Introduction
Victimology is concerned with the study of crime victims and includes the relationships between victims and offenders, police, and the courts (Ferguson and Turvey2014, 3). Although crime is a recurring social issue, the needs of victims of crime are usually overlooked. The field of victimology takes the focus back on the victim to understand their experiences and needs. According to Ferguson and Turvey (2014, 3), victimology covers issues of the causation of crimes and the role of the victim in criminal proceedings.
Domestic violence and rape represent some of the significant forms of violence perpetrated against women, who form the majority of the victims of these crimes. The true extent of such crimes, however, remains unknown because many cases of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse remain under-reported (Korkodeilou 2016, 1). Research has shown that victims of rape and domestic violence fail to report their experiences due to the fear that nobody will believe them. Where such cases are reported, the victims sometimes withdraw their complaint when they feel that they do not have the support they need. In 2014, for example, the then Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, stated that only a few of the victims of sexual violence, such as rape, reported to the police and that more than 80% of such victims suffered in silence (Korkodeilou 2016,1). The reluctance by victims to report cases of violence perpetrated against them mainly arises from their distrust of the police. Many cases of victims reported being abused, and the police treated them with a lack of understanding and sympathy. This problem is, however, not only common among the police but also among other justice system agencies such as Courts and CPS. Victims are treated with stereotypical and biased perceptions of the forms of abuse they report. The lack of proper investigations into such crimes further discourages victims from reporting.
This essay looks at victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system in England and Wales, with a specific focus on Domestic violence and rape victims. The essay also refers to relevant victimological theories that help explain domestic violence and rape victims. Specifically, the essay focuses on the victim precipitation theory and how it relates to the victims’ experiences with the criminal justice system.
Victimological Theories
Four major theories explain the concept of victimisation and its causes. These theories are the victim precipitation theory, the lifestyle theory, the deviant place theory, and the routine activities theory (Hussin and Zawawi 2012, 856). The precipitation theory posits that some people instigate confrontations or create certain circumstances that make them prone to being victimized either by injuries or death (Hussin and Zawawi 2012, 857). The theory blames the victim for creating conditions that made it possible for the perpetrator to commit the crime in question. This theory is divided into two, namely active and passive precipitation. Active precipitation is when the victim deliberately engages in conduct or actions that are provocative, leading to victimisation. In cases of rape, active precipitation may occur when the victim is provocatively accused of dressing. In cases of domestic violence, the victim may be accused of using abusive words against the perpetrator, hence leading to the violence against him/her. Passive precipitation is where the victim has characteristics that incite the perpetrator to the commission of the crime (Hussin and Zawawi 2012, 857). This may happen, for example, where a woman gets a promotion and becomes a victim of domestic violence from a jealous spouse.
The second theory is the lifestyle theory, which suggests that there are people whose lifestyle increases their exposure to crime. The theory states that crime is not random but instead arises from a person’s lifestyle. People who go out late at night or take drugs, for example, may be more likely to be victims of crime due to their chosen lifestyle. The third theory is the deviant place theory(Hussin and Zawawi 2012, 858). The theory posits that victims do not motivate crime, but rather it is the social areas where they live that expose them to crime. People living in areas with high crime rates, for example, are more likely to be victims of crime. The theory takes away the blame from victims and instead focuses it on social disorder. The fourth theory is the routine activities theory. The theory states that crime is linked to three variables, namely the availability of suitable targets such as unlocked homes, lack of proper guardians such as homeowners or police, and the presence of potential perpetrators of crime such as the unemployed people (Hussin and Zawawi 2012, 858). The presence of these variables increases the rate of crime.
Domestic Violence and Rape Victims’ Experience of the Criminal Justice System
Hester (2016, 176) states that the rate of withdrawal of sexual violence cases, such as rape and domestic violence, has been a concern for many years. Rape cases and cases of domestic violence are less likely to progress to prosecution and conviction compared to other offences. Some of the factors that lead to the withdrawal of the cases include the vulnerability of the victim, evidence issues, and the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. Vulnerability of the victim occurs where the victim has mental health issues or is deemed to have been drunk (Hester 2016, 177). In many cases, the reason for the withdrawal of such cases or the failure to report is attributed to the treatment that the victims receive when dealing with criminal justice agencies. Victims are treated with suspicion when reporting a crime to law enforcement agencies, and sometimes the police officers record the complaint as a non-crime. In other cases, the police officers do not conduct proper investigations, leading to the collapse of the cases (Payne 2009, 19).
Rape and Domestic Violence Cases
According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, at least 7.7% of women and 4.4% of men were estimated to have been victims of domestic abuse between the year 2015 and 2016 (Strickland and Allen 2017, 3). These statistics equate to approximately 1.3 million female and 716,000 male victims of domestic violence (Office for National Statistics 2017, 3). These statistics indicate that cases of sexual violence are common in England and Wales. However, despite the high number of cases, the number that progresses throughout the criminal justice system remains significantly low. The number gets lower when the cases in question relate to the most vulnerable victims. This suggests that the criminal justice system is failing the victims of sexual violence, such as rape and domestic violence victims.
Domestic Violence and Rape Victims’ Experiences
The precipitation theory offers a clear insight into how victims of domestic violence and rape are treated in the criminal justice system. Under this theory, victims of crimes are considered as the ones who motivate the offenders to commit the crimes. The theory looks at the victim as the cause of the crime committed against him (Criminal Justice Joint Inspection 2015, 6). The experiences that rape and domestic violence have with the criminal justice system seem to be consistent with the precipitation theory.
Victims of sexual violence require support from the first contact they have with authorities to their case is decided by the courts. According to the Criminal Justice Joint Inspection (2015, 6), many cases of sexual violence are not recorded by law enforcement agencies, even where the victims have reported such cases. This means that the victims are denied justice and protection from the perpetrators of such crimes. Where such is the case, vulnerable and repeat victims find it hard to report cases of violence perpetrated against them due to the fear that they may not get justice. Although there have been efforts to improve the responses by law enforcement agencies in recording and investigations into complaints of sexual violence crimes such as rape and domestic violence, there is still much to be done(Criminal Justice Joint Inspection 2015, 7). The initial contact process is important for victims because it determines whether or not they will pursue the complaints made.
Police officers’ response to reports of crimes of rape or domestic violence should be geared towards showing the victim that they have the support of these agencies in their pursuit of justice. In England and Wales, research indicates that there is a need for training of police officers to improve criminal investigations. There are cases where police officers fail to attend crime scenes, hence compromising the evidence that would have been used to help the victim in the pursuit of justice (Criminal Justice Joint Inspection 2015, 8). The failure to visit crime scenes compromises the quality of the investigations and ultimately jeopardises the victim’s case. The failure by law enforcement agencies to conduct proper investigations can be attributed to the lack of willingness to support rape or domestic violence victims. Victims of sexual offenses are seen as the motivators of the crimes committed against them; hence, they are denied support similar to that of other victims of crimes.
Victims of sexual offences require dignified treatment, especially during the period just after the crime has occurred. They require support from criminal justice agencies to motivate them to seek justice for the crimes committed against them. Victims want to be believed, to feel safe, to feel in control, not to feel like a victim, and to be reassured that it was not their fault. This means that from the reporting stage to the day when the court is to decide on the case, the victim should get as much support as possible(Criminal Justice Joint Inspection 2015, 10). They require support services for themselves and their families to get over the trauma. The criminal justice system, however, is designed in a way that treats victims with suspicion. Once a victim makes a report of an alleged sexual assault, she is treated like she is fabricating stories. From the onset, they are required to prove that indeed the crime happened instead of supporting them until the court decides otherwise. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), for example, requires supporting evidence to proceed with the matter to trial. This means that even where a crime was committed, and there is a lack of credible evidence, the CPS will drop the case without any consideration as to the effects on the victim.
Some developments have been made regarding the conduct of police officers when dealing with sexual violence victims. Police officers have been trained on how to record any complaints made and, at the same time, show support to the victims(Criminal Justice Joint Inspection 2015, 11). This has led to the development of the thevictim-focuseds approachwhere the officers support and believe the victims. In contrast, CPS takes the focus on victims approach where the focus before a case can be taken forward is how credible the victim is, the presence of supporting evidence, such as through witnesses, and anthe d presence of other evidence, including forensic evidence, to support the crime. The Thvictim-focusedus approach is responsive and considerate of the experience of the victim, while the focus on the victim approach focuses more on the credibility of the victim without giving much attention to the victim’s experiences. This represents the increasing hardening of attitudes against women who report sexual offences such as rape and domestic violence (Hirsch 2010, 1). Such an approach has led to the charging and conviction of women who have withdrawn their complaints where they feel victimised.
Stereotypes have also affected the victims’ pursuit of justice. Police, CPS, and the jury are also influenced by the attitudes of the general public regarding rape victims and other victims of sexual assault. Myths have clouded the thinking of officers working in the criminal justice system, which has affected their ability to offer support and provide justice to victims of crimes such as rape and sexual violence. One of these myths is that the majority of the perpetrators of sexual assault are strangers who attack their victims through the use of force. Literature has, however, shown that most victims are attacked by people they know(Payne 2009, 10). Such a myth makes it hard to convince a jury of the guilt of the accused person, especially where the person does not fit the characteristics of a criminal in that respect, such as a serial rapist. Other myths include blaming the victim for the crime committed against them and implying that there are certain types of women who are raped. Such myths make it difficult for victims of sexual assault to prove that the said crimes have been committed.
England and Wales have low conviction rates for sexual assault crimes such as rape. There is also the fact that there is a decline in the rate of reporting of such crimes and withdrawal from criminal proceedings of victims of crimes such as rape and domestic violence. This is because of the lack of proper policies meant to ensure that there is adequate support for victims of such crimes. There is also a lack of protection of victims from the perpetrators of the crimes, more so where they are known to them (Payne 2009, 3). In domestic violence cases, as well as rape cases, where the perpetrator is known or close to the victim, there is a high likelihood that the victim may withdraw from the proceedings before the case is complete due to pressure from the perpetrator. The lack of support for victims and the stereotypes that are directed towards victims point towards an acceptance of the victim precipitation theory (Patherick 2017, 5). The victim is treated as the contributor or motivator of the crime instead of being protected.
Conclusion
Victimology is concerned with the study of victims of crimes and why certain individuals are prone to being victims of crimes. Victimology also touches on the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, law enforcement, and the courts. The objective of this essay was to look at the experience of domestic and rape victims with the criminal justice system in England and Wales. Research has shown that there is a low conviction rate of these crimes in England and Wales. Further to this, a lot of rape and domestic violence cases get dropped along the way because of intimidation of victims or because lack of support from the criminal justice agencies. The criminal justice systems in England and the UK fail to give support to victims of domestic violence and rape, hence exposing them to stereotypes and discrimination. The victim precipitation theory best explains the approach taken by the criminal justice system in the UK and Wales, where victims are seen as the motivators of crimes. Such a view, combined with the stereotypes that are common in society regarding the victims of sexual assault, discourages victims from pursuing domestic violence and rape cases. The increasing victimisation and the lack of support from the criminal justice agencies further make it difficult for victims to get justice. This explains why there is a high rate of case withdrawals by victims of rape and domestic violence. Victims need a support system as well as respect; hence, the lack of such support is one of the factors that have contributed to the low rate of reporting of such cases.
References
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