Victimological Developments in the World During the Past Three Decades: A Study of Comparative Victimology, Part 2

Source: (2001) International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 45(5).

Whereas the immediate psychical and social damage inflicted on victims had already been established in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the insight has been gained only during the 1990’s that indirect and secondary victims (covictims), such as intimate and marriage partners, family members of the victims, and persons with a closer relationship, suffer the same damage to their personality as the victims themselves. Victimization can contribute to the origination of crime; it can also enhance the risk of committing offenses. The victimization risk, the probability of revictimization, increases with each victimization incident. The major share of victimization by offenders is concentrated within a comparatively small segment of the population. International criminal policy has made the following two major advances: the declaration concerning basic principles of justice for victims of crime and abuse of power; and the recommendations concerning the improvement of the legal position of the victim in the framework of criminal law and procedure. Victims are discontent with their role in criminal proceedings. They want the court to acknowledge the damage they have suffered; they want the offender to bear the full responsibility for the offense he or she has committed. They want to be recognized as a fully valid participant in the criminal proceedings. An establishment of a network of professional, state-provided victims’ support and treatment centers is needed. In a safe and understanding environment, the victim must, through various treatment methods, expose himself or herself to the traumatic memory and must overcome feelings of self-accusation and stigmatization by the method of cognitive restructuring.