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Learning Objectives
- To compare different theoretical perspectives on crime and access to safety.
- To name common misconceptions about crime and victimization.
- To explain how conceptions of crime are socially constructed.
- To list the ways that safety is affected by income level.
- To identify the barriers to safety faced by immigrants.
- To compare the differences in male and female victimization.
- To explain why younger Canadians are victimized more than others.
- To understand why Indigenous Peoples in Canada make up a large proportion of victims of violence.
- To name the effects of unequal access to safety.
- To identify approaches to reducing disparities in safety.
Summary
Introduction
Victimization is the singling out of an individual or a group for criminal or unfair treatment. Victimization takes many forms. Criminal victimization happens when someone is the victim of a crime, such as homicide, assault, robbery, fraud, or theft. Different populations in Canada are uniquely vulnerable to certain types of criminal victimization, and certain populations are also overrepresented among convicted offenders. Another type of victimization happens at the hands of the police, the courts, and even the media. Victimization also occurs in schools, hospitals, treatment facilities, and even our homes. Other victims suffer because the government has failed to regulate dangerous activities, such as the pollution of the environment.
Theoretical Perspectives on Access to Safety
The functionalist approach views crime and victimization as normal, universal, and unavoidable. Robert Merton’s strain (anomie) theory argues that many types of crime and deviant behaviour are necessary and natural adaptations to the gap between people’s common goals and their unequal opportunities to attain them. Differential association theory, credited to Edwin Sutherland, proposes that people, through simple association, are socialized into their criminal environment and reproduce the prevailing order. Social disorganization theory proposes that crime results from a breakdown in social norms and social integration.
Conflict theorists point out that crime and victimization are distributed unequally in every society. They point to inequalities in society as the cause of deviant behaviour and predict that as inequality increases in a society, crime also will increase, as will efforts to control it. As well, people who are most subject to inequality and disadvantage are the most likely to commit what are seen to be crimes. Both the dominant ideology and formal laws – social constructs shaped and upheld by the ruling class – help the powerful to stay on top.
Social constructionism looks at how deviant behaviours come to be defined as “deviant.” These theories clarify the ways in which the notions of crime, violence, and criminality are built up and continued. While few would deny that violent crime is problematic in society, the extent to which there is a “crime problem” is always open to debate.
Feminist sociologists consider the ways in which gender makes someone more or less likely to be victimized by crime, or more or less likely to commit it. For example, women and girls are more likely to be victims of sexual assault and extreme forms of intimate partner violence, but men are more likely overall to be victimized by assault and physical violence.
Three Things to Know about Crime and Victimization
- “Crime” is social. Ideas of deviance and crime are socially constructed. We see cultural differences in behaviours surrounding same-sex partnerships, drug use, prostitution, traffic rules, and even dress. Some societies expect more safety of self and security of property than others. Ideas of deviance also change over time. These different ideas of crime are reflected in a society’s treatment and involvement of victims.
- What we think about crime doesn’t always match with what we know. Popular notions about the frequency and nature of crimes, criminals, and victims sometimes do not match the facts. Some argue that our understanding of crime is influenced by mainstream media exposure. The crime stories that get the most coverage are those featuring violence, even though in Canada, violent crime makes up less than 6 per cent of reported offences. Often, the news will feature violent crimes committed by strangers, but it is more likely that people will be victimized by someone they know.
- Media portrayals of victims are often misleading. Often, children, the elderly, or white, middle- to upper-class women who are violently victimized in public places by strangers are featured prominently. However, victimization is more common among other, more marginalized groups. The tendency to grant victim status to some and not others is referred to as the hierarchy of victimization, and it reinforces a notion that certain victims deserve what they get. A small number of victims account for a large proportion of all acts of violent victimization, and many are victimized repeatedly. Some people seek to explain this by “blaming the victim.” A more sociological theory is that repeated victimization is not due to a flaw in the victim but rather flaws in their social environment.
Low-Income People in Canada
People who live in low-income households are more likely to experience violent victimization than those in upper-income households, as a result of unfavourable social conditions. Low-income neighbourhoods with high levels of residential instability never have the chance to form close social bonds, and in this vacuum, crime flourishes. Another crime-producing characteristic of low-income neighbourhoods is the lack of socially positive opportunities. Illegitimate (or criminal) opportunity theory posits that people are more likely to commit crimes when they have a better chance of making a living through crime than by non-criminal means. Unemployment concentrates in low-income neighbourhoods, and there are often few legitimate job choices.
One extreme consequence of low income is homelessness, and homeless people experience levels of victimization that are much higher than average. They are often forced to take part in high-risk activities necessary for their survival. Homelessness is also correlated with other challenges that increase the risk of victimization, such as substance abuse, childhood victimization, previous imprisonment, and disability. Finally, homeless people are too often viewed as not fully human, and for that reason not fully deserving of safety or protection.
Spotlight on People in Dangerous or Precarious Occupations
Workplaces can be hot spots of victimization. Violence in the workplace is especially common in certain employment sectors (e.g., social assistance, healthcare, accommodation and food services, retail and wholesale trade, and educational services) and among temporary foreign workers. Sex workers in Canada are also at a high risk of being criminally victimized, especially by physical and sexual assault. They spend much time in areas known for high rates of crime, increasing their risk of victimization. They also run a continuing risk of violence throughout their lives. And like homeless people, attitudes that sex workers do not deserve society’s protection contribute to their continued victimization.
Racialized People in Canada
Hate-motivated crimes are any crimes motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, or any other similar factor. They make environments toxic, dangerous, and inhospitable for not just the victim but for all who share an important feature with the victim. Hate-motivated crimes are increasing in Canada, and nearly half of all hate-motivated crimes in 2017 resulted from the hatred of a person’s race or ethnicity. Hate-motivated crimes against the Black population are the most common; those against LGBTQ+ people are also trending upwards.
Spotlight on Racial Profiling
Racial profiling is any action taken for reasons of safety, security, or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, or other features rather than on a reasonable suspicion to single out individuals for different treatment. It has often been alleged when police officers watch, search, or stop and question racialized people for no clear reason. Racial profiling at the hands of law enforcement is a type of victimization, and it is partly to blame for the overpenalization of racialized populations in Canada.
Spotlight on Incarceration Rates of Black People in Canada
Black people account for nearly 10 per cent of the total prison population despite accounting for a mere 3 per cent of the general Canadian population. They are also the fastest growing population in the federal prison system. This is likely the result of several factors, such as higher crime rates (because of poverty and inequality) and prejudiced law enforcement (among police, courts, and juries). What we know for certain is that Black people feel as though they are victims of prejudice and discrimination by the justice system.
Young People in Canada
Younger Canadians are the most likely perpetrators of both property and violent crimes. Being young is also a significant risk factor for being victimized. For example, one-quarter of victims of police-reported sexual assaults are children aged 13 or younger. Given that young children are dependent on the care of a guardian, they are also vulnerable to maltreatment or neglect. The younger the child, the more vulnerable they are to violence by a parent, and children may also be less able to recognize their victimization and seek help. In addition, the Internet and mobile phones have given young people new opportunities for bullying.
Children who are victimized may experience long-term effects, including emotional or psychological disorders. In some cases, victimization can produce new generations of victimizers. Overall, young people are victimized more often than other people, in part because they are vulnerable and have fewer resources to protect themselves. At the same time, they are also likely to be victimized by other young people, and young people are likely victimizers.
Women in Canada
Men and women experience fairly similar rates of violent crimes, but there are gender differences in the types of crimes they experience. In 2017, three-quarters of homicide victims were men, but 9 out of 10 victims of (police-reported) sexual assault were women. Moreover, the majority of sexual assaults are not reported to police, although the #MeToo movement appears to have influenced the number of women who reported their sexual victimization.
The home can sometimes be the most dangerous place for women in heterosexual spousal relationships who are victimized at the hands of their male partners, and many who experience domestic violence do not report it to the authorities. Women are twice as likely to be killed by their domestic partner as men are, though rates of spousal homicide are declining due to improvements in available resources, public awareness, and women’s social and economic status. However, women are still being turned away each day from already-full shelters. Rural women living with violence also face added barriers specific to living in rural areas.
Immigrants in Canada
Immigrants experience lower rates of violent victimization than the Canadian-born population. The immigrant population in Canada tends to be a little older than the Canadian-born population, making them less vulnerable to violent crime. It also takes resources and education to immigrate to Canada, so these characteristics among immigrants might decrease vulnerability to some degree. However, immigrants are twice as likely as Canadian-born residents to report having been a victim of discrimination. It is difficult to find reliable data on the victimization experienced by non-status immigrants and refugees, as they are less likely to report it when they have been the victim of a crime. Moreover, many undocumented workers are here against their will. The practice of recruiting, selling, or transporting people across borders for forced labour is referred to as human trafficking, and it’s a big problem in Canada.
Indigenous Peoples in Canada
Overall rates for both violent and household victimization are significantly higher among Indigenous Peoples compared to non-Indigenous people. Further, the rates of both sexual and physical assault are significantly higher for Indigenous Peoples.
Spotlight on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
For decades there has been evidence of an overrepresentation of Indigenous women and girls in homicide and disappearance statistics. The lack of police protection of Indigenous women and girls is often touted as a reason behind their victimization. A public inquiry supported by the federal government was launched in 2016, and in June 2019, the final report was released. This report outlines the many ways in which violence against Indigenous women and girls grows out of the historic maltreatment of Indigenous Peoples and uses a powerful word to describe that treatment: genocide. The report also issues 231 calls to justice.
Many factors are identified as contributing to this crisis. Colonialism plays a major role. Some suggest a connection with the climate crisis. Others point to resource development projects and the transient male workers there. Additionally, rotational shift work puts pressure on local families, increasing levels of domestic violence. Workplaces are male dominated and Indigenous women report difficulty in securing employment in the extractive economy, which may inhibit women from leaving abusive spouses or reporting on-the-job harassment.
LGBTQ+ People in Canada
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual Canadians face odds of violent victimization that are two times higher than those of heterosexual Canadians. They are also much more likely to experience discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Anti-gay, lesbian, or bisexual hate crimes also tend to be more violent in nature. Around the world, trans people (particularly transwomen, who suffer from transmisogyny) are disproportionally victims of hate-motivated crimes. However, Statistics Canada does not yet collect information about violence against trans people.
People Who Live in Residential Institutions
One example of Canada’s institutional history is the maltreatment of Indigenous children in the residential school system. Contact with family members was suppressed along with expressions of Indigenous culture. Residential school survivors recall frequent physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. It has come to light that over 1,300 children in residential schools were used as experimental subjects and deprived of nutrients or dental care to observe the effects on the body.
Another population that is uniquely vulnerable to victimization is people diagnosed with intellectual disabilities who live in residential institutions (although these institutions are not as common now as they once were). For example, in 2010, former residents of the Huronia Regional Centre filed a class-action lawsuit and described repeated, daily, long-term physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of the institution’s employees.
Prisons are another type of total institution. Incarceration rates for some populations in Canada exceed their representation in the general population, including Black people, Indigenous Peoples, women with a history of abuse, and people with mental illness or addictions. Prisoners are at particular risk of physical assault by other inmates and theft of personal property. They also suffer abuses at the hands of correctional officers, and these incidents are often covered up.
Crime as a Consequence of Inequality and the Consequences of Crime
The effects of crime are felt unequally, meaning some populations in Canada are more vulnerable to victimization and repeated victimization. When a person or population is victimized, they are held back, pushed down, and further distanced from the life chances that support health and happiness. In this way, crime worsens inequality. It’s a vicious cycle, because crime and victimization are also the result of inequality. Countries with greater inequality experience higher rates of violent crime. One reason for this may be that in unequal societies, people lose trust in each other. Ultimately, the more crimes that are being committed, the more vulnerable everyone is to being victimized, and life is more difficult for everybody in a society where no one trusts each other.
Strategies of Resistance
In 2002, Bill C-24 officially defined the term “criminal organization” to help identify gang and youth gang problems in Canada. Following the lead of this bill, the Halifax police and Nova Scotia Department of Justice partnered in devising a plan for gang prevention. A resource published by the initiative provided a list of traits common to gang members, including poverty, domestic violence and substance use in the home, lack of family and community support, and a history of criminal activity in the family. This resource stressed working together with struggling families, teaching multicultural awareness and tolerance, and being an ally.
In the summer of 2013, 18-year-old Sammy Yatim was fatally shot nine times and tasered by police on an empty streetcar in Toronto. The public responded with outrage and bewilderment, and rallies, marches, and protests were held demanding “Justice for Sammy.” The Urban Alliance on Race Relations reminded Toronto of similar situations where police shot racialized mentally ill men without sufficient reason. In June 2000, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations had collaborated with the Queen Street Patients Council to address this problem with a conference entitled “Saving Lives: Alternatives to the Use of Lethal Force by Police.” From this conference a report was developed that recommended officer training in the use of non-lethal technology to diffuse high-stress situations.
In 1986, a serial rapist, later identified as Paul Callow, was at large in Toronto. Callow’s fifth and final victim is known only as Jane Doe. When she discovered that the police had known of a serial rapist in the area prior to her attack, she launched a suit at the Board of Commissioners of Police. Doe claimed the police had failed to take the testimonies of other victims seriously and failed to warn other women in the community. In 1998, the Board of Commissioners of Police was found to have been negligent and was required to offer a formal public apology. Doe’s win raised the public’s expectations for how the police should respond to rape claims in the future.