Just World Theory Essay

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Christie (1986) outlined five attributes that an ideal victim requires, he notes that a ‘victim’ is a subjective concept, heavily influenced by a person’s perception of a situation. According to Christie, a victim is considered ideal if she/he is weak, carrying out a respectable project, in a place where she/he cannot be blamed for being, the offender must be ‘big and bad’ and unknown to the victim. Even if individuals meet these requirements, some are still deemed a non-ideal victim and are subjected to victim-blaming. Victim-blaming involves implying and placing the responsibility of the crime on the victim rather than the perpetrator (SACE, 2024). The phenomenon of victim-blaming has been explored extensively, and several theories have emerged …show more content…

In a sexual assault case, the world allows people to believe that victims have control over their environment and an undeserving victim would not find themselves in a dangerous situation, however a deserving victims’ choices have led to their victimhood. The literature on just world theory and victim-blaming is conflicting. While some studies have indicated a significant relationship between just world beliefs and victim-blaming (Grubb & Turner, 2012, Furnham, 2003), other studies contribute victim-blaming to other factors and minimise the influence of belief in the just world. Perdersen and Stromwall’s study into victim-blaming and date rape victims found that sexism more so than belief in the just world increases the chance of victim-blaming, while Culda et al. (2018) suggested their findings on victim-blaming was influenced by rape myths. Nevertheless, there is more research indicating a positive correlation between just world theory and blameworthiness of

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