to create a Victim Convention
 Self Awareness of WSV „You are not alone“


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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Victimology defines


Who is the victim?
– Important if you have special legislation which
gives victims some benefits



Schneider: When threatened by a criminal
act, the victim may be





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A person
An organization
The moral order
The legal system
Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Victims



Only humans? No (Wolfgangs first order victims)
Organizations (Wolfgang´s second order victims)






Private companies, unicorporated associations,
Trade unions
Government bodies

State (Wolfgang´s third order victims)
– Tax fraud, espionage



International order
– Crimes against humanity – The Tribunal in the Hague

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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Victimology measures
Entrance gate for the Methods of Empirical
Research
 Problems of measuring victimization


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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Victimology measures
Victimizations: the experience of being a victim
 Three dimensions of damage

Victim Surveys

Who, what, when, which consequences
How many victims are out there....

Is the risk of victimization evenly distributed
»
»
»
»



Over time
Over area
Over sex
Over age

What goes together with victimization?
– Social correlates of victimization

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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Victimology measures
Victimizations

the experience of being a victim

Victim Surveys
» See special presentation in this course





Who, what, when, which consequences
How many viuctims are out there....
Is the risk of victimization evenly distributed
»
»
»
»



Over time
Over area
Over sex
Over age

What goes together with victimization?
– Social correlates of victimization

06/11/17

Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Victimology
scientific definition,
description,
measurement,
anylyses of patterns, of regularities,
of associative and maybe causal
relationships
and probabilities
and their interpretation.

Reactions


Victimology looks at reactions towards
victimization
-central topic in this fieldSocial sciences work on different levels of analysis
– Situational level
– Institutional level
– Macro-level

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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Reactions


Reactions of the victim
– Primary victimization



Reactions of the social auditorium
– Secondary victimization



Reactions permanently patterned
– Social structures: structural victimization

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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Reactions


It is proven that worldwide women especially are
victimized by those men who have control over
them and that authorities either cause or tolerate
these abuses




Domestic violence
Women in custody
Systematic rapes in wars and in civil unrest

Quoted from ai: Broken Bodies, Shattered Minds-Torture and Ill Treatment of Women,
2March 2001

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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Victim´s Informal Reactions
Crisis
 Crisis Reactions
 Crisis Intervention


– Entrance door for the whole system of victim
treatment:
» Counseling
» Crisis Intervention
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Jakarta 2011 - Prof. Dr. Kirchhoff

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Formal Reactions


Victim Assistance Services

Criminal Justice System
 Restorative Justice
 Transitional Justice


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