Victimology Essay Example

Victimology Essay Table of contents Section A – Definition of Secondary Victimisation – Secondary Victimisation in the tribunal procedure – Article – Discussion of article – Decision P. 3 p. 3 p. 3 p. 4 p. 6 p. 6 Section B – Introduction – Definition – Victims rights in footings of victim impact statements And the legal proviso made for them in South Africa – Decision We will write a custom essay sample on Victimology specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Victimology specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Victimology specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer p. 7 p. 7 p. 7 Bibliography p. 9 2 p. 7 p. 8 Section A Definition of Secondary victimisation Secondary exploitation can be defined as the insensitive. victim-blaming attitudes. behaviors and patterns held by establishments and community service suppliers ensuing in extra injury for an already traumatised victim of offense. particularly for those who are victims of a sexual offense such as colza or molestation. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //rapecrisis. org. za/ ) . Secondary exploitation in the tribunal procedure Reporting a offense and traveling through the condemnable justness procedure is normally where secondary exploitation starts when describing a sexual offense to the constabulary. the victim is frequently left feeling exposed and slightly embarrassed about what happened. The victim is bombarded with many inquiries and paper work and they receive really small emotional support. The victim may experience that he/she has to live over the offense. This can be highly overpowering to the victim and intensifies the injury. In many instances the victim is discouraged by household members to even describe the offense. allow alone ballad charges ( UNISA Study Guide for CMY3705. p71 ) The victim may experience that he/she has small support and is left experiencing stray and entirely. Geting the instance to tribunal is a drawn-out. sulky and disorganized procedure and a really frustrating one at that. The victim normally wants to acquire the whole procedure over and done with every bit shortly as possible so that he/she can come to footings with the traumatic event and travel on with their lives. When the instance finally does stop up in tribunal the victim may experience overwhelmed by the strange and unknown environment and by the fact that he/she does non hold extended cognition of the tribunal procedure ; it is all really unfamiliar and really daunting. Quite frequently the victim is non told why he/she is being asked certain inquiries and is non kept updated on the advancement of the probe or the test. All of these factors intensify the injury that the victim is sing. ( UNISA Study Guide for CMY3705. p71 ) A big lending factor to the fact that certain establishments may do secondary exploitation is the deficiency of cognition or the retention of certain beliefs refering to ravish or sexual offenses. Some people may accept certain types of myths and stereotypes about colza which leads them to handling the victim insensitively. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //rapecrisis. org. za/ ) . 3 Article Women’s Month: One in Nine Campaign: The 1 in 9 run started out concentrating on the one adult female in nine who reports being raped. but has moved on to seek besides include the other eight subsisters. says Kwezilomso Ndazayo. Anyone who followed the Jacob Zuma colza test in 2006 shortly became familiar with the sight of groups of adult females outside the courtroom. have oning violet jerseies and bearing posters naming for justness. The run was born at that place. because the adult female who had laid the charge was one of our clients and we supported her. explains Kwezilomso Ndazayo. undertaking officer for the run. The research shows that merely one adult female in nine will take a colza instance to the condemnable justness system – we realized that those who dared to talk out needed our support. For many adult females. the cost of seeing a colza instance through the condemnable justness system is merely excessively high – peculiarly as strong belief rates are so low. Many adult females say that the tribunal procedure makes it experience as if they are being raped once more. This secondary victimization frequently begins from the minute they set pes in a constabulary station or infirmary. peculiarly if they are from a marginalized group such as tribades or hapless on the job category adult females. The strong belief rate is so dismaying that many subsisters see no point in subjecting themselves to a procedure that can take five old ages. if they have no religion in acquiring a strong belief. Part of the job is the innocent victim discourse frequently played out in the media. in which any adult female who is a sapphic. HIV positive. who drinks intoxicant or has of all time engaged in consensual sex is seen as blameworthy and non meriting of regard and compassion. non to advert justness. For illustration. there has been a batch of research looking at how force against adult females puts them at hazard of undertaking HIV. Now we are looking at it from another angle: how does being HIV positive put adult females at hazard of force? Kwezilomso says the Zuma instance raised legion issues about HIV. gender and civilization and helped members of the run to see that non merely should they go on but that they needed to broaden their attack. Just because the other eight adult females don’t follow the justness system path. it doesn’t mean they are non talking out in other ways. In a society that has normalized the abnormal and which appears complacent about the inordinately high degree of force against adult females and kids. the members of the run are determined to maintain talking out. Its of import that we holding voices that point out that this is non an acceptable province for adult females to be populating in. It besides helps subsisters by confirming that this is non normal. At the same clip we are cognizant of the effects of adult females talking truth to power and are careful non to jeopardize members of the run. 4 One in Nine is a member-based run that does protagonism in a assortment of ways. from running Young Women’s Leadership programmes across the states. to classs with the CDP on Art as Advocacy where adult females create their ain run stuffs such as jerseies and streamers. We are presently roll uping a usher written for colza subsisters by subsisters. This is of import. as most other ushers are written by faculty members or militants. but lone subsisters who have themselves have been through the system can state them what to anticipate. Kwezilomso besides points out that while the condemnable justness system is the most obvious symbol of the failure to protect adult females. there are many other sites of power that have an impact on women’s lives. runing from Parliament to the wellness system to the constabulary force. The province demands to be held accountable for issues like the backlog in the justness system. and we encourage active citizenship to guarantee that responsibility carriers do what they are supposed to make. But the full system is stacked against adult females. Even if there was a different authorities in office. the same system would stay. The province is a tool of control. to set people in their topographic point and close them up. The bigger inquiry is how we transform society. from the underside right up to the highest office in the land. The 16 Dayss of Activism run has come in for a batch of unfavorable judgment. and some militants believe it has been hijacked by authorities and does little but supply public dealingss chances for curates who quickly forget about the issues come January. Perhaps as a sector we need to pass more clip measuring the impact of the 16 Days. but I wouldn’t call for it to be scrapped wholly. Of class there are likely excessively many fancy dinners. but each platform provides us an chance to prosecute and seek to make positive alteration. And if the nature of some of these events is debatable. so we should utilize the chance to reflect a visible radiation on that. The good thing about 16 Dayss is that it gets the issues out into the unfastened and allows people a infinite to get down speaking about them. Despite the activism of many candidates. rates of force against adult females and kids in South Africa continue to lift. While we have progressive statute law and a one of the best Fundamental laws in the universe. it seems our society is out of measure with the values it professes to keep. Is there a hereafter for these runs? Obviously this is non traveling to alter nightlong. and possibly in 50 old ages clip South Africa will be a better topographic point for adult females and kids. But that doesn’t mean we should halt seeking. It is really of import that we continue to talk and be heard and guarantee that South Africans understand this is non the sort of society they want to populate in. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www. shukumisa. org. za/index. php/2011/08/womens-month-one-in-ninecampaig n/ ) 5 Discussion of the article This article provides a perfect illustration of why secondary exploitation takes topographic point in tribunal. As mentioned. the condemnable justness system frequently fails colza victims due to the low strong belief rate and the insensitive mode in which the victims are treated. The consequence is that many victims are discouraged to describe colza instances due to the fact that they feel they are non being heard and that they are being treated with small self-respect and regard. If this was non the instance at that place would most likely be an addition in studies taking to a higher strong belief rate. The rights of victims are being abused and undermined by the condemnable justness system and it is left up to private administrations and NGO’s to take attention of these victims. It is a sad province of personal businesss and the duty of protecting the rights of victims should be shifted back to the condemnable justness system. That is how it should hold been from twenty-four hours one! Decision From the treatment above it is obvious that drastic steps need to be taken in order to better the condemnable justness system to such an extent that secondary exploitation is cut down to a lower limit. Victims of sexual offenses or any offense for that affair should hold no uncertainty in their heads that the condemnable justness system is in topographic point in order to help them in their times of demand and should experience safe and accepted while traveling through the procedure of the condemnable justness system. In my sentiment this procedure will get down every bit shortly as there is a general alteration in the mentality and point of position that the members of these establishments hold. 6 Section B Introduction It has been debated whether or non a victim of offense should take part in the condemnable prosecution procedure and if so to what extent they are allowed to take part. In South Africa. legal proviso was made for victim impact statements due to the fact that for even the most trained professional. it is impossible to to the full grok what the victim might be sing and the sum of enduring that the victim has to digest. This was pointed out by the South African Law Commission ( 2002:68 ) . ( UNISA Study Guide for CMY3705. p. 77 ) Definition A victim impact statement is a written or unwritten statement made as portion of the judicial legal procedure. which allows a victim of offense the chance to talk during the sentencing of their aggressor or at subsequent word hearings. In some cases videotaped statements are permitted. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Victim_impact_statement ) A victim impact statement is document that is written by the victim explicating in their ain words what they experienced during the clip that the offense was being committed against them. A victim in this instance besides refers to the indirect victims such as close household members of the victim or an oculus informant. Victims’ rights in footings of impact statements and the legal proviso for them in South Africa Previously. the chief aim of any condemnable justness system was to find whether a suspect of a offense was guilty or non and more frequently than non the constitutional rights of victims were overlooked during this procedure. Gradually this began to alter and the undermentioned rights were awarded to South Africa and are to the full covered in the Constitution of The Republic of South Africa Act 1008 of 1996 in chapter two: ? Right to protection from injury ? The right to be notified of tribunal proceedings ? The right to be notified about bond ? The right to be informed of parole hearings ? The right to the prompt return of belongings 7 Along with these rights. victims were besides granted the right to take portion in the condemnable prosecution procedure by supplying their ain history of their experiences in the signifier of a victim impact statement. Legal proviso was made for victim impact statements when the South African Law Commission recommended the inclusion of a clause on victim impact statements in either unwritten or written signifier in the Sentence Framework Bill with the certain reserves: Decision A victim impact statement can be seen as a manner to authorise victims and give them a sense of intent during the condemnable prosecution procedure. It allows them to set into word precisely what they are sing on many degrees. It is a really of import portion of the prosecution procedure as it may find whether or non the accused will be sentenced every bit good as the length of the sentence. In my personal sentiment I feel that a victim impact statement is the most important oart of the prosecution procedure. 8 Bibliography Section A ? ? ? hypertext transfer protocol: //rapecrisis. org. za/ hypertext transfer protocol: //www. shukumisa. org. za/index. php/2011/08/womens-month-one-in-ninecampaign/ UNISA Study Guide for CMY3705. p71 Section B ? ? UNISA Study Guide for CMY3705. p. 77 hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Victim_impact_statement 9