Explanation
Blaming the victim refers to the practice of holding individuals responsible for the harm or injustice they have suffered. This concept highlights how social narratives, institutions, and discourses can shift attention away from perpetrators, systemic inequalities, or structural causes by suggesting that victims themselves are at fault.
Common examples include suggesting that victims of sexual assault provoked their attacker, blaming poor people for their economic conditions, or holding marginalized communities accountable for higher crime rates without acknowledging social exclusion or discrimination. Blaming the victim serves to maintain existing power structures, justify inaction, and legitimize punitive or discriminatory policies.
Theoretical Reference
The concept was popularized by William Ryan in his 1971 book Blaming the Victim, which critiqued policies and narratives that ignored structural inequalities. In criminology and sociology, it is used to analyze how discourses around crime, poverty, and deviance can obscure root causes such as systemic racism, inequality, or discrimination. Critical criminology examines victim-blaming as a mechanism of social control that shifts responsibility away from societal change and onto individuals.