International Review of Victimology

Publisher:: Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:: 2021-09-06

ISBN:: 0269-7580

Issue Number

No. 31-1, January 2025

Latest documents

Breaking the silence: Examining process of cyber sextortion and victims’ coping strategies
Sextortion is the threat to distribute intimate, sexual materials unless a victim complies with particular demands. Cyber sextortion, specifically, takes advantage of the Internet’s anonymous nature and uses explicit personal images to inflict harm on victims. Despite this crime’s serious nature, there is a dearth of empirical knowledge of sextortion, particularly the process of fear management for the victims. This article employed a qualitative content analysis of the victim testimonials posted on the Reddit sextortion forum to explore the coping mechanisms of 175 cyber sextortion victims. Borrowed from the transactional model of stress and coping developed by Lazarus and Folkman, the characteristics of person–environment stimuli, ransom, appraisal and coping, revisit, and reappraisal were identified and revealed an extended model of fear and stress management applied particularly among sextortion victims. In addition, characteristics that are unique to female and male victims are also revealed in this analysis. In sum, the dynamic nature of fear and stress management among victims of sextortion implies specific crime control and prevention policies.
Fear and phoning: Telephones, fraud, and older adults in the UK
This study explores the experiences of attempted frauds and victimisation which use largely telephone-based means of communication on predominantly over 75s in the United Kingdom. Using a postal survey targeted at the clients of a charity working mostly with this age group, two surveys were conducted during the 18-month life of the project, securing almost 2,000 responses, which sought to explore their experience of fraud as part of a wider evaluation of a fraud prevention initiative. The surveys were supported by 18 interviews with clients and 7 interviews with the charity co-ordinator and volunteers. The research found higher rates of victimisation than the norm for this group, combined with a large number of attempted frauds predominantly via the telephone, with 20% of respondents experiencing at least weekly attempts. The research highlights the first significant evidence of the fears, concerns, and anxieties among a minority of this group of frauds/scams and their impact on their daily lives. The paper also offers insights into telephone fraud and a typology of this crime.
Cyberbullying and cyberstalking victimisation among university students: A narrative systematic review
With the increasing use of information and communication technology, university students are more vulnerable to cyberbullying and cyberstalking than ever before. While prior research has mostly addressed these adverse behaviours separately, the convergence of these phenomena in the education and lives of university students suggests the need to explore them within a more holistic framework. This study presents a narrative systematic review (NSR) that focuses on university students (undergraduate and postgraduate) as victims. Out of 7,518 papers screened, only 61 were eligible for the review, resulting in a comprehensive and critical overview of the risks and protective factors associated with cyberbullying and cyberstalking among university students. The analysis of the review metadata sheds light on the factors that contribute to victims’ adverse experiences and explores best practices and intervention strategies for supporting them. The analysis revealed more research on cyberbullying rather than cyberstalking among university students. Certain risk factors have emerged as particularly relevant, such as underestimation of cyberbehaviour and risky behaviour among victims, along with considerations of gender, age, mental health, personality, and previous face-to-face victimisations. The most significant consequences include negative emotions and psychological vulnerabilities. Self-conscious behaviour and seeking support from family and friends are considered as the most common protective factors. There is a need for academic institutions to engage actively in preventing cyberbullying and cyberstalking through evidence-based programmes. Overall, there is a gap in our understanding of the effectiveness of policies and programmes at the university level.
‘My trust in strangers has disappeared completely’: How hate crime, perceived risk, and the concealment of sexual orientation affect fear of crime among Swedish LGBTQ students
Previous research has established correlations between anti-LGBTQ hate crime, fear of crime, perceived victimization risk, and the concealment of sexual orientation. Aside from correlations, the relationships between these variables remain poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to explore the relationships between anti-LGBTQ hate crime, perceived risk, and the concealment of sexual orientation in relation to fear of crime. Based on previous research and theory, the authors hypothesize (1) that experiences of hate crime victimization increase fear of crime, perceived victimization risk, and the concealment of sexual orientation; (2) that high levels of perceived risk result in high fear of crime and a more prevalent concealment of orientation; and (3) that the concealment of sexual orientation results in lower fear of crime. The sample consists of LGBTQ students enrolled at a Swedish university. The study uses a mixed method approach, combining survey data (N = 353) and interview data (N = 10). The data are assessed using path analysis and thematic analysis. The path analysis supported the authors’ hypothesis regarding experiences of anti-LGBT hate crime, perceived risk, and fear of crime. The qualitative analysis showed that victims of hate crimes had a reduced ability to process negative emotions because they experienced other traumatic life events parallel to the victimization. Similarly, feelings of being reduced to a negative stereotype resulted in higher levels of both fear of crime and perceived risk. Finally, the path analysis rejected the hypothesis that the concealment of sexual orientation results in lower fear of crime. Rather than being an agency-driven and functional fear response, the interview data showed that while these practices reduced victimization risk, they negatively impacted the overall health of the participants through feelings of lack of authenticity and self-censorship.
‘Doesn’t anyone care anymore?’ – Bystander intervention to hate crime
While previous studies have focused on bystander intervention, current understanding specifically in the area of bystander intervention to hate crime is limited. This study seeks to focus on bystander intervention to hate crime in the United Kingdom. This study utilised 10 semi-structure interviews with participants who had personally witnessed a hate crime incident, exploring reasons for intervention, or lack thereof. Results revealed that for some who intervened, the decision to do so often stemmed from an instinctive, impulsive place, whereas for others it was a calculative decision-making process. The findings also reveal that there are various factors which influence participants in deciding whether to intervene. Critically, while all factors were described as pivotal to influencing participants in choosing whether to intervene or remain bystanders, there was no hierarchy of factors which can be generalised. The study concludes that the decision to intervene is a complex multi-faceted process and promotes awareness-raising about the various options available when witnessing a hate crime.
Exploring the impact of cyber and traditional crime victimization: Impact comparisons and explanatory factors
As cybercrime victimization rates continue to rise, our understanding of their impact, especially compared to traditional crime, remains limited. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted surveys among 910 crime victims, measuring the impact of cyber and traditional variants of property, person-centered, and sexual crime. We compared the impact of: (1) residential burglary and hacking of online bank accounts; (2) doorstep deception and bank helpdesk fraud; (3) in-person threats and online threats; and (4) sexual assault and image-based sexual abuse. Impact was categorized into peritraumatic stress, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, financial impact, and damaged self-image. Our findings reveal that cybercrime impact mostly equals or exceeds that of traditional crimes. Disparities especially emerge in terms of higher peritraumatic stress experienced by victims of cyber property crime, and more damage to self-image suffered by victims of both cyber property and cyber sexual crimes. Furthermore, we identified significant determinants of victim impact among crime characteristics, and social, personal, and demographic factors, some varying between cyber and traditional crime. Our study emphasizes the implications of the technological nature of cybercrime and the relatively active role played by cybercrime victims, while also considering the issue of victim blaming. Furthermore, we underscore the need for targeted victim support and prioritization of cybercrime.
Aligning police practice with hate crime theory: The case for using risk assessments to improve police response to victims of hate
In England and Wales, police forces have been urged to improve their response to victims. Despite this, many victims continue not to report to police, and those that do often report distrust and dissatisfaction with police response. Across the hate crime strands, victims have little confidence in the capacity of police to act empathetically, to respond to hate crime effectively, or to take hate crime victimisation seriously. In this paper, we argue that risk assessments (RAs) represent a useful tool to bridge the gap between the reality of hate crime victimisation and current practice. We suggest that RAs – tools designed to assess a victim’s risk of potential future victimisation – can not only help the police to implement safeguarding but also provide a fuller understanding of the impact and harms of hate crime, so that police have a more holistic perspective. The use of RA may ensure that victim perspectives remain at the centre of police response.
The impact of Covid-19 on recovery after sexual violence and abuse: Voices of help-seeking survivors and those individuals working within specialist support services in England
We examined the impact of Covid-19 on service delivery within specialist sexual violence services and the healing journeys of survivors of sexual violence and abuse through the experiences of 22 professionals and 221 service users in England. The pandemic posed challenges across all sectors and economies across the globe, but practices and innovations that emerged at that time could enhance future services and user experiences. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes within the data. Overall, the negative impacts of Covid-19 outweighed the positive changes: survivors reported increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and worry, exacerbated by isolation and lost connections with friends and family, and access to strategies for managing their mental health. Difficulties/delays in accessing support, service provision, and disruptions to rapport, trust, and safety were widespread in participants’ reports. Conversely, for some, requirements to remain at home provided safety from the world, and space for healing, and even prompted survivors of non-recent abuse to seek help. Remote service delivery was beneficial where clients could be ‘at a distance’ in discussing sensitive issues. Together with insights from professionals about their own isolation, blurred boundaries, and concerns regarding client confidentiality and engagement, this research highlights an agile sector responding to an unprecedented situation. Moving forward, survivors’ preferences for flexible/remote support must be integrated into everyday delivery.
Risk factors for fraud victimization: The role of socio-demographics, personality, mental, general, and cognitive health, activities, and fraud knowledge
Fraud against individuals is a major and growing problem. Understanding why some people fall victim to fraud, while others do not, is crucial in developing effective prevention strategies. We therefore studied the effect of socio-demographics, personality traits, mental, general, and cognitive health, routine Internet activities, and prior fraud knowledge on general fraud victimization, susceptibility to fraud attempts, and exposure to fraud attempts. We modeled data from a Dutch fraud victimization survey, using an exhaustive fraud taxonomy and a representative sample for which an elaborate set of historical background variables were available. Results show that there is no clear personality or other profile of those most at risk for fraud, except for having low self-control, having a non-Western, immigrant background or being a frequent Internet user. Improving fraud knowledge could be an effective way to prevent fraud victimization by reducing susceptibility to attempts.
‘I guess that’s the price of decentralisation… ’: Understanding scam victimisation experiences in an online cryptocurrency community
There is a distinct lack of criminological research examining victimisation experiences in emerging cryptocurrency frauds. At the same time, online cryptocurrency communities have become a key part of the social milieu of the cryptocurrency ecosystem where scams are commonplace. Using Reddit forum data from the subreddit r/CryptoCurrency, this exploratory qualitative study investigates how users in an online cryptocurrency community share knowledge and experiences of cryptocurrency scams. Thematic analysis revealed how online cryptocurrency communities discuss scams by (1) arming the community (e.g. newcomer guides, personal disclosures of scam victimisation, and reflections on the technological affordances in scams); and (2) establishing community norms in response to cryptocurrency scams (e.g. protecting the community, ‘scambaiting’ practices, normalising scams as an outcome of ‘decentralisation’). Gaining a deeper understanding of cryptocurrency scam experiences provides timely insights into the intersections between victims/offenders in digital environments, how we can respond to the recent growth in cryptocurrency scams, and the variegated ways that victims seek assistance following experiences.