Category: Victimology

The Victimology Project posted by Ellisha Shelsta leaves an ambivalent impression due to her application of a humorous attitude to a real-life situation. However, the video can be considered an excellent example of the study of victimology. The case revealed victims of the crime, described the behavioral pattern of the offender and provided insights into the relationship between the perpetrator and the injured party. The video portrayed the victims, their social habits, and personalities, which explained in part why they had fallen victims in the case in question. According to the video, both victims were kind-hearted people, always willing to help others, and the offender took advantage of their good nature. This offers clues about an offenders thought process in choosing his or her next victim.

The victim statement proved that Lydia Blanco (the offender) had a strong personality since during the kidnapping she did not bother to hide her face and she seemed willing to take risks in an attack; these factors also gave police additional clues about her behavior patterns (Karmen, 2016). The victim reported how the offender, Blanco, was acting, which enabled the police to compare her to a suspect in other cases and to subsequently catch the perpetrator.

The victim provided investigators with the context and details of the crimes (bullying and possible murder) and outlined connections between the victims and the offender. Due to the victims plight, the investigators were able to determine which risk group might more easily fall victim to bullying (Doerner & Lab, 2014). Thus, the video illustrated the first stage of this rediscovery process. It revealed what is an overlooked issuethat of bullying as well as street crimes  and called focused attention to this problem (Karmen, 2016). However, subsequent stages were not illustrated in the video. Objectivity is of particular importance when examining the

victims plight because in order to avoid taking sides during the analysis, the observer must be fair and unbiased. Objectivity enables one to draw fair conclusions and to reason entirely from the facts, all while staying impartial.

In the video, objectivity was not fully achieved, since conclusions about the offender were not drawn from solid evidence. Moreover, instead of analyzing data, police officers allowed their personal assessment to influence their decision-making processes (Karmen, 2016). In order to achieve objectivity in this case, the police should have analyzed why the boys became victims in the first place. The interaction of the officers with the victim does not seem unbiased, even when in this situation, the police should remain impartial. Moreover, the police should compile the characteristic profile of the crime victim to get a full range of data, which would in turn help define the primary predictors of the victims (Doerner & Lab, 2014). In the current case, the victims profiling has been overlooked; for that reason, objectivity was not achieved when examining the victims plight.

According to the first stage in the rediscovery process, activists address the public about illegal situations that regularly take place in society. It should be noted that various social groups and specific movements have also brought attention to the crime of bullying. One of the well-known movements is the Anti-Bullying movement active in the United States, which raised the specific topics of bullying and harassment in schools; however, these efforts often face criticism for being overly judgmental and based on preconceived notions. In addition, the movement of Watchdog journalism addresses such acute problems. The Watchdog organization communicates existing issues and occurrences in society and announces possible changes to anti-bullying legislation.

References

Karmen, V. (2016). Crime victims: An introduction to victimology. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Doerner, W.G., & Lab, S.P. (2014). Victimology. Waltham, MA: Anderson Publishing.

Introduction

The concept of the sideshow freak is a term inextricably linked to the various circuses and carnivals in the U.S. during the mid 19th to mid 20th century. Such attractions usually consisted of people, specimens or even objects considered to be abnormal by the standards of society at the time. The reason why freak shows became so popular was due to the fact that at the time when they were prevalent American society was not as, for lack of a better term, “jaded” as it is today.

Back then, American culture and society revolved mainly around the concept of communities, towns and close knit families unlike today where the conveniences of modern living have created a far more educated society yet possessing a distinctly individualistic societal norm.

As such, most individuals back then chose to remain within the communities that they were born and raised in resulting in a large of percentage of the population living within certain spheres of influence that for all intents and purposes rarely experienced any dramatic change whatsoever. At this particular point in time the global media network that is an ubiquitous existence today did not even exist yet, television was not yet invented and most people tended to derive their entertainment from radio broadcasts or from watching black and white movies at the local nickelodeon aptly named because tickets to watch a movie cost only a nickel back then.

In this environment where people rarely experienced anything new, sideshow freaks provided society with a glimpse into other aspects of the world that they are not normally privy to as a result of their closed off and insular lives within their various communities. In a way carnival freak shows provided a valued service to communities by acting as means of entertainment that they otherwise would not have seen. Despite the entertainment value such shows provided one must wonder over the ethicality of taking advantage of individuals already suffering from genetic maladies/ deformities just for the sake of their apparent entertainment value. It is based on this that this paper will seek to explore the effects such shows have on their victims, who allowed the practice to continue and whether society is at fault for the practice continuing and reaching the heights of popularity that it did.

The victims

When it came to carnival freak shows the more shocking and unusual the person up for display the more likely people would come to pay to view it. Conjoined twins, overly obese individuals, bearded ladies, people with more than one arm, deformed limbs and a variety of similar deformities dominated the carnival freak show scene well into the mid 20th century. These individuals were not merely put up for display but they were meant to portray roles that took away their humanity. Names such as elephant man, the two ton blob, freak of nature, demon from hell or ape woman were normally attached to the various freak show performers that were up for display (Royall, 1993).

In a way, being part of a freak show robbed people suffering from genetic deformities of their unique individual personas relegating them to mere attractions. An unfortunate consequence of de-personifying an individual to such an extent is their inevitable incapability to see beyond the roles they are meant to play while in the freak show (Memoirs of a Midget, 1998). Often times such individuals start to believe that their roles are all they are meant to be and stop considering a life outside of the circus (Memoirs of a Midget, 1998). It must be noted that one of the reasons freak shows existed was due to the fact that back then and even now society is rarely accepting of people with deformities.

They are constantly observed, constantly watched with people pointing at them from every street corner or sidewalk, the circus itself acts as a sanctuary of sorts for once the show ends they are able to retreat into their own personal sanctuaries far from the public eye. In a way the circus is the only place where they are treated as being “normal”. Since they are an important source of income for circuses and carnivals alike they are treated better than most employees and are given higher wages, better living quarters and even better food.

Unfortunately the life of the genetically deformed within circuses is comparable to being trapped within a fancy prison; as the fame of carnival freak shows grew the less people thought of freak show attractions as people and thought of them as less than human, as aberrations to the human species, something to look at, gaze at but never consider human. As a result, the genetically deformed rarely ventured out beyond the circus, preferring their insular isolated lives to being pointed and laughed at in regular society.

Understanding Why Society Treated Carnival Freaks as Less than Human

The reason people possessing genetic deformities were classified as less than human by society at the time was due to the concept of humanocentrism. Humanocentrism is described as a tendency for human beings to view the natural environment and other species from the standpoint of a distinctly human majority. Its premise is that anything that is outside the concept of being human is immediately classified as non-human or in extreme cases “alien”. In fact the humanocentric view of humanity has evolved over the years into present day racism wherein anyone not part of a particular group’s race was considered a “non-entity” or someone from “outside” the defined norms of the group (Brennan 274).

People possessing various genetic deformities such as claw like hands and toes, an unusually shaped head or being incredibly short were immediately classified as being non-human due to humanocentrism. Once something is placed under such a category the normal standards of human ethics and morality are no longer attributed to them by society. For example during the early 16th to mid 17th century capturing and owning slaves from Africa was not considered to be morally ambiguous due to Africans being relegated to the concept of being sub-human, namely being beneath the normal standards of what it was to be human.

This made their questionable moral and ethical treatment perfectly fine in the eyes of the predominantly white British, European and Colonial populations that utilized the African slave triangle as a means of manual labor for agricultural plantations. Taking such a historical precedent into consideration, it comes as no surprise that people possessing genetic deformities are thus set into the non-human category because they fail to “fit”, so to speak, the definition or look of being human.

As such with society unwilling to accept them and with no other form of livelihood available to them people possessing genetic deformities have no choice but to be part of circus freak shows as their only method of being able to earn a living. It is from this that it can be seen that the perpetrators of the continued suffering of people within carnival freak shows is in fact society itself which treats them as less than human due to the concept of humanocentrism relegating them into the category of not being human which strips them of the basic moral and ethical treatment that all humans have the right to.

Why Nothing Can Be Done to the Perpetrators

In most cases involving the inhuman and ill-treatment of individuals there is usually some form of commensurate punishment available to be subjected to the perpetrators of such actions yet how there be an appropriate punishment when it is actually society itself that is at fault. While arguments can be presented as to the culpability of the owners of various circuses and carnivals the fact remains that they were providing a means of income for people defined as freaks of nature by society who would not be able to gain any other means of employment (Fetal alcohol syndrome, 2010).

The blame for the maltreatment of the genetically deformed lies with the fact that society at the time, and even in the present, still considers such aberrations of human genetics as less than human. As such the relationship between society and circus freaks was not one of human to human interactions but in their eyes human to sub-human interactions where people possessing genetic deformities were considered inferior and thus deserving of their maltreatment. Another factor consider is the fact that at time, during the early 19th to mid 20th century, circuses, carnivals and their freak shows were considered to be the equivalent of today’s concerts done by musical artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

For American society, relegating human deformities to mere entertainment and shock value is the same as what is done today where various musical artists such as Lady Gaga wear outfits designed to elicit excitement and awe. It is doubtful that society at the time would have allowed circus freaks to go beyond their roles of entertainment and into more “normal” avenues of income. While it may be true that some participants of circus freak shows did go onto to live normal lives in the future, a majority of them continued to work for the various circuses and carnivals due to the role society set for them.

While such actions are inherently unethical and immoral there is nothing that can actually be done to the perpetrators themselves since they consist of the entirety of American society who through general consent relegated people with genetic deformities into roles measured by their perceived entertainment value rather than their worth as individuals.

What can/has been done to the victims

Ironically the end of the era of freak shows did not come as a result of the public outcry for the better and ethical treatment of individuals who have been classified as freak shows but rather the sudden boom in the popularity of television. Television was able to show audiences various forms of entertainment that surpassed what the various freak shows in circuses and carnivals had to offer and as a result the practice slowly faded with time.

References

Brennan, Andrew. (2003) “Humanism, Racism, And Speciesm.” Worldviews: Environment Culture Religion 7.3: 274-302. EBSCO. Web.

Fetal alcohol syndrome. (2010). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. Web.

Memoirs of a Midget. (1998). Cyclopedia of Literary Characters, Revised Third Edition, 1. Web.

Royall, N. K. (1993). The True History of the Elephant Man. Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Biography Series, 1-2. Web.

The Victimology Project posted by Ellisha Shelsta leaves an ambivalent impression due to her application of a humorous attitude to a real-life situation. However, the video can be considered an excellent example of the study of victimology. The case revealed victims of the crime, described the behavioral pattern of the offender and provided insights into the relationship between the perpetrator and the injured party. The video portrayed the victims, their social habits, and personalities, which explained in part why they had fallen victims in the case in question. According to the video, both victims were kind-hearted people, always willing to help others, and the offender took advantage of their good nature. This offers clues about an offender’s thought process in choosing his or her next victim.

The victim statement proved that Lydia Blanco (the offender) had a strong personality since during the kidnapping she did not bother to hide her face and she seemed willing to take risks in an attack; these factors also gave police additional clues about her behavior patterns (Karmen, 2016). The victim reported how the offender, Blanco, was acting, which enabled the police to compare her to a suspect in other cases and to subsequently catch the perpetrator.

The victim provided investigators with the context and details of the crimes (bullying and possible murder) and outlined connections between the victims and the offender. Due to the victim’s plight, the investigators were able to determine which risk group might more easily fall victim to bullying (Doerner & Lab, 2014). Thus, the video illustrated the first stage of this rediscovery process. It revealed what is an overlooked issue—that of bullying as well as street crimes – and called focused attention to this problem (Karmen, 2016). However, subsequent stages were not illustrated in the video. Objectivity is of particular importance when examining the

victim’s plight because in order to avoid taking sides during the analysis, the observer must be fair and unbiased. Objectivity enables one to draw fair conclusions and to reason entirely from the facts, all while staying impartial.

In the video, objectivity was not fully achieved, since conclusions about the offender were not drawn from solid evidence. Moreover, instead of analyzing data, police officers allowed their personal assessment to influence their decision-making processes (Karmen, 2016). In order to achieve objectivity in this case, the police should have analyzed why the boys became victims in the first place. The interaction of the officers with the victim does not seem unbiased, even when in this situation, the police should remain impartial. Moreover, the police should compile the characteristic profile of the crime victim to get a full range of data, which would in turn help define the primary predictors of the victims (Doerner & Lab, 2014). In the current case, the victims’ profiling has been overlooked; for that reason, objectivity was not achieved when examining the victim’s plight.

According to the first stage in the rediscovery process, activists address the public about illegal situations that regularly take place in society. It should be noted that various social groups and specific movements have also brought attention to the crime of bullying. One of the well-known movements is the Anti-Bullying movement active in the United States, which raised the specific topics of bullying and harassment in schools; however, these efforts often face criticism for being overly judgmental and based on preconceived notions. In addition, the movement of Watchdog journalism addresses such acute problems. The Watchdog organization communicates existing issues and occurrences in society and announces possible changes to anti-bullying legislation.

References

Karmen, V. (2016). Crime victims: An introduction to victimology. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Doerner, W.G., & Lab, S.P. (2014). Victimology. Waltham, MA: Anderson Publishing.

Introduction

Interpersonal violence, however dreadful it might sound, is a part of people’s daily lives. It occurs every day on the streets and in homes, in schools, at work. The purpose of this paper is to distinguish between the notions of criminology and victimology, examine the Sellin and Wolfgang’s victim typology, and apply this knowledge to the case of Sarah Lawrence college. Studying crime from the perspectives of both the perpetrator and the victim is beneficial as it provides an understanding of how they act and interact, and, therefore, might help address the issues associated with them.

Criminology and Victimology

Anyone can become a victim of violence or crime, either as a specific target or a casualty. The scientific study of victims of crime is called victimology. Daigle (2018) notes that it is often deemed a subfield of criminology, with which victimology has much in common. Criminology deals with the etiology of crime and studies criminals in their actions, motives, and relationship to the criminal justice system. In its turn, victimology studies the etiology of victimization and its consequences, as well as victims of crime in their relationship with the guilty party and the criminal justice system.

Victimologists are engaged in studying the demographics of victimization, that is, victims’ sex, age, race, location, and other circumstantial factors. Furthermore, specialists examine the problems of being a victim of a crime beyond the range of physical injuries related to violent acts. According to Meadows (2018), victims suffer economic losses, among which are medical expenses and loss of wages. For instance, the average cost of rape for a victim, when counting medical and other costs, might be over $50,000 (Meadows, 2018). Finally, according to victimologists, victims might feel responsible for what happened to them; therefore, victimization is often associated with a certain level of stress, anxiety, and guilt.

The earliest scientific works on victimization date back to the first half of the 20^th century. Meadows (2018) reports that one of the first scholars of the field was a researcher named Hans von Henting, who suggested that it was the victim who shaped the crime and the criminal. Then there was Benjamin Mendelsohn, according to whose theory some victims might inadvertently cause their own victimization based on one’s relationship with the perpetrator. Finally, there is the Sellin and Wolfgang’s typology, which focuses on the situations rather than relationships and will be discussed in detail below. Its five categories are primary victimization, secondary victimization, tertiary victimization, mutual victimization and no victimization.

Primary victimization refers to individual, targeted victimization, that is, cases of a person or a group selecting a particular individual or individuals as a victimization target. Examples include victims of hate crimes, bullying at school, or domestic violence. Secondary victimization refers to impersonalized targeting: when committing a crime, the offender does not aim at harming specific people, and those who suffer are victims by accident. When a company sells defective products to the public, the public becomes a secondary victim.

Tertiary victimization describes the phenomenon of society as a crime’s victim. This includes crimes committed by the government, such as when money is embezzled by public officials, or when people are defrauded by them. According to Meadows (2018), an elected official taking vacation trips and charging them as business expenses deceives the public. Mutual victimization is the occurrence of offenders becoming victims, for one, when two individuals engage in criminal activities together and then one of them becomes victimized by the other. These are the cases of a prostitute robbing the client or a drug dealer shooting the buyer. The fifth and final category of the Sellin and Wolfgang’s typology is no victimization, which refers to situations of victimization being difficult to define. This is most often the case with so-called victimless crimes, which involve only the perpetrator or consenting adults.

When reading news reports or stories related to crime, an attentive law student can identify the categories of victims presented in the text. For example, the article published in The Cut on April 6^th, 2022, tells about a unique offender who over the years had been making dozens of people victims of his behavior, either intentionally or casually. Marcus and Walsh (2022) provide a detailed account of the ‘stolen kids’ of Sarah Lawrence college, who became victims of actions of a man named Larry Ray. Having just finished a jail sentence for violations of child custody, Ray moved into his daughter Talia’s dormitory at the college. There he met Talia’s friends and slowly but surely insinuated himself into their lives, which resulted in Ray living with all of them for the next couple of years. During that time, the man subjected students to psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from them, and managed to draw his victims away from their families. In April of 2022 he went on federal trial for several crimes, including conspiracy, extortion, and sex trafficking, and was convicted on all counts.

When it comes to the Sellin and Wolfgang’s typology and its categories of victimization, it is evident that the students who suffered at the hands of Larry Ray were his primary victims. He targeted them upon moving into the dormitory, posing as a powerful father figure and spreading his influence over the impressionable young minds, making the students depend on him psychologically. Additionally, this article provides an example of secondary victimization: Marcus and Walsh (2022) state that Ray, being a brilliant manipulator, was reported to be impossible to psychologically evaluate by specialists during his complex divorce process. In this case, people dealing with Ray were his secondary victims: he did not target specific people but those who happened to be evaluating him were unable to do their job because of Ray’s tactics. Because of this, the process of proving that Ray’s testimony about his wife abusing their children was false took way longer than it otherwise could have taken.

The case of the Sarah Lawrence college kids is a very peculiar one from the point of view of victimology. Some might say that the students were Ray’s perfect victims: sensitive introverts searching for guidance and struggling with their relationships and mental health. What started as Ray providing support and mentorship quickly turned into psychological dependability of fragile young adults on a powerful and manipulative man. Many students stopped talking to their parents under Larry’s influence, therefore making him the most influential figure in their lives. Some of them, when asked to testify in court, never said a word against Ray, painting him as a guardian of vulnerable young people. Moreover, they spoke about their intentions to poison the man, which Ray indoctrinated them into saying to add weight to his nonsensical conspiracy theories.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both criminology and victimology provide valuable insights into the different parts of the etiology of crime. For one, various victim typologies offer various perspectives on the dynamics between the offender and the victim, with Sellin and Wolfgang’s one focusing on the situations and not on the relationship between the parties. The case of the Sarah Lawrence college kids, being a horrifying story, is great for studying the behavior of victims of cunning and manipulative mentors. It is evident that the more research is conducted on this subject, the better the understanding of how to help the victims and, if at all possible, how to reduce their numbers.

References

Daigle, L. E. (2018). Victimology: The essentials. SAGE Publications.

Marcus, E., & Walsh, J. D. (2022). The stolen kids of Sarah Lawrence: What happened to the group of bright college students who fell under the sway of a classmate’s father? The Cut. Web.

Meadows, R. (2018). Understanding violence and victimization (7^th ed.). Pearson Education.

Victimology is a science that dedicates itself to the study of the connection between the victim and the offender. These two terms are intertwined, and in order to understand the concept, one must first obtain an understanding of these definitions. A victim is someone who has been assaulted or harmed by the offender. An offender is someone who has committed an act of violence or felony against the victim (Victimology, 2016).

The police use victimology in order to discover a correlation between the victims and the offenders, in order to understand the underlying motives of every crime. Victimologists are an important part of the counseling effort to help the victims of crime and abuse regain a semblance of normal life after the deep psychological traumas inflicted by such events. The purpose of this report is to convince the readers of the necessity of introducing a greater number of such specialists into the criminal justice system of the US.

The word “victim” comes from the Latin language. It word had a meaning of sacrifice dedicated to a God or a Goddess. In the 19th century, however, the word obtained a different meaning, being used to describe suffering and tragedy. Fredric Wertham first used the term victimology in 1949 in his book, which was dedicated to the study of murderers (Ferguson & Turvey, 2009). Nowadays, the word victim is identified with someone who had suffered from harmful and illegal actions. The science itself is a relatively modern one – the concept has been in existence for a little less than 60 years. However, it is rapidly gaining acknowledgment in the justice systems around the world.

Victimology is both different and similar to criminology, sociology, and psychology. It explains how, when, and where a person could become a victim. The reasons could be numerous, from murder to natural disasters. These studies are based on demographics, with factors like race, gender, and wealth being accounted for. The core difference lies in the ability of victimology to use all the sources and methods of information gathering that are included in criminological, psychological, and sociological studies, not restricting itself in any way. The mental and behavioral aspects of the crime are both accounted for in victimology (Ferguson & Turvey, 2009).

The rise of victimology as an independent discipline is in no small part due to many governmental and grassroots organizations that have dedicated themselves to assisting the victims of abuse, homicide, rape, and domestic violence. These organizations deal with these problems every day and have accumulated a great amount of information about victims and ways of helping them. Nowadays there are numerous groups out there willing and eager to help those in need. The four major organizations in the USA include:

• The American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence.
• The Child Welfare League of America.
• The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence.
• The Battered Women’s Justice Project (Newcomer, 2013).

Even though there are many people out there willing to help the unfortunate victims of crime and abuse, the criminal justice system should not leave this matter to them alone. Instead, the police and the government should take a more active role in assisting them. Justice is pointless if the victim has not recovered from the assault.

Another problem that the current criminal justice system faces in regards to helping out victims of domestic and child abuse is the problem of mandatory reporting by religious organizations (Clergy, 2015). The confidentiality of pastoral communications is used as an excuse that keeps many crimes from being disclosed to the police. While in some states the pastors are obligated to report cases of domestic and child abuse should they receive knowledge of such, in many others the archaic notion persists.

As it currently stands, only 31 states out of 50 have laws that brand the representatives of religious organizations as mandatory reporters, with an exemption of certain religious conversations (Jenkins, 2015). The rest do not, meaning that even if a pastor or a clergyman possesses the knowledge of abuse, he or she has the right not to report it, thus concealing valuable information.

The worst thing is that they could not be held accountable for this either. In order to make the US a safer place for everybody, there must be no loopholes and ways around the obligation of every citizen to report a crime should they bear witness to it. All states need to adopt the mandatory reporting policy for the religious organizations.

The media could be a powerful ally in achieving this goal. In most states, nothing is being done about this issue due to general unawareness and apathy of the populace. The mass media is capable of reaching out to many people within a short amount of time. They need to see the truth and be aware of the consequences of such inaction.

If the subject becomes public and well known, the bureaucratic apparatuses would be left with no choice other than doing something about it (The Mass Media, 2016). There are many terrible stories that the clergymen know about but refuse to report them for one reason or another. Revealing these stories to the public would cause an outrage that would ultimately benefit justice.

California is a state famous for many clergy-related scandals regarding child molestation and child abuse. In the year 1990, a law was passed that forced clergymen to mandatory report cases related to child sexual abuse. However, there was one important exemption – the pastors were allowed to remain silent of the crimes, in case the information is obtained through penitential communication, or, in other words, a confession. This loophole is now a cause of many court processes, such as the case of Rebecca Mayeux, who was molested by a priest.

She currently runs a lawsuit against father Jeff Bayhi for his failure to report the crime to the authorities (Jenkins, 2015). Right now there are little to no alternatives to introducing a mandatory reporting law – in many cases, the clergymen are the only ones knowing about the abuse going on within their own ranks. The police and the supporting organizations usually do not know about the incidents until many years later. It is enough time to do irreversible physical and psychological damage.

It appears that nowadays the rights of the criminals are studied and protected far better than the rights of their victims. What the criminal justice system must do is make a greater emphasis on the victims by promoting laws that ensure their safety and care, and by having enough specialists in the area of victimology to help consult the targets of violence and abuse.

References

Clergy as mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. (2015). Web.

Ferguson, C., & Turvey, B.E. (2009). Victimology: a brief history with an introduction to forensic victimology. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.

Jenkins, J. (2015). Unholy secrets: The legal loophole that allows clergy to hide child sexual abuse.

Newcomer, L. (2013). 20 Standout groups stopping domestic violence. Web.

The Mass media. (2016).

Victimology: definition, theory & history. (2016). Web.

Green Victimology Summary

Degradation of the environment is a severe problem that has terrible effects on plants, animals, and the ecosystem, impacting daily life. The physical, emotional, and financial impact of illegal dumping, illicit logging, and animal poaching on victims. For example, causing ecological degradation that results in environmental withdrawals, such as the extraction of natural resources that results in severe effects such as deforestation or pollution. Therefore, environmental pollution is a significant crime that causes harm to the environment and, as a result, has a severe impact on human existence that results in unfavorable health conditions. Consequently, a multidisciplinary study of green victimology is required to create solutions to protect victims and mitigate the detrimental effects of environmental crime. It also examines how environmental crime victims might be empowered to seek justice and hold offenders accountable.

Evaluation and Integration

It investigates how individuals, communities, and societies are affected by environmental disasters and how these occurrences can have lasting effects on social, economic, and political systems. By researching the impact of environmental disasters on vulnerable groups and communities, green victimology tries to identify solutions for environmental justice challenges. Green victimology’s strength is its emphasis on comprehending the broader repercussions of environmental calamities. It tries to investigate these occurrences’ social, economic, and political repercussions instead of their immediate physical effects. Moreover, “human victims of environmental devastation are not typically acknowledged as ‘crime’ victims” (White, 2018). However, one critique of green victimology is that it does not emphasize prevention. Although it addresses the long-term effects of environmental disasters, it does not offer advice on preventing their occurrence. Moreover, green victimology does not address the fundamental causes of environmental damage, such as poverty and inequality (Johnson, 2017). As a result, green victimology needs a complete method for comprehending and addressing environmental justice challenges.

Application

The genesis of the Flint water crisis was in 2014 when the Flint River was the city’s primary water source. Due to the corrosiveness that was caused by lead pipes, the city water was contaminated. This caused severe harm to the residents, thus, alerting the city Governor Rick Snyder who declared a state of emergency in early 2016 (NRDCflix, 2017). The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also declared an emergency and advised Flint residents not to drink tap water. In later years, the city endeavored to replace its lead-contaminated pipes and enhance the quality of its water supply (NRDCflix, 2017). The water crisis has had far-reaching repercussions on the population, including health issues related to lead exposure.

The situation also resulted in severe economic hardship, with many businesses abandoning the area and residents paying inflated prices for bottled water. Numerous investigations, including a 2016 report from the US House of Representatives, found that the state of Michigan failed to respond promptly and did not take adequate measures to ensure the safety of Flint’s drinking water (NRDCflix, 2017). In 2017, Michigan announced a $97 million replacement plan for lead-tainted pipes in Flint. In addition to the state and federal governments, many nonprofits and organizations have stepped up to assist the inhabitants of Flint (Fighting for safe water in Flint, n.d). These groups have offered vital services like clean water, medical treatment, and other resources to assist the community in recovering from the catastrophe. Even though the water issue has had catastrophic impacts on the community, the city is beginning to recover slowly. In 2020, Flint’s mayor, Karen Weaver, proclaimed the city’s water safe for consumption. The city is still replacing its remaining lead pipes and enhancing water quality (NRDCflix, 2017). Despite the gains made, the city of Flint and its inhabitants are still dealing with the long-term impacts of the water crisis, and the path to recovery remains lengthy.

References

Johnson, D. S. (2017). The status of green criminology in victimology research. McNair Scholars Research Journal, 10(1), 8. Web.

NRDCflix. (2017). Fighting for Safe Water in Flint [Video]. YouTube. Web.

White, R. (2018). Green victimology and non-human victims. International Review of Victimology, 24(2), 239-255. Web.