Impacts of Victimization

1. Impacts of Victimization

Victimization can affect people physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Criminologist Andrews and his associates (2003) found that some survivors even experience permanent disabilities or long-term symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can include:

• Dissociation
• Hyperarousal
• Avoidance
• Feeling trapped in negative thought patterns or moods

The impact of victimization can vary based on the characteristics of the crime, the characteristics of the survivor and their relationship to the offender, and post-crime factors like receiving access to timely and effective support (Karmen, 2020). After victimization, survivors are suddenly forced to navigate many new and complicated realities, potentially interacting with healthcare providers, media, police, and victim service providers, all while grieving and being presented with complicated choices about how to move forward (Roebuck et al., 2020).

For many survivors, there is so much work to do after experiencing violence that having the time and space to process what has happened can take a while. Throughout this time, friends and family may not know what to say and may be silent to avoid causing further distress, or they might offer unhelpful advice (Brison, 2002).

think about it

Certain common responses to others’ hardships, while well meaning, may instead have the impact of minimizing survivors’ experiences. Consider the following words survivors often hear, either in reference to their own experience after a crime or to the loss of a loved one:

• “They are in a better place now.”
• “Everything happens for a reason.”
• “You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”
• “I understand what you’re going through.”
• “You need to forgive them and move on.”

How might each of these statements impact a survivor, either positively or negatively?

term to know

Victimization

An action of singling someone out for cruel or unjust treatment.

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2. Resilience, Post-Traumatic Growth, and Post-Traumatic Change

While the pain of victimization may never fully subside, many survivors find ways to move forward with their lives, navigating and negotiating their way through adversity. This is known as the process of resilience (Ungar, 2004). Some survivors identify that doing this work of moving forward also contributes to post-traumatic growth (PTG), or positive psychological change after facing adversity.

Criminologists Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996) found that trauma survivors commonly report growth in five domains:

1. New possibilities
2. Relating to others
3. Personal strength
4. Spiritual change
5. Appreciation of life

Growth-related language provides an optimistic framework for some survivors, while others resist the idea of PTG. Post-traumatic change (PTC) is a broader concept that incorporates post-traumatic stress and PTG responses to violence but also creates room to consider how survivors experience changes that are hard to frame as negative or positive, or seemingly contradictory emotions, such as a survivor feeling proud of their advocacy work while finding it humiliating at the same time (Roebuck et al., 2022).

terms to know

Resilience

The ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis, or to return to pre-crisis status quickly.

Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG)

A positive psychological change experienced because of struggling with highly challenging, highly stressful life circumstances.

Post-Traumatic Change (PTC)

A psychological and emotional transformation that individuals may undergo after experiencing a traumatic event or series of events.

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3. Survivor Reactions to Services

Some survivors choose not to participate in services to avoid revictimization, or the process of feeling victimized for a second time by the criminal justice system and legal processes (Ahlin, 2010). Emotionally, survivors may not be able to cope with this level of stress and may feel unprepared to initiate contact for services or continue seeking services to help them with their recovery.

Criminologist Patterson and associates (2006) contended that there are several possible explanations for the survivors’ refusal of or withdrawal from these services, like the reasons for not reporting victimization to police:

• A close relationship to the perpetrator
• The gender of the victim or survivor
• Fear

Patterson also found that some survivors of crime were more hesitant to share their experiences with victim service providers for fear of having any information used against them in the future. Moreover, survivors were less likely to engage in victim-based services when they were less satisfied with the criminal justice system.

EXAMPLE

Survey respondents often felt frustration when information was limited, inaccurate, or confusing (Department of Justice Canada, 2005).

Dissatisfaction again arose when participants were forced to contact criminal justice professionals on their own and from receiving inconsistent information from criminal justice professionals due to changes in staffing. Survivors were less likely to seek out services, as disappointment from previous interactions influenced their perceptions of victim-based services (Department of Justice Canada, 2005).

term to know

Revictimization

The process of victimizing someone again, often through the criminal justice system.

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4. Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care

Trauma sustained from a crime can have long-term impacts on a victim or survivor, regardless of whether the violence itself is ongoing or occurred in the past. In recent years, the criminal justice system has renewed its interest in the development and implementation of trauma-informed practices to support victims or survivors of crime. Trauma- and violence-informed care (TVIC) approaches are policies and practices that recognize the connections between violence, trauma, negative health outcomes, and behaviors (Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center, 2021). TVIC approaches expand on the concept of trauma-informed practice to account for the intersecting impacts of the criminal justice system, interpersonal violence, and structural inequities on a person’s life.

hint

In other words, these approaches bring attention to broader historical and social conditions and institutional forms of violence rather than seeing problems as solely the result of a person’s psychological state (Varcoe et al., 2016).

This shift in language to include “violence” in relation to trauma and care is critical, as it underscores the importance of the relationship between violence and trauma. TVIC approaches can:

• Increase safety, control, and resilience for people who are seeking services in relation to experiences of violence or people who have a history of experiencing violence.
• Minimize harm and re-traumatization to victims or survivors in a safe and respectful manner, acknowledging both individual and systemic violence (Varcoe et al., 2016).

Service providers, organizations, and systems may not be aware that they can cause unintentional harm to people who have experienced violence and trauma. Re-traumatization can occur for crime survivors in many ways.

EXAMPLE

A crime survivor may feel re-traumatized when asked to retell their story of victimization to different individuals or organizations throughout a criminal investigation. They may have to tell their story to the attending officer who was first to respond to the crime, to a doctor who treated their injuries, to a detective overlooking the criminal case, to a victim support worker to access victim compensation, and to a judge in a trial for the crime. This can be deeply upsetting to the survivor.

TVIC approaches can help make systems and organizations more responsive to the needs of all people and to provide opportunities for practitioners to effectively support their clients. By practicing universal trauma precautions, service providers can offer safe care and support. Organizations can develop structures, policies, and processes that can foster a culture built on an understanding of how trauma and violence affect peoples’ lives.

EXAMPLE

An organization that provides shelter for violence victims may help prevent re-traumatization by not requiring victims to disclose abuse experiences to access housing. The organization may also hire staff with lived experience of partner violence who can better understand and support the victims they serve.

term to know

Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care

Policies and practices that recognize the connections between violence, trauma, negative health outcomes, and behaviors.

REFERENCES

Ahlin, E. (2010). Secondary victims of homicide. In B. S. Fisher & S.P. Lab (Eds), Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention (pp. 844-845). SAGE. sk.sagepub.com/reference/victimologyandcrime

Andrews, B., Brewin, C. R., & Rose, S. (2003). Gender, social support, and PTSD in victims of violent crime. Journal of traumatic stress, 16(4), 421-427. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1023/A%3A1024478305142

Brison, S. J. (2002). Aftermath: Violence and the remaking of a self. Princeton University Press.

Department of Justice Canada (2005). Multi-site survey of victims of crime and criminal justice professionals across Canada: Summary of victims of crime respondents. Policy Centre for Victim Issues.

Karmen, A. (2020). Crime victims: An introduction to victimology (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Patterson, A., Dunn, P., Chaston, K., & Malone L. (2006). In the aftermath: The support needs of people bereaved by homicide: A research report. Victim Support. crcvc.ca/docs/in-the-aftermath.pdf

Roebuck, B., Johnson, H., Eisenfeld, D., Roebuck, M., & Barkley, J. (2020). Resilience and Survivors of Violent Crime. Victimology Research Centre, Algonquin College. www.algonquincollege.com/arie/files/2020/12/Resilience-and-Survivors-of-Violent-Crime.pdf

Roebuck, B. S., Sattler, P. L., & Clayton, A. K. (2022, January 27). Violence and posttraumatic change (PTC). Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2022-24216-001.html

Tedeschi, R. G., Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The PTG inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9(3), 455-471. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jts.2490090305

Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center. (2021). What is Trauma-Informed Care? Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center. www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care/

Ungar, M. (2004). A constructionist discourse on resilience: Multiple contexts, multiple realities among at-risk children and youth. Youth & Society, 35(3), 341–365. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0044118X03257030

Varcoe, C. M., Wathen, C. N., Ford-Gilboe, M., Smye, V., & Browne, A. (2016, August). VEGA Briefing Note on Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care. VEGA Project and PreVAiL Research Network. www.pauktuutit.ca/e-modules/my-journey-healthcare-provider/presentation_content/external_files/A%20VEGA%20Briefing%20Note%20on%20Trauma-%20and%20Violence-Informed%20Care.pdf