Marginal victims as a cultural phenomenon

If marginality is defined as a deviation from the typical and normal then some victims may be understood as typical and normal, others as marginal. Further, it is possible to distinguish between two types of marginal victims. The first type is victims different from statistically modal victims identified in the framework of criminological victimology and in studies of disasters and catastrophes. The second type is victims that differ from the mass media prototype of the victim. This prototype can change over time or as it moves from one culture to another, but some characteristics are fairly stable.