Victimization

Abstract 

 In today’s society you are taught at a very young age how to protect yourself from strangers. Children are taught about “stranger danger”, women take self defense classes, and an increasing number of people either carry handguns or keep them in their homes. The more people learn about protecting themselves from strangers, the less they realize that the majority of crime is committed by someone the victim knows. This public service announcement campaign is designed to inform people of all ages that sometimes even those you believe you know and trust aren't who they seem. The PSA is designed to target all age groups ranging from school children and teens to the elderly, because no one is truly safe from being victimized. Each age group will be informed in different manner specific to them.

Homework #2

Many people do their best and go to great lengths to protect themselves from strangers. Children continue to learn about “stranger danger”, women take self defense classes, and many people carry hand guns or have some type of gun in their homes. What many people fail to realize is that a vast majority of crimes are committed by people who the victim knew. The sooner people learn about this fact, the sooner they can learn how to protect themselves from becoming victims.

Public Service Announcement 

The public service announcement is designed to inform people of virtually all ages that no one is safe from victimization, but you can learn about it in order to protect yourself. Though children and women are generally the targets of abuse because of their vulnerability, everyone is at risk of becoming a victim. With the help of speakers such as police officers, counselors, teachers, and even victims we can reach out to as many people as possible. By doing so, we will educate many people in how to protect themselves from becoming the target of crime and what to do if they have been or are still being abused by someone they know and trust.

Who Will Be Informed and How 

Though certain age groups are more likely to be victimized than others, no age group is exempt. Therefore, each age group needs to be educated about the possibility of being victimized by people they know. Each age group learns and retains knowledge in a different way, so how the different groups receive the knowledge must be specific to their age. School age children and teens will be informed through assemblies with speakers suited for their ages. For the younger children the speaker may be a police officer, guidance counselor, or teacher so that they learn at an early age that they can trust the authority figures in their lives. As a result of many teens going through the rebellion stage at their age and defying authority, a victim of a crime would speak to them to make it a more personal issue that they will be able connect to. College students are to be informed through emails and flyers placed around their schools that show phone numbers and people they can speak to and confide in. Adults in the working class will be informed through work seminars, while stay at home adults can be informed through television or radio commercials. The elderly in nursing homes would be informed by speakers such as counselors or victims. With each speaker, there will be someone or a group of people there that someone can confide in. As you can see, the public service announcement is designed to reach virtually every age group in a manner specific to them and their needs. By reaching each group, fewer people will be blind to this occurrence.

Conclusion 

 With this public service announcement I am hoping to reach as many people as possible to let them know that not only are you more likely to be victimized by someone you know, but to also let them know that there are people here to help. By making the information age specific, the PSA is more likely to be taken seriously and reach out to people. 

References 

Humphrey, J. A., & Schmalleger, F. (2011). Deviant behavior. (2nd ed. ed.). Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning.