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The fundamental prerogative of humanitarian organizations is to ensure that protection and relief are provided to the most vulnerable: victims of war, illness, genocide, natural disasters, torture, displacement, famines, rape. As part of this endeavor, media-friendly portraits of "the victims" and their rescuers are deployed globally to arouse empathic responses, foster solidarity, legitimize military interventions, and raise funds. Notions of victimhood vary enormously across time and space and are differently framed and contested by a range of actors, religious practices, socio-political, and gender norms. This dictionary entry assesses the humanitarian notion of the victim from a cross-cultural perspective.

By considering various case studies drawn from contemporary culture, I propose the idea of victim-blaming shaming, which, like victim blaming, involves replicating injustice by focusing attention on the particular situation rather than the general problem. In cases of victim-blaming
shaming, a person is criticized for in any way addressing a problem by addressing the victim. Victim-blaming not only involves an inconsistent ethic, but because of this inconsistency promotes that which it opposes. It responds to a social problem by directing attention to an individual within
that problematic social situation.

Following the Republic of Uzbekistan's socioeconomic independence, dramatic changes in society occurred. Despite the fact that this time in the personality society was brief, it opened the ground for a major transition in the Republic's social, political, and psychological existence. In this regard, research into the psychology of the victim as a result of violations in the country's life was also undertaken.

The 1980s saw official crime policy in the United States shifting its focus from crime and criminals to victimization and victims. In this thought-provoking book, Robert Elias evaluates the effectiveness of this shift in policy and argues that victims have been politically manipulated for official objectives. From a thorough examination of victim legislation, get-tough crime policies, media crime coverage, the victim movement, and the wars on crime and drugs, Elias concludes that little victim support has actually occurred and that victimization is, in fact, escalating. He argues for a chan