The Issue of Reported Victimization to Police-Judicial Authorities; A Case Study of the Reasons for Non-Reporting of Women’s Victimization in the City of Herat

Homan, Yalda; Seidzada Sani, Seid Mahdi; Hosseini, Seid Hossein

doi:10.22034/jclc.2025.502177.2096

The Issue of Reported Victimization to Police-Judicial Authorities; A Case Study of the Reasons for Non-Reporting of Women’s Victimization in the City of Herat

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Yalda Homan ¹

Seid Mahdi Seidzada Sani ²

Seid Hossein Hosseini ³

¹ PhD student, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

³ Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22034/jclc.2025.502177.2096

Abstract

Adopting supportive and controlling measures by policymaking and executive institutions to improve the situation of victims, especially female victims as a vulnerable group in society, requires access to the dark figure of victimization and an understanding of the reasons for not reporting it. However, the lack of attention to all dimensions of women’s victimization and the absence of necessary support and control measures in the current conditions of Afghanistan is concerning. This research aims to investigate the rate of reported victimization and the factors affecting it among women in the city of Herat. The statistical population consisted of all women in the city of Herat, Afghanistan. Using Cochran’s formula, a sample of 383 individuals was selected. The questionnaire used was researcher-made. The results indicate that almost half of the sample population has experienced victimization, but 98.25% did not report their victimization due to various reasons. Regarding the reasons for not reporting victimization, “the issue not being important” had the greatest impact on the victims’ decision not to report, followed by “fear of losing face,” “prevention by those around them,” and other reasons. The results show that the percentage of reasons for not reporting victimization varies depending on the type of victimization and its location. Additionally, the views of the victims regarding the reasons for not reporting differ significantly depending on their personal characteristics.

Keywords

Women

victimization

non-reporting of victimization

reasons for not reporting victimization

Afghanistan