Victim Blaming

Victim blaming is the term used to describe the ascription of partial or full responsibility of a criminal act or maltreatment to the victims themselves. Large-scale social movements such as the civil rights and women's movements brought attention to the concept and detriment of victim blaming and led to a more unbiased approach to the study of victims, known as victimology. Many things contribute to victim blaming, including rape myths and cognitive biases. While victim blame is typically seen through media representations of sexual assault or domestic violence victims, victims of white-collar and corporate crimes are also held responsible for their own victimization.