Patterns of Victimisation - Critical Victimology | A-Level Sociology

welcome to this tutor to you sociology topic video looking at patterns of victimization focusing on critical victimology in our previous video we discussed another approach to the study of victims positivist victimology in this video we're going to look at an approach that developed in response to positivist victimology and that is critical victimology

critical victimology like critical criminology looks at the role of the state and the authorities rather than individuals and focuses on how the status of victim is defined by the state and its agencies it also examines how the structure of society can impact individuals who become victims spencer and walker have identified three main features of critical victimology

firstly it examines the role of the state in the social construction of victimhood that is how the state defines who is a victim secondly it looks at the broader scale of victims of crime including those that may be unaware that they are victims of crime and finally it critiques the process of victim blaming

particularly the approach of positivist victimology in examining the role of the state critical victimology focuses on the idea that the social and physical characteristics often define whether somebody is a victim or not for example males are less likely to be seen as victims as they as are the working class despite both being more likely to be the victim of

crime in society this is due to their social and physical characteristics for tombs and white the state often fails to acknowledge the victim status of those who are victims of state or corporate crime and this can be evidenced through the recording of a verdict of death by misadventure on the 96 liverpool fans who died in the