Introduction
Crime leaves more than a legal footprint; it leaves people with scars, questions, and a long road back to dignity, which is why a victim-centered lens is essential in any justice system that aims to heal as well as to punish.
Victimology brings that lens into focus by asking who is harmed, how harm happens, and what helps people rebuild their lives with real support and legal remedies that do not depend only on a conviction.
What Is Victimology?
Victimology is the scientific study of victims of crime, exploring the patterns of victimization, the relationships between victims and offenders, and the systems that provide recovery, compensation, and voice within criminal justice.
In India’s contemporary framework, the evolution from the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) reflects a growing recognition that the victim is not a bystander to criminal process but an active rights-holder entitled to protection, participation, and rehabilitation.
Scope and Significance in Criminal Justice
Victimology informs prevention strategies, trauma-aware policing, survivor-friendly procedures, and compensation schemes that function even when offenders are unknown or acquitted, aligning justice delivery with human recovery rather than case outcomes alone.
In the Indian context, courts, commissions, and legal services authorities have steadily reframed victim protection as a constitutional commitment to life and dignity, not merely a discretionary charity, which has matured policy and practice across states.
Key Theories in Victimology
Victim Precipitation Theory
This theory suggests that in a subset of incidents—classically in interpersonal violence—an initial provocative act by the victim may help trigger the offender’s response, a claim historically associated with Wolfgang’s homicide research and widely debated today.
Example: A parking-lot argument escalates when one person throws the first punch, after which the other responds with disproportionate force. The theory studies the spark that set the event in motion, while modern practice keeps moral and legal responsibility squarely with the offender.
Lifestyle Theory
Lifestyle theory argues that exposure to risk grows from daily activities and social associations—late-night travel, carrying valuable items, or frequenting high-risk locations—without implying culpability for the crime itself.
Example: A jewelry courier who routinely travels alone at night through poorly lit areas faces greater risk than an office worker on a daytime commute, signaling the need for targeted guardianship rather than moral judgment.
Deviant Place Theory
Deviant place theory shifts the spotlight from people to places, noting that crime concentrates in areas marked by weak guardianship, disorder, and structural disadvantage, which elevates risk for anyone present regardless of personal behavior.
Example: Two equally cautious people face different risks if one lives in a well-lit, closely monitored area while the other lives where lighting, patrols, and social cohesion are persistently weak, which directs prevention to neighborhood-level fixes.
Routine Activity Theory
Cohen and Felson’s routine activity theory holds that crime happens when three conditions come together: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian, which gives policymakers a simple checklist for defense in depth.
Example: Daytime home burglaries rise in areas where households are empty on predictable schedules and surveillance is minimal, a pattern that can be softened by alarms, neighborhood watches, and visible patrols that restore capable guardianship.
Legal Provisions and Compensatory Reliefs
CrPC: Sections 357 and 357A
Section 357 empowers courts to direct that fines be paid to victims as compensation, while Section 357A requires states to run victim compensation schemes that can award support irrespective of conviction, with Legal Services Authorities managing inquiries and disbursals.
This architecture enabled interim relief and post-acquittal support where rehabilitation needs are urgent, breaking the old dependency on conviction alone to trigger restitution for harm and loss.
NALSA, SLSA, and DLSA Roles
Under the Legal Services Authorities framework:
- NALSA guides national policy.
- State Legal Services Authorities (SLSA) frame state schemes.
- District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) conduct inquiries, fix compensation quantum, and release payments on time.
This network coordinates with police and district administration to deliver medical care, documentation, and counseling efficiently to survivors in crisis.
Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF)
Established in 2015 with a central corpus, the CVCF supports states and union territories to enhance and standardize compensation, focusing on uniform minimums for serious crimes and faster access to interim relief.
BNSS 2023: Section 396 (Key Updates)
Section 396 strengthens the compensation framework by mandating state compensation schemes, enabling interim medical care, and setting strict timelines—often two months—for inquiries and awards. It allows compensation even when offenders are unknown or acquitted, centering rehabilitation over trial outcomes.
Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 (Section 5)
Courts may order offenders released on probation to pay compensation as a condition, ensuring victims receive some material restoration even when incarceration is replaced by supervised reform.
Motor Vehicles Act: Sections 166, 163A, and 168
These provisions allow victims or dependents to claim just compensation via Motor Accident Claims Tribunals. Section 163A provides a no-fault route using structured formulas for faster relief without prolonged liability disputes.
Focused Schemes: Acid Attack and Rape Survivors
NALSA’s Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault and Other Crimes (2018) sets compensation guidelines, ensuring quick interim relief and prioritizing acid attack survivors for higher minimums recognizing lifelong impacts.
Judicial Trends and Illustrative Rulings
Indian courts have treated compensation as a constitutional tool under Article 21, emphasizing that acquittal does not erase state responsibility. Interim awards in sexual violence cases have become judicially encouraged standards.
Victim Support and Rehabilitation
Justice for victims goes beyond compensation—it requires medical care, counseling, shelter, livelihood support, and steady follow-up to ensure survivors reintegrate with dignity and confidence.
One Stop Centres (Sakhi)
These centers provide a single point for emergency aid, police assistance, legal advice, and medical and psychological support. They minimize re-traumatization and are anchored under the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s Nirbhaya framework.
Rehabilitation Measures: What Works
Effective rehabilitation combines trauma-informed care, medical support, skill training, financial inclusion, and community reintegration to rebuild survivors’ lives holistically.
AI-Based Tools: Promise and Ethics
AI-enabled tools such as triage assistants and chatbots can improve accessibility and timeliness but must uphold privacy, transparency, and human oversight to avoid exclusion or misuse of survivor data.
Analytical Depth and Originality
Victim–offender dynamics differ by context; thus, responses should be tailored. Technology can widen access but must pair with neighborhood-level prevention informed by criminological theories.
Gaps That Still Need Work
- Uneven awareness and documentation burdens slow relief.
- Administrative capacity limits meeting BNSS’s two-month inquiry targets.
- Marginalized survivors face social barriers requiring stronger outreach and privacy assurance.
Conclusion
A justice system measures its worth by how it restores the harmed, not just by conviction rates. India’s victim-centered evolution through compensation and integrated support is moving toward a justice model that truly heals.
When law, theory, and service converge—from timely compensation to survivor reintegration—the promise of victimology becomes a lived reality, not merely a policy aspiration.
References:
- https://www.reliancegeneral.co.in/insurance/knowledge-center/blogs/section-166-motor-vehicles-act-essentials.aspxh
- https://oslsa.odisha.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Compensation-Scheme-for-Women-VictimsSurvivors-of-1.pdfh
- https://vajiramandravi.com/upsc-exam/one-stop-centre-scheme/h
- https://oslsa.odisha.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Compensation-Scheme-for-Women-VictimsSurvivors-of-1.pdfh
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/leading-theories-of-victimization-risk.htmlh
Written By: Ms Payal Kumari, BBA.LLB (hons), 5th Year – Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab
