Victim Blaming and Anti-Social Behaviour: A Study on Hidden Social Criminals.

Abstract

Organised crime is a burning issue in relation to security in Sri Lanka. There is no common definition globally and locally on Organised Crime due to variation of types and processes of the crimes. The main focus of this research paper is to examine the causes that lead to organised crime by a person. It is evident that people are turning to these kinds of crime even in the face of stringent efforts from the government and law enforcement authorities. The problem of this study was why individuals choose organised crime in spite of severe social and legal prohibitions. The primary objective was to pinpoint Understanding organised crime and Victim Blaming. Based on the central objective, the socioeconomic, political, behavioural and psychological aspects influencing these were sub objectives. Snowball sampling was used to find ten organised crime leaders and criminals were interviewed using in-depth interviews which used qualitative methodologies and the case study approach to collect data. The social factors that influenced criminal leaders to crimes are: educational background, professional status, social relations, and living environment. As economic factors, poverty and attraction for financial gain within short periods are the main reasons. Identity and behavioural disorders such as psychological factors could be identified. The exceptional skill of a particular person as behavioural factors and political elites continue to encourage them and offer security for their violent actions, which could be recognised as motivational political factors. It is evident from the research data, that the victim-blaming perspective that society has developed is false. Consequently, it may be acknowledged that a variety of external circumstances impact the victims' motivation to engage in these organised criminal activities. The conclusion is that, rather than being created by the individual, the individual's activities are modified by society outside of them to fit that particular circumstance.