Victim Classification and Secondary Victimization Issues
Victim Classifications and System Interactions
Types of Victims
Non-Participating Victims
These victims are often considered ideal (consumable, replaceable, or substitutable) and are not involved in the genesis of the crime.
- Accidental: Randomly encountered by the criminal (e.g., a victim during a bank robbery).
- Indiscriminate: No connection with the aggressor (e.g., a victim of a terrorist attack).
Participating Victims
These victims are often considered irreplaceable and are voluntarily involved, to some degree, in the genesis of the crime.
- Facilitating: Contributing to the crime through recklessness (e.g., leaving keys in a motorcycle).
- Provocation: Generating the crime through prior actions, leading to retaliation or revenge (e.g., an employer closes a business and disappears with employee funds).
- Alternative: Situations where victim and victimizer roles are determined randomly or by circumstance (e.g., duels to the death).
- Voluntary: The victim consents to or requests the act (e.g., euthanasia).
Relative Victims
Victims belonging to the same family as the aggressor (e.g., abused women, elderly individuals, children). This category often involves a high dark figure of crime (unreported incidents).
Collective Victims
The victim is a legal entity, corporation, community, or social group (e.g., crimes against businesses, farms, or specific communities).
Especially Vulnerable Victims
Individuals susceptible due to specific circumstances:
- Personal factors: Age, gender, ethnicity, physical or mental condition.
- Social factors: Economic status, profession, immigration status.
Symbolic Victims
Attacked not for who they are personally, but for what they represent (e.g., members of a political party, religious group, or holders of a specific ideology).
False Victims
Individuals who report crimes that have not occurred.
- Simulators: Knowingly file false reports for reasons like profit, revenge, attention, or to mislead authorities.
- Imaginary Victims: Genuinely believe a crime occurred when it did not, potentially due to mental conditions (e.g., senility, paranoia).
Secondary Victimization
Concept
Secondary victimization refers to the further harm, distress, or negative consequences experienced by victims resulting from their interaction with the criminal justice system (police, courts, etc.) and other response systems. The system itself can inadvertently generate this additional victimization.
Disadvantages and Protective Measures for the Victim
Potential Negative Experiences
- Police Interaction: Inattention, prolonged waiting times, insensitive or hostile interrogations, lack of information about case progress or rights.
- Court Proceedings: Repeated recounting of traumatic events, delays, confronting the accused, facing disbelief, incurring economic costs (lost wages, travel), and experiencing further labor and family problems.
Potential Protective Measures
Measures can be taken to mitigate secondary victimization, such as:
- Preserving the victim’s identity and privacy.
- Allowing testimony without being seen by the accused or the public.
- Conducting proceedings in a calm, non-intimidating environment.
- Providing secure transportation (e.g., police vehicles).
- Avoiding unnecessary media exposure (prohibiting photos/drawings).
- Offering police protection if needed.
- In extreme cases, providing a new identity.
Reluctance of Victims to Report
A significant portion of crimes goes unreported (the dark figure of crime). While victims initiate the vast majority (~90%) of formal complaints, many do not lead to conviction. Furthermore, even if a conviction occurs, the perpetrator may be declared insolvent, limiting restitution possibilities. These factors contribute to victims’ reluctance to engage with the system.
Factors Encouraging Reporting
- Desire for compensation or restitution for damages suffered.
- Access to protection and support through Victims Assistance Programs.
- Motivation to prevent future victimization (of self or others).
- A desire for justice to be served and the offender held accountable.
Factors Discouraging Reporting
- Personal reactions like feelings of helplessness, fear, shame, or anxiety.
- Fear of experiencing secondary victimization from the justice system.
- Fear of reprisals or retaliation by the perpetrators or their associates.
- The ‘dirty hands’ syndrome, where the victim feels partially responsible or involved.
- A personal or familial relationship between the victim and the offender.
- The victim belonging to marginalized or stigmatized groups, fearing disbelief or mistreatment.
Council of Europe Recommendation
Recommendation No. R (85) 11, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on June 28, 1985, addresses the position of the victim within the framework of criminal law and procedure, urging member states to improve support and protection for victims.