Evolving victimhood: The idealization of non-ideal victims

Victimological research has examined the construction of victimhood on the basis of the model of the ideal victim and the consequences for real victims of crime. Through a literature review and examination of cases of idealization, including a specific case study centred on a series of murders sentenced by a Spanish criminal court, this paper shows how the processes of victim idealization are a part of the evolution of social dynamics, and how certain events and the intervention of specific actors influence this evolution. More research should analyse how these processes occur in different social contexts and how they shape court decisions.