Introduction Not APA Victimology is a sub category that branches off from criminology. Victimology focuses on the emotional, psychological, and physical harm victims suffer from. The primary goal of victimology is to help prevent people from becoming a victim in the first place by educating them (Argosy University, 2016). The word Victimology was created by Benjamin Mendelsohn and Hans von Hentig. They both studied victims between the end of the 1940’s & mid 1950’s. They came up with the Victim Precipitation Theory, better known as "victim blaming" (Wallace, 2007). Victimology main focus is to investigate how a person becomes a victim (Argosy University, 2016). Many people become a …show more content…
These theories are: Victim Precipitation Theory, Lifestyle Theory, Deviant Place Theory, and Routine Activity Theory. Victim Precipitation Theory- is the victim themselves actually provoke the attacks against them, basically saying the victim is to blame. Lifestyle Theory- says that victims put themselves in way of possibly being harmed by the choices they make in life. Deviant Place Theory- is when a victim is in a place or area where crimes are more likely to occur because it is a bad area of town. Routine Activity Theory- is when a person has a typical routine which creates a set of circumstances making that individual a suitable target of attack (Argosy University, …show more content…
Some sexual crimes are random acts, but many are thoroughly thought out. Victims are selected and the crime against them are carried out due to the victim’s daily habits. Set routines make it very easy for a predator to select a victim. Many people are not aware of their surroundings and that they even have set routines. These set routines can be noticed by others, making that person very predictable and vulnerable at the same time. People should change up their normal routines and make sure they are surrounded by others, especially late at night in rough neighborhoods. This will help prevent them from becoming a suitable target for sexual