Dugard's Ideal Victim

In the autobiography written by Dugard, she sees herself as a survivor instead of a victim (Dugard, 2011). In this section, the notion of being a victim or a survivor are two different concepts which will be explained and applied to Dugard’s case. Victim in simple term is defined as someone who is harmed, wounded or killed (Spalek, 2006, p.8) or when their perpetrator violates social order that is punishable by law (Quinney, 1972, p.315). However, victim status is more complex than what is being defined and often depends on the wider historical and socio-cultural processes (Spalek, 2006). According to Christie (1986), victim is a social construct where the amount of recognition given to the victim of crime is dependent how well they fit into the concept of ‘ideal victim’. Christie’s concept of ideal victim …show more content…
Lastly, Dugard’s case was made known to the public through news, gaining public attention (Dugard, 2011). It is evident that Dugard is an ideal victim as her victimisation fulfils all six attributes to what Christie coined as an ideal victim. Although Dugard fits the status of an ideal victim, Dugard prefers to be known as a survivor instead. Survivor is defined as “one who acknowledge active resistance” (Spalek, 2006, p.11) and “challenging the idealised notion of victim passivity” (Spalek, 2006, p.11). Dugard (2011) mentioned in her book that she wishes to inspire others who is facing the same situation with her to move forward and survive, to not stay in the state of being a victim (Dugard, 2011, p.15). Dugard’s case can be a mix of both being a victim as well as a survivor. In the status of victim, it is clear that some aspects of her life is ruined by the kidnapping incident and she is portrayed as victim who is passive and weak (Dugard, 2011; Walklate, 2011,