Explore the advantages and disadvantages of the positivist approach to victimology.
This assignment will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the positive approach to victimology. It will do this by looking at other victimology approaches such as; Radical, feminist, and critical victimology. Analysing the different theories within each approach, to highlight the negatives and positives within the positivist approach to victimology.
“The key characteristics of positivist victimology can be described as, the identification of factors which contribute a non-random pattern of their own victimisation, a focus on interpersonal crimes of violence and a concern to identify victims who may have contributed to their own victimisation.” …show more content…

Secondary victimisation can minimize the significance of a crime, which leads to apathetic and discriminative attitudes” (Shaw, J. 2012). This could cause less crimes being reported, therefore the true figure of crime statistics are accurate. Positivist victimology does not take into account that some crimes may go unreported due to lack of trust of the criminal justice system, which could be a result of victim precipitation, which feminist victimology would see as victim blaming.
Other areas which feminist victimology would criticize the positivist approach to victimology, are that gender does play a huge role within victimology for example “feminist victimologists point out, one of the strongest predators in victimisation; males consistently perpetrate more crime, and more serious crime including, violent crime than females do, and are more likely to be victims of these crimes” (Wilson, J. 2009). Showing that gender does have an impact on who are victims and perpetrators. Rather than just relying on the lifestyle, or the victim and offenders relationship to explain victimization.
Radical victimology argues that positivist victimology does not address some victims and crimes such as, crimes of the powerful, white collar crime, capitalist crime, corporate crime and secondary victimisation. These crimes are invisible to the positivist approach. “Essentially radical