Essay On Victimization

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In this article the authors, Gartner and Macmillan (1995), strive to conclude whether or not the relationship a victim has to their offender affects the awareness of the legal system has of female victim violence. Their basis for their analysis comes from statistics found in Canada’s Violence Against Women survey (VAWS). Activists and researchers alike have made arguments that woman are less likely to inform authorities of victimization because they have been most likely victimized by someone they know. Therefore there is a gap in the awareness that authorities have as well as misrepresentations and underestimations in official information.
Through the use of conceptual perspective the authors conclude that because intimacy, interaction, and integration is scarce between strangers, the use of the criminal justice system is more common in stranger-offender victims. Donald Black’s theory of that intimate victimization is less known because victims often use family and friends to solve disputes because they have common moral sensibilities, is presented in this article. Many victims believe that the crime is not serious enough to be punishable by law. His theory also suggests that people believe that legal action is often unnecessary and costly and that legal action often results in a disruption of close ties, further vengeance, and private matters becoming public when involving intimate-offender victimization. Feminist frame work coincides with the theories of Donald Black. They also suggest that woman may not inform authorizes because they fear they will not be taken seriously, may be blamed for the act of violence, and/or they will not be protected from further abuse from their abuser. These theories share the common assumption th...

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... not believe the authors were biased in writing this article.
In my personal opinion I don’t agree that the examination was crude and no definitive conclusion could be made. I feel that most of the evidence provided in the article suggests that the legal awareness of victim violence is affected by the relationship the victim has with the offender. I also found the authors formulas in calculating there statistics to be a bit confusing. I also felt that some of the examples and explanations were drawn out and could have been summarized more.
There were things about this article that I liked and disliked. However, I found this article to be an interesting investigation and research analysis. Many of the findings concurred with my ideas on why women do not report victimization. I learned a lot from not only this article but in having to do an article review as well.

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