Vital Role of Victimology in the Rehabilitation of Offenders and Their Reintegration Into Society (From Resource Material Series No. 56, P 71-86, 2000, Hiroshi Iitsuka and Rebecca Findlay-Debeck, eds. -- See NCJ-191475)

• NCJ Number: 191481
• Author(s): Ezzat A. Fattah
• Date Published: December 2000
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Japan
• Note: Work product of the 112th UNAFEI International Training Course, “Participation of the Public and Victims for More Fair and Effective Criminal Justice.”

Annotation

This paper examines why a thorough knowledge of victimology is indispensable for better understanding the offender and the offense, why such knowledge is essential for positively changing offenders' attitudes and behavior, and the new possibilities victimology offers for the rehabilitation of offenders and their successful reintegration into society.

Abstract

Theoretical victimology is the study of crime victims, their characteristics, their relationship to and their interactions with their victimizers, their role, and their contribution to the genesis of the crime. It is also the study of the impact of crime on victims, notably the traumatic effects of victimization, victims' response to victimization, and the coping mechanisms they use for healing and recovery. Victimological knowledge is essential for understanding the offender and the offense, because there is a close link between victimization and offending behavior; among the most obvious cases are vendettas, vengeance, reprisal, retaliation, self-defense, and abusing parents who were themselves abused as children. Offenders themselves often become victims, because their behavior often places them in risky situations that make them targets for retaliation for those they have harmed. Understanding the role victimization plays in offending, the phenomenon of role reversal, and the interchangeable roles of victim and victimizer is bound to change the views and stereotypes of offenders, help understand the motives for their behavior, and assist in establishing a rapport with offenders, thus increasing the possibility of influencing their attitudes and behavior in the positive direction.