When we think of child abuse, most of us probably do not think of the perpetrator to be one of the most influential, admired, and loved people in our lives, our mothers. However, Dave Pelzer, the victim of the third worst case of child abuse in the state of California, was in fact victimized by this special person. Not only was he physically and mentally abused by his mother, but he was also mentally abused by his father and brothers. His entire immediate family turned him into “a child called it”. If we were to apply his case to any criminological theory, the one that suites his case the best is Routine Activity theory. After reading A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer, a sort of cloud hung over my head. I tried to put myself in his shoes
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I idolized and still do idolize my father the way Pelzer did when he thought his dad would save him from the abuse. He thought of him as his protector, but the end, he just let him down. His father would tell him “I’m going to get us out of this madhouse” (Pelzer, 1993), but when Pelzer’s father left the house, he did not save him, it is almost like he did not even make an attempt to do so. To me, this proved just how much of a coward his father was, and if I was in Pelzer’s shoes, I would have felt just as devastated, heartbroken, and angry as he …show more content…
In order to apply this theory, we need these three elements: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and a lack of a capable guardian (Daigle, 2012). Cohen and Felson, the original creators of the theory, believed that there are a large amount of motivated offender. They also said that a person’s daily routines bring them into contact with said offenders. In the case of Dave Pelzer, the motivated offender was clearly his mother. Pelzer was living at home at the time of his abuse, giving his mother an ample amount of close contact. As the abuse went on, his mother did not let him leave the house, giving her an even larger amount of contact.
The role of the suitable target was clearly filled by Pelzer. The targets “are chosen based on their attractiveness” (Daigle, 2012). Pelzer was an attractive target because he loved his mom, and he did not want to tell anyone what she was doing to him. Along with this, he feared that no one would believe his story, and his mother threatened him with the removal of food, or physical
I idolized and still do idolize my father the way Pelzer did when he thought his dad would save him from the abuse. He thought of him as his protector, but the end, he just let him down. His father would tell him “I’m going to get us out of this madhouse” (Pelzer, 1993), but when Pelzer’s father left the house, he did not save him, it is almost like he did not even make an attempt to do so. To me, this proved just how much of a coward his father was, and if I was in Pelzer’s shoes, I would have felt just as devastated, heartbroken, and angry as he …show more content…
In order to apply this theory, we need these three elements: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and a lack of a capable guardian (Daigle, 2012). Cohen and Felson, the original creators of the theory, believed that there are a large amount of motivated offender. They also said that a person’s daily routines bring them into contact with said offenders. In the case of Dave Pelzer, the motivated offender was clearly his mother. Pelzer was living at home at the time of his abuse, giving his mother an ample amount of close contact. As the abuse went on, his mother did not let him leave the house, giving her an even larger amount of contact.
The role of the suitable target was clearly filled by Pelzer. The targets “are chosen based on their attractiveness” (Daigle, 2012). Pelzer was an attractive target because he loved his mom, and he did not want to tell anyone what she was doing to him. Along with this, he feared that no one would believe his story, and his mother threatened him with the removal of food, or physical