Victimology

Victimology is the study of the victim(s), and its object of study is the human being who has been harmed in their property, physically or psychologically. According to the National Code of Criminal Procedure (CNPP), Article 108, a victim is defined as: “the victim of the crime is the passive subject who directly suffers the impact caused by the criminal conduct” (Unión, 2021). Victimology is interested in many aspects of the victim: their personality, all kinds of traits, demographics, relationships and social circle, the roles they play in daily life, and of course, their role in the committed act.

The first approaches to victimology were made by Benjamin Mendelsohn, Hans Von Henting, among others, who, in their attempt to study it, created their own patterns and factors that could cause certain people to become victims, considering it a science parallel to criminology. On the other hand, some accept its autonomy from criminology, while others still consider it a discipline derived from it, and many even consider it derived from law. Some argue for its existence due to the failure of criminology to provide adequate treatment and follow-up for the person who commits the crime (Porras, 2012).

Over the years, the victim has evolved, and so has victimology, although with some lag. While it is true that the victim is a source of information for the study of crime, it is also true that the victim has been largely neglected, with the focus placed on the perpetrator. It is necessary not only to understand that without a victim there is no crime, but also to instill in future criminologists, criminal investigators, and all those involved in this field that the victim should not be a stranger or unrelated to the case, and a crime cannot be studied unilaterally (Marchiori, 2004). It is necessary to study the existence of the victim, and, as any person can be a victim, it is important to highlight that the victim can also be part of the crime to some degree and is not always entirely innocent.

Unfortunately, there are victims whose cases have been forgotten or dismissed, and these are not rare and may increase daily. How many victims of hundreds of crimes walk the city streets without having received justice? And many others who, because of their role as victims, have been sidelined without receiving the importance that ethics and professionalism demand. The numbers are stark: 22.3 million victims are estimated up to 2020 (ENVIPE, 2020). What is certain is that without victimology, without that interest and compassion for another human being, neither criminology nor victimology would have a reason to exist; they are among the noblest sciences in this sense.

Bibliografy

ENVIPE. (2020). INEGI. Recuperado el 02 de julio de 2021, de https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/programas/envipe/2020/doc/envipe2020_presentacion_nacional.pdfMarchiori, H. (2004). Criminología. Teorías y pensamientos. México: Porrúa.Porras, J. F. (2012). La perfilación criminal. Flores.Teram, S. J. (s.f.). Corte Interamericana de Drechos Humanos. Recuperado el 30 de junio de 2021, de https://www.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/a12064.pdfUnión, C. d. (19 de febrero de 2021). diputados.gob.mx. Recuperado el 28 de junio de 2021, de Código Nacional de Procedimientos Penales: http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/CNPP_190221.pdf

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