PERCEPTION OF VICTIM GENDER

            In the society, there is gender discrepancies and differences in perceptions of male and female victims. Social structures and power structures condition the difference in perception. Men are more likely to commit a crime that women and so, the common belief or the social norm is that if a woman commits a crime, she is disruptive to the society's harmony,  she is a criminal deviant, she deny the pure womanly natures, and she violates her ‘womanly behaviors’  (Davis,  Lurigio & Herman, 2013). In other words, women experience what is known as ‘victim blaming' and this reason, women are less likely to report the crime simply because of the fear of retaliation, privacy issues, and financial dependency. In most cases. Women do not like engaging in formal help-seeking, but they participate in informal social networks such as friends. The social perceptions are that women engage in typical behaviors and they are responsible for the harm due to their carelessness. This leads to low reporting since as they report, they are considered as nonconformists, and they experience rejection and disapproval Dennison, S. M., & (Thompson, 2011).  On the other hand, deviance is connected with male and male violence is regarded as physical and direct whereas female violence is considered to be subversive. The point is men are overrepresented as being victims than women, and this means that the perceptions of victimization depend on gender. Victims are blamed and traumatized whereas the perpetrators are represented in every step to ensure that they rights are followed.  (Davis, Lurigio & Herman, 2013).  

In trying to understand the different perceptions, Englebrecht & Reyns (2011) introduces a new concept known as ‘unacknowledged victimizations.' This means that a stereotypical criterion is used in acknowledging the victims of violence or an individual is acknowledged to be a victim of sexual assault when he or she meets certain criteria. Women are more likely to be unacknowledged victims, and the effect is that they increase the risk of re-victimization.  The major factors that allow victims to be acknowledged include; the seriousness of the crime, the psychological response of the victim, victim-offender relationship and, the victim's advice from friends (Englebrecht & Reyns, 2011).  The four factors also shape the different perceptions of male and female victims in that when both men and women are victimized; men are more likely than women to label the incidence of victimization.  Research in this article reports that the psychological response is considered in acknowledgment, Even though women reported fear and anxiety than men. Still, they do not acknowledge their victimization, and as they acknowledge, they are ashamed and unwilling to report due to repression and denial. (Englebrecht & Reyns, 2011). The point is that victimization is not only unacknowledged by the society but also by the victims.  However, the different perceptions are rooted in the institutional arrangements that create victims' social invisibility.  In other words, there is a patriarchal social structure that is characterized by language and culture which hinder female victim acknowledgment.

 An example from the media that shows differences in perception of male and female victims is that of Kobe Bryant rape case. Bryant was involved in a sexual assault inform of raping a hotel employee aged 19yeras. Later, the prosecutors dropped the case arguing that the sex was consensual and referred to the women as promiscuous and unstable (Johnson, 2004). This case from the media show that women are overwhelmed by victimization, but they lack social support and they are denied justice.

 

 

 

 

References 

Englebrecht, C. M., & Reyns, B. W. (2011). Gender differences in acknowledgment of stalking

Victimization: Results from the NCVS stalking supplement. Violence and victims, 26(5), 560-579.

 Dennison, S. M., & Thompson, C. M. (2011). Intimate partner violence: The effect of gender and

contextual factors on community perceptions of harm, and suggested victim and criminal justice

responses. Violence and victims, 26(3), 347-363.

 Johnson Kirk. (2004). Prosecutor Drop Kobe Bryan Rape Case. The New York Times.  Retrieved from:

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/us/prosecutors-drop-kobe-bryant-rape-case.html