victimology

American  

[vik-tuh-mol-uh-jee] / ˌvɪk təˈmɒl ə dʒi /

noun

1. the study of crime victim and the psychological effects of being a victim.

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victimology British  

/ ˌvɪktɪˈmɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the study of the psychological effects experienced by the victims of crime

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Other Word Forms

• victimologist noun

Etymology

Origin of victimology

First recorded in 1955–60; from French victimologie; victim ( def. ), -o-, -logy

Example Sentences

Discola studies criminal victimology, a subfield of criminology focused on the victim experience.

From Slate

He has a tenuous relationship to reality, and increasingly retreats into victimology and a persecution complex.

From Salon

"But actually when you look at it, when you looked at the victimology and what police found and told us what they found in the farm house it became pretty clear that Harry and Megan either knew their killer or it was someone they were expecting."

From BBC

But the combination of unorthodox marketing and conspiracy theory catnip has made “Sound of Freedom” the perfect focus for another sort of victimology.

From Los Angeles Times

“And those are never going to go away. You’ll see things change in the genre, in terms of victimology or how we’re discussing the characters, but if you can scare someone 40 years ago, you can scare them with that same material now.”

From The Verge