The Socially Constructed Identity of Victims in the Past and Present

Abstract

Victims have always been a part of the criminalization process. In recent times the introduction of victimology and the victim’s rights movement has influenced the importance and awareness of victim’s roles and treatment within legislation and society. The identity of a victim, however, is not natural. It is socially constructed. In this paper I employ a critical victimological lens to examine how victims of crime have been seen and treated historically. The historical analysis focuses on the late 19th and 20th century when the views of victims began to dramatically shift. By analyzing this historical social construction one can see more clearly how this identity is always changing. We can see how this applied label affects not only how victims see themselves but how the perception of other individuals and current legislation affects them as well. I argue that this historical understanding is necessary to make sense of contemporary policies and treatment. In this essay I will answer how the identity of victim constructed and continuously being constructed.

Discipline: Sociology Honours

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Amanda Nelund