¶ … Victim's Role In Victimization
During a period in American history when increasing violence against police officers and violence committed by police officers is headline news, developing a better understanding of victimization represents a timely and valuable enterprise. To this end, this paper reviews the relevant literature concerning how victims can protect themselves from being the victimized followed by a discussion concerning when and where the rates of victimization are the highest. Finally, an analysis concerning how victim precipitation theory can be applied to the study of victimization is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning the victim's role in victimization in the conclusion.
Explanation concerning how victims can protect themselves from being victimized
Unfortunately, the historical record confirms that even in free societies, violence can occur virtually at any time and any place, and people can become victims of these actions without any forewarning. Therefore, it can be enormously difficult for individuals to protect themselves from being victimized unless they recognize the potential and take steps to mitigate this potential (Paradis, 2013). For adults, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution represents the foundation of protection from being victimized from the perspective of many Americans. For instance, Paradis (2013) reports that so-called "stand your...
3). For adults who may not want to carry a firearm for personal protection, other personal protection devices such as Tasers and pepper spray are readily available and remaining aware of one's surroundings is always essential (Nowicki, 2009).
In the case of younger people, though, the situation is more complicated because victimization can occur in or outside the schools (Juvonen & Graham, 2009). When victimization occurs in the schools, young victims may feel helpless to protect themselves from bullying or harassment and come to view schools as threatening and dangerous places to the detriment of their academic achievements (Juvonen & Graham, 2009). In many cases, the only protections that are available to young people in these circumstances is to report in-school abuse to an adult authority figure; however, when violence occurs outside the schools, young people may attempt to protect themselves from being victimized by avoiding those activities and locations where they know they will be victimized (Juvonen & Graham, 2009). This strategy, however, can adversely affect young people's socialization and relations with their peers and adults and result in their withdrawal from social activities of any type…
