Victim blaming an obstacle to reporting crimes

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KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Victim Services Division says blaming the victim can affect society as a whole by crippling a victim’s ability to report a crime.

Victim blame is about holding the victim of a crime fully or partially responsible for the wrongdoing of the offender.

Victim Services Division program manager Dionne Dawn Binns said blaming victims may first lead to increased fear and unnecessary suffering for victims.

“In terms of the impact of blaming victims, what we see is that there is a great impact on their emotional state which tends to be primarily psychosocial in nature. For example, people who blame the victim tend to be ashamed. When they start to internalize what they are going through by blaming the victim, they start to blame themselves. They feel more guilty and this increases their feeling of fear, as they start to say, “so if I did something wrong then this thing can happen to me again or something worse can happen to me”, he said. Binns said.

Blaming the victims can also increase the state of confusion and helplessness of some victims.

“People can get depressed and feel even more vulnerable because they start to think, ‘Well, there’s nothing I can do to stop this thing from happening.’ In some of our worst cases, some may start having thoughts of suicide, because of the negative impact it has on them, ”she said.

Victims may also experience post-traumatic stress disorder due to the victim’s blame, and some may turn to drug addiction to cope.

The ripple effect of victim blame can then extend to society as a whole.

“Due to the heightened fear, unnecessary suffering, ridicule and humiliation they can feel, sometimes these people don’t even want to bother to go through the process. This translates to no reported crime and no prosecuted perpetrator, ”Binns explained.

Meanwhile, Binns said victim blame has been found to be more prevalent in crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence.

“Women are the predominant sex that would bear the blame of the victims. It is not something that is documented in terms of victim blame cases. However, what we do find is that throughout the course of providing the support that we do in terms of counseling and psychosocial support, the anecdotal responses and reports that we would get from the victim we serve would indicate the level of blame she suffers, ”Binns added.

The International Journal for Crime and Justice article, Invalidation: A Neglected Dimension of Gender-based Violence (GBV) and Inequality by Michael Salter, highlights how invalidation places responsibility for gender-based violence on victims.

“Social reception of girls’ and women’s testimony about gender-based violence is characterized by patterns of disbelief and blame on victims… Invalidation is a powerful tool in perpetuating gender inequality that can be used strategically by men, in order to make GBV possible and to place responsibility for GBV and its psychological damage on girls and women, ”the article says.

To access victim services, individuals can call the Victim Services Division through their toll-free number 888-VICTIMS- (842-8467). The other numbers are 876-946-0663 and (Digicel) 876-618-3620.

– JIS

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