Identify and discuss one of Mendelsohn’s categories of victims.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The first category is the innocent victim. This distinction is unique in Mendelsohn’s s typology, as it is the only classification that does not have any responsibility for the crime attributed to the victim. As the name suggests, an innocent victim is someone who is victimized by a random and unprecipitated crime, such as a school shooting. Unlike the other categories in Mendelsohn’s typology, the innocent victim is one with no responsibility in his victimization. In contrast, the other five categories sign a degree of blame or responsibility to the victim. Mendelsohn’s second category is the victim with minor guilt. In this case, victimization occurs as a result of one’s carelessness or ignorance. The victim with minor guilt is someone who, if she had given better thought or care to her safety, would not have been a victim of a crime. For instance, someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time or one who places herself in dangerous areas where she is at risk of potential victimization is characterized as a victim with minor guilt. An example of this is a case of a victim who is walking alone down the street in a high-crime area and is robbed. Mendelsohn’s third category is a victim who is equally as guilty as the offender. This victim is some one who shares the responsibility of the crime with the offender by deliberately placing himself or herself in harm’s way. An example of this classification is the individual who seeks out the services of a sex worker, only to contract a sexually transmitted infection as a result of their interaction. The fourth category represents the case whereby the victim is deemed “more guilty” than the offender. This is a “victim” who is provoked by others to engage in criminal activity. An example of this category is one who kills a current or former intimate partner following a history of abuse. The fifth category is a victim who is solely responsible for the harm that comes to him or her. These individuals are considered to be the “most guilty” of victims as they engaged in an act that was likely to lead to injury on their part. Examples of the most guilty victim include a suicide bomber who engages in an act that results in his or her death, or when a would-be attacker is killed by another in an act of self-defense. Mendelsohn’s final category is the imaginary victim. This is an individual who, as a result of some mental disease or defect, believes that he or she has been victimized by someone or something, when in reality this person has not been victimized.