Re: Victimology at times ventures into highly (i) areas, such as victim pr
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10 Dec 2024, 23:38
OE
You will definitely want to read the entire passage before attempting to tackle the first blank. The key information here is that some people believe that the language used in victimology risks blaming the victim. It would seem, then, that victimology sometimes deals with controversial or touchy subjects, and we need a word that reflects this. Salacious is not a good choice; although some people might take a salacious (lustful or obscene) interest in certain crimes, this passage does not deal with that. Propitious will not work either; it means favorable or auspicious. The best answer is contentious, which means characterized by argument or controversy.
Where the second blank is concerned, we are looking for a word describing behavior that might catch the attention of a criminal. Timorous seems unlikely. While it is not out of the question that a criminal might target someone who seems fearful or timid, such is surely not the case in most crimes. Fulsome is too strong a word, even given the controversial nature of the term victim precipitation; it means offensive to good taste or sickening. The correct answer is brash, which means impertinent or, in this case, impetuous.
Finally, we need a word that means something like excuse for the final blank - excusing the crime is the natural consequence of blaming the victim. To provoke (to anger or to induce) might describe what, according to the theory of victim precipitation, the victim does, but it is not a good fit here - eliminate it. Rescind is too formal a word for this context; implicitly excusing the crime is not the same as officially invalidating or revoking it. You are left with condone, which means to disregard or to give tacit approval to.