| This research studies criminal victimization in the Philippines. Employing a 1995 multi-stage sampling data of 1200 households, this research analyzes different variables that are associated with property and violent victimization. Traditional Western theories, particularly lifestyle-exposure and routine activities theories emphasize individual level variables of guardianship, target attractiveness and proximity to potential offenders, while social disorganization theory emphasizes structural and neighborhood characteristics such as level of urbanization, population mobility, neighborhood cohesiveness, and public formal and informal controls, to be key determinants in criminal victimization. Using these Western models as guide, this research evaluates whether similar measures can be replicated in a non-western, developing society. Results show that Western theories can be successfully integrated in the local setting and that variables derived from these theories have the capacity to explain risk of victimization. Specifically, property crimes are related strongly to social disorganization variables and violent crimes to routine-lifestyle variables. However, there are variables that are associated with victimization in the opposite direction, indicating that some variables are context specific. Finally, the models explain a small portion of the total variation in victimization, indicating that other variables unique to the social, political and cultural milieu of the Philippines may need to be incorporated in the model. |
