A Phenomenological Analysis of Victimization. The Experience of Having One's House Attacked and Damaged

Abstract

The science of victimology aims at understanding and alleviating the pain or experience of being a victim. Phenomenology is an approach which seeks to understand the life-world of a subject. A phenomenological analysis appears to be an appropriate method of gaining an understanding of the experience of being a victim. In South Africa a number of people have recently had their houses petrol bombed or burnt down. In the case of criminal victimization such as rape or theft, the aim of the victimizer is usually personal gain. The incidents discussed in this study are related to social change rather than personal benefit. The aim of the victimizers in this study appears to have been to curtail the socio-political activities of the victim. Whatever the motive of the victimizer, the victim remains the sufferer. The purpose of this study is to present a phenomenological analysis of this type of victimization in the hope that it will increase our understanding of victimization in general. Six victims were interviewed. The interviews were unstructured. One interview was used for idiographic analysis and the remaining protocols were used for a general analysis. The results yielded a rich description of the experience of having one's house attacked. Certain experiences were are common to all subjects. The victims are pawns in a struggle for social change.