In 1986, for the first time, society was introduced to the term ‘ideal victim’, pioneered by Nils Christie. An ‘ideal victim’ is a coveted status that may be granted to an individual after an event of a traumatic nature. This status is only given as a result of the media's nuanced interpretations pertaining to the details of the current case, thereby discerning the level of sympathy to be extended to a victim, if any, based on the five attributes of ideal victimhood derived from Christie. In 2023, a young girl who goes by the alias ‘Tilly’, was unfortunately a victim of rape. Following the traumatic event, it was decided that she would undergo a full body examination at the hospital to monitor her physical and emotional wellbeing. Instead of being greeted with sympathy and care at the …show more content…
Beyond the facts of the news article, Tilly presents many components that align with Christie’s ideal victim attribute list, one such attribute being that “the victim is weak” (Christie p. 19). Tilly was inherently predisposed to a position of vulnerability, due to her age and gender. It is reasonable to infer that she was not only weaker in comparison to her offender, but also to the hospital personnel. In addition, her weakness is shown through the vulnerability of her mental state following the assault, potentially amplifying the dire mental and emotional effects of the malpractice. Christie expresses the act of “carrying out a respectable project” (Christie p. 19) as another attribute of ideal victimhood. Tilly displayed this by attempting to prioritise herself and her well-being following the assault. The final attribute that Christie outlines is that “the offender was unknown” (Christie, p. 19). Whilst impossible to speak on the relationship the offender had with Tilly, it is easy to ascertain that the hospital staff and doctors were all unknown to Tilly during this
According to the FBI, more than 75 percent of all murder victims are women, and more than 50 percent of the women are between the ages of 14 and 29 years old. A part of that statistic is Kitty Genovese,a murder victim who is the focus of an editorial, “The Dying Girl that No One Helped,” written by Loudon Wainwright. Kitty was a 28 year old woman who was brutally stabbed to death while on her way home from work. The woman, named Kitty Genovese, lived in a pleasant, welcoming, residential area, in New York. There was at least 38 witnesses that came forward, and they all heard her cries for help, but no one came to her aid. Wainwright effectively demonstrates how society has started turning a “blind-eye” toward problems that can endanger someone's
...is shown in the Ian Wathey and Craig Faunch case of 2006 where social workers believed that it was wrong to probe the couple about their family histories and Judge Sarah Cahill (2006) explained how she was appalled that the police were not involved at an earlier date. In addition to this, the case of baby Peter Connelly illustrates how some practitioners can get too emotionally involved and compassionate towards clients. The NSPCC’s Ten Pit Downfalls (2010) suggests that this specific case illustrates how unfamiliar society is culturally with the idea that mothers can be perpetrators of physical abuse. Therefore, it can be seen that compassion was shown towards Peter’s mother during in depth questioning when practitioners decided she merely needed support, as explained by the Independent (2010) where Tracey Connelly seemed fairly caring but inadequate as a mother.
One of the most shocking cases involving victims of crime failed by the criminal justice system is the Jimmy Savile scandal that was uncovered in 2012, a year after his death. Jimmy Saville was renown as a famous television, DJ and radio personality and a highly respected man for his charity work within the UK. Nevertheless, he was also one of the UK’s most famous sexual predators and paedophiles who had many victims. His victims included women as well as up to 1,000 young girls and boys, the age range of victims were as low as 5 all the way up to 75, over a 50-year period. He led this lifestyle by abusing his power, and taking advantage of his celebrity status, to feed his
Nils Christie’s theory on an idea victim consists of certain category’s that may vary for each victim(Christie (1986). From Christie’s theory it is said that the victim could be an old or young lady that has cared for her elderly sister, and if she has been hit on the head by a big man and he grabs her bag and uses the money for alcohol or drugs(Christie (1986). Attributes that Christie came up with is the victim is weaker than the ‘big and bad’ offender. In regards to the rape victim would be a young virgin on her way home from visiting sick relatives’ (Christie (1986).
as Jennifer, a victim states, “I feel our childhood has been taken away from us and it has left a big hole in our lives.”
This paper seeks to discuss and further explore Susan Brison’s argument on the self and how violence can have an impact on us and change how we see ourselves, interpret our identity, and, in some cases how the self can be so altered as to no longer be the same. Brison explains when the trauma is of human origin and is intentionally inflicted, it not only shatters one’s view of the world, one’s safety in it, but it also severs the sustaining connection between the self and the rest of humanity, destroying the belief that one can be oneself in relation to other people (p. 14). This paper will attempt to explore further the traumatized self. That said, when we are speaking for others there is a concern that in doing so it would be unethical, arrogant, and politically illegitimate (Alcoff, p. 6). Nevertheless, if I spoke from a personal position, would this be anymore ethical with respects to this paper? I would be speaking authentically, but would this be inappropriate? Yes, it would be unethical and inappropriate. It is considered unacceptable to talk personally in a classroom. Then I
The years after the civil war left one half of America, the north, satisfied and the other half, the south, mostly dissatisfied. Therefore the last third of the nineteenth century, 1865-1900, was a time period in which America was mending, repairing, improving, reshaping, and reconstructing its society, economy, culture, and policies. Basically it was changing everything it stood for. This continual change can be seen in the following events that took place during this time. These events are both causes and effects of why America is what it is today. These are some examples: the reconstruction of the south, the great movement towards the west, the agricultural revolution, the rise of industrialism, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and America's growth to gaining world power. All of these are reasons and events that characterize America as being an ever-changing nation.
In recent years, the subject of crime has become an increasingly important theme of political, academic, and public debate. In particular, the media today is more focused on victims than it has ever been before. Through media representations of the ‘ideal victim’, this essay will subsequently show how the media are able to construct and re-affirm pre-existing traditional ideologies within the public realm. In effect, this assignment will critically assess the concept of an ‘ideal victim’ and show how the media have used this when describing crime.
…many people now acquire "victimhood" through counseling. Being a "victim" draws sympathy. It explains the tragedies, the failures, the hardships, the health problems and the disappointments of life. It relieves people of some of life's natural burdens: dealing with complexity, facing things beyond their control, and accepting responsibility for decisions and actions.
Due to advances made by the American mass media, the way Americans react to and interact with rape culture has changed dramatically changed from 1960 to the present. News coverage of major rape trials, movies and books involving rape have caused the American people to change their perspectives and reshape the way trials are carried out and the way female rape victims are viewed and treated during and after trials. During the 1960’s, due to societal and religious conventions, a victim’s history, chastity, and moral character were brought to light to serve as attestation against the claimant. After the feminist movement took off in the 1970’s, laws regarding this topic began to change drastically and hard facts and witnesses began being used to determine outcomes of cases. Although news stations, movies, and novels can further new ideas and offer the American people an insight into rape law and culture reform, they often set some of the forward progress back by promoting “traditional” views of rape, rape culture, and rape myths, in which the victim is made into a provocateur. In order to prevent this heinous crime from occuring, or at least reduce the ever increasing number of incidents, Americans must take it upon themselves to become educated upon the topic of rape. This means that they must collectively decide to see only the facts presented in a case, tell the difference between truth and rape myths perpetuated by society, and understand the long term and short term effects experienced by victims before, during, and after the trial, regardless of the situation.
Victimology is the scientific study of the physical, emotional, and financial harm people suffer from illegal activities. A common struggle Victimologists face is determining who the victim is. In general, crimes don 't have an “ideal victim”. The term ideal victims refer to someone who receives the most sympathy from society (Christie, 2016). An example of this would be a hardworking, honest man who on his way to work, had his wallet taken by force. Most people in society would have sympathy for him. He spent his life making an honest living to earn what he has and was a victim of a robbery. Victimologists study the interactions victims have with criminals, society, and the criminal justice system (Karmen, 2015). According to (Karmen, 2015)
Feminist Criminology, 7(2), 146-162. Kinder-Matthews, J. & Co., Ltd. (1994) The 'Standard' of the 'St Working with female sexual abusers. (pp. 57-67). The 'Secondary' of the Miccio & Fonseca, L.C. a.
When the victim does not fit the ideal victim attributes which society has familiarised themselves with, it can cause complications and confusion. Experts have noticed there is already a significant presence of victim blaming, especially for cases involving both genders. The fear of being blamed and rejected by the public is prominent in all victims. Victim blaming proclaims the victim also played a role in the crime by allowing the crime to occur through their actions (Kilmartin and Allison, 2017, p.21). Agarin (2014, p.173) underlines the problem of victim blaming is due to the mass of social problems and misconceptions within society. The offender can have “an edge in court of public opinion” if victim blaming exists, resulting in the prevention of the case accomplishing an effective deduction in court (Humphries, 2009, p.27). Thus, victims will become more reluctant to report offences because of their decrease in trust in the police and criminal justice system, leading to the dark figure of
Wolhuter, Lorraine, Neil Olley, and David Denham. Victimology: victimisation and victims’ rights. London: Routledge-Cavendish, 2009.
There are many different types of victims we have discussed over the course of this class, but we’re only going to talk about two types in the following paper. These two types of victims are common just as any another victim across America. These include sex assault victims and child abuse victims, which are both primary victims in cases. The two share a tie together, both are a victim of abuse and can cause lifelong consequences, but they also pose many differences as well. Many questions arise when talking about victims, for example why is a child or adult being abused and what are the life altering affects to these actions. Throughout this paper we discuss both sexual assault victims and child abuse victims and compare and contrast between the two.