Research has drawn attention to the stigma and high rates of victimization among people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and an overlap between bias and non-bias victimization. However, studies of ...bias events or hate crime involving persons with ID are scarce. Using a self-report measure, we analyze lifetime bias victimization in a sample of 260 adults diagnosed with ID (age M = 41.7, SD = 12.0; 59.2% men), of whom 92 experienced bias victimization (age M = 41.2, SD = 11.9; 54.3% men), and compare the number of different types of victimization and the poly-victimization status between bias and non-bias victims. We also examine the following features: the victim, offender(s), victim–offender relationship, and location. Results show that bias victims experience a higher number of different types of victimization than non-bias victims (M = 7.74 and 4.96, respectively; p <.001, rrb=.37, ξ=.42) and are four times more likely to be poly-victims than non-bias victims (odds ratio OR = 4.37; 95% CI, p <.001). Most of the victims experienced a number of bias victimization episodes (89.1%; n = 82), and more than a quarter were injured (27.2%, n = 25) as a result of the victimization. All the bias victimizations by strangers were carried out in public places, as were most of the bias victimizations by acquaintances. Schoolmates and work colleagues perpetrated attacks at school and in the workplace, respectively. More than half of the victims, 63% (n = 58), spoke of the experience with someone, but only one reported it to the authorities. The paper provides a valuable descriptive and bivariate analysis of bias victimization of people with ID. The findings will help to understand bias violence against this population, highlighting the need for targeted and effective interventions.
The purpose of the current study was to examine the frequency of cyber bullying among youth by distinguishing among the three categories of involvement in cyber bullying: victims, bullies, and ...bully–victims, to compare these to a fourth category of students who are not involved in the three categories of cyber bullying and to explore the factors that contribute to involvement in cyber bullying.
This study utilized a large and diverse sample of 2186 middle and high school students, who completed self report questionnaires during class time. We performed a Multinomial Logistic Regression to examine the relationship between the cyber bullying categories and our independent variables (gender, age, technology use, parental involvement and safety).
Over 30% of the students in this study identified as involved in cyber bullying, as victims or perpetrators, and one in four of the students (25.7%) reported having been involved in cyber bullying as both bully and victim during the previous three months. Students who were involved in cyber bullying were more likely than others to report perpetration of violence toward peers, to use computers for more hours a day, and to give their password to friends. Other risk factors, such as gender, age and safety, were found to be specific only for one category of cyber bullying.
The findings revealed that students are highly involved in cyber bullying. Several unique characteristics emerged regarding the frequency and risk factors of students' involvement in cyber bullying. In traditional bullying the category of bully–victims represents the smallest and most vulnerable group of children, whereas in the current study the bully–victims category emerged as common. In addition, females were more likely than males to be bully–victims, in contrast to research on traditional bullying, in which more males than females are typically involved as bully–victims. In addition, several risk factors were common among the three groups of children, including the amount of hours per day students use the computer, and giving passwords to a friend. These results point to the need for further examination and to focus on the risk factors for students' cyber bullying involvement in each of the three categories.
► We compare cyber bullying: victims, bullies, bully–victims, no involvement. ► We explore the factors that contribute to involvement in cyber bullying. ► One quarter reported involvement as both bully and victim in previous three months. ► In traditional bullying bully–victims represent the smallest most vulnerable group. ► In the current study the bully–victims category emerged as more common.
Abstract Theoretical and empirical research investigating victimization and offending has largely been either ‘victim-focused’ or ‘offender-focused.’ This approach ignores the potential theoretical ...and empirical overlap that may exist among victims and offenders, otherwise referred to as ‘victim–offenders.’ This paper provides a comprehensive review of the research that has examined the relationship between victimization and offending. The review identified 37 studies, spanning over five decades (1958–2011), that have assessed the victim–offender overlap. The empirical evidence gleaned from these studies with regard to the victim–offender overlap is robust as 31 studies found considerable support for the overlap and six additional studies found mixed/limited support. The evidence is also remarkably consistent across a diversity of analytical and statistical techniques and across historical, contemporary, cross-cultural, and international assessments of the victim–offender overlap. In addition, this overlap is identifiable among dating/intimate partners and mental health populations. Conclusions and directions for future research are also discussed.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive issue that is underreported to law enforcement. One reason why individuals do not report their victimization stems from a perceived lack of support from ...law enforcement officials. However, law enforcement perceptions of IPV are largely unknown as the empirical literature on this topic is both limited and dated. To fill this gap in the literature, we conduct an exploratory analysis of how officers perceive IPV events. Utilizing original survey data from 498 law enforcement officers in a Southern state, officer perceptions of offenders, victims, and the credibility of IPV calls are explored. We also evaluate whether those perceptions vary by personal characteristics of officers by utilizing t-tests and correlations. Findings indicate that, overall, officer perceptions have evolved from the historical viewpoint that IPV events were a private family matter to contemporary perceptions that IPV is a serious crime that requires attention from law enforcement. Furthermore, results suggest differences in perceptions by officers’ personal characteristics (i.e., gender, rank, age, and years of law enforcement experience). With increasing age and years of law enforcement experience, victim-related factors are less salient in police perceptions of IPV calls. Regarding gender, female officers are less likely than male officers to believe victims may easily leave an abusive relationship and less likely to consider physical evidence of trauma to be very important in determining the credibility of an IPV call—suggesting that female officers are more in tune with the complexity of IPV cases. While officers appear to have a strong understanding of the contours of IPV incidents, overall, clear differences by personal characteristics were evident.
Evidence that violent victimization is associated with an array of negative outcomes over the life-course is mounting. While its links to poor health have been extensively documented, socio-economic ...outcomes have been left relatively unexplored. In this study, Swedish population register data are utilized to examine the relationship between violent victimization and labour market exclusion, placing particular focus on the moderating role of offending and gender differences in this dynamic. Using data on 12 complete successive cohorts born 1975 to 1986, violent victimization is observed in young adulthood (age 20–24) using patient register data, and is measured as interpersonal violence resulting in hospital admission. Labour market exclusion is operationalized as being not in employment education or training and is observed at age 25 and 30. Linear probability models are estimated for men and women, respectively. The findings suggest that women who have been victims of violent crime face elevated risks of labour exclusion, in both the short and the long run, and regardless of criminal offending. Men, on the other hand, display no excess risk of labour market exclusion in the absence of violent offending. For the group of male violent offenders, however, victimization adds to the risk of labour market exclusion. Implications of the findings are discussed.
While research shows that "ideal victims" still receive more media coverage and more favorable depictions and results in the criminal justice system, it is not clear whether this is how victims of ...crime want to present themselves. We code and analyze the transcripts of 21 violence against women survivor victim impact statements (VIS) from YouTube videos, to assess how survivors present their victimization. While survivors of violence discuss their pain and trauma, they also call for better services and protection for other survivors, and attempt to bring awareness about the ubiquity of violence while motivating other survivors to come forward. Survivors rarely present themselves as stereotypically defined "ideal victims," though in some cases, they do focus on their own blamelessness and the motherly, familial relationships that have been negatively impacted by their victimization. Though ideal victim presentation may be a rational response for those seeking justice from patriarchal legal institutions, survivors resist ideal victim presentations based on stereotypical notions of femininity, demonstrating that from their perspectives, hierarchies between "deserving" and "undeserving" victims may be dissipating.
Victims of stalking use multiple help-seeking behaviors including reporting their experiences to the police, obtaining a restraining order, blocking communication, and relying on informal social ...networks like friends, family, or therapists. The goal of this study is to, first, identify distinct subgroups of stalking victims based on their help-seeking behaviors. Next, we identify the direct effect of sex, victim-offender relationship, and offense severity on class membership. Finally, we include negative emotions as a mediating effect. Using the 2016 National Crime Victimization Survey’s Supplemental Victimization Survey data, latent class analysis was utilized to identify class membership among 1,459 stalking victims. The results indicate three groups: passive help-seekers, informal help-seekers, and active help-seekers. We found that females are more likely to be assigned to the active or informal group and these two groups appear to experience more severe stalking behaviors compared to the passive group. Specifically, victims were less likely to ask for help actively and ask family, friends, and non-professional people for help for whom stalking took place by other/unable to identify individuals. Victims whose stalkers had a criminal record, whose stalkers threatened themselves or others, as well as who suffered stalking lasting for months and the most often were more likely to ask for help actively and ask family, friends, and non-professional people for help. The significance of victims’ perceptions of severity of both groups is only partially mediated by negative emotions.
Many victim service organizations are seeking to realign service delivery around principles of racial equity. Dismantling institutional racism is a complex, intensive, and long-term process. ...Therefore, despite this imperative from the field, our knowledge about how social service organizations can effectively advance anti-oppressive practice is limited. This study examined victim advocate perspectives on the role institutional racism played within their work and the supports needed to undo institutional racism within their organization. Six focus groups were conducted with a meaningful cross section of staff members (n = 53) across the organization. Semi-structured interview guides included questions in four domains: (1) racism within client work, (2) challenges to addressing racism, (3) effective solutions, and (4) helpful organizational supports. Transcripts were thematically analyzed using modified constructivist grounded theory methods. Two overarching themes, Identifying Institutional Racism in the Workplace and Advancing Anti-racist Practice, and six subthemes emerged from the analysis. Advocates identified that naming and becoming comfortable talking about race was essential. Further, they believed it was important to acknowledge the ways in which that racism was implicitly built into helping systems at large. Advocates explored how internalized racial stereotypes influenced interactions between black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and white advocates and their clients in complex ways. Advocates highlighted organizational efforts that supported ongoing personal reflection, the creation of an accountable community, and staff empowerment within the organization as being critical to advancing anti-racist practice. Some advocates also wanted to see the organization move further in the direction of standing with BIPOC communities, particularly around criminal justice concerns. Findings provide important timely insights into how institutional racism manifests within victim service organizations and what organizational actions encourage anti-oppressive practices and culture.
The strong positive association between offending and victimization, or the victim–offender overlap, has received considerable amount of research attention in recent years. Empirical research has ...made important strides in unpacking the sources of the phenomenon, but important questions remain unanswered. Ambiguity surrounds the utility of certain theoretical explanations for the overlap, the nature of the phenomenon, and the methodological tools used to examine its etiology. Owing to these knowledge gaps, the scientific meaning of the victim–offender overlap is unclear. Moreover, a number of potentially important theoretical arguments are rarely subject to empirical testing in this line of research. The purpose of this article is to use a narrative review methodology to provide a critical reappraisal of the theoretical, empirical, and methodological research on the victim–offender overlap and offer directions for ways forward to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. This review includes critical analysis of 78 academic publications, along with a table that summarizes the key findings and conclusions from 18 critical empirical studies that have contributed to our understanding of the victim–offender overlap. We offer recommendations for the continued development of theoretical and methodological tools to better understand this complex phenomenon.
This study applied a decision‐making perspective to examine the causal mechanisms underlying the relation between violent victimization and offending. We theorized that having been victimized affects ...an individual's appraisal of subsequent potentially conflictive situations in such a way that victims become more attuned toward the benefits of violence perpetration than toward its costs. Furthermore, we argued that this altered appraisal mediates the relation between violent victimization and violent offending. We tested these hypotheses by using data from the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths, a longitudinal study of Swiss youth (N = 1,013; 11–15 years of age). In line with expectations, path analysis results showed that prior victimization influenced the appraisal of decision‐making situations that, in turn, predicted subsequent self‐reported violent offending. Importantly, these mediation effects held when controlling for a variety of time‐stable factors, such as self‐control and risky activities, as well as prior victimization and delinquency. Implications for research and theorizing on the victim–offender overlap are elaborated in the discussion.
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