Who Are The Victims Of Violence Chapter 7 Summary

Chapter 7, titled “Who Are the Victims of Violence,” was interesting because the author wrote the chapter from the victim’s perspective and through their experiences. I found it sad to read about all these victims who are seen to be blamed for the torture that they endured. The chapter is introduced with some rights that victims are given by the states to protect them. These rights include the right to be noticed, present, heard, protected, have a speedy trial, restitution, and the right of privacy and confidentiality. Prior to reading this chapter, I had no knowledge of the specific rights that victims are promised, but I think it is honorable of our government to offer them these rights. Two concepts that I found oddly perplexing from this chapter were the information on homeless people and the constant need to blame the victim.

What does our society mean? Why are we even placing blame on the innocent? To me, it is cruel and unusual punishment to look at these people and shame them for what they went through. You hear our society say things today like “well maybe if her shorts weren’t so short, or her top too low, she wouldn’t have gotten raped.” Excuse me? We live in a society where women are shamed for what they wear when really we should be teaching men to keep their paws off if the word “no” is being used. Not only are rape victims to be blamed by our society, but so are hate crime victims. Some people will say for homosexuals or transgender; “Well maybe they shouldn’t be gay or maybe he shouldn’t wear girl clothes (vice versa).” Why is someone even being punished for being who he/she wants to be? The offender is the problem, not the victim. No one asks to be raped, bullied, attacked, or discriminated; so, society should really reconsider this point of view on cases. With that being said, why are homeless people seen as so weak and vulnerable in this