Bundy, Gacy, Bernardo, Dahmer, these are all names we know. They are common knowledge amongst society. Could you name their victims though? Most people can’t and that’s sad because we lose an element of these crimes due to that fact. This is something that has stuck in my head since April 2021. I had never paid much thought to the victim and the aftermath of feeling until it hit me like a tidal wave. My brother was stabbed in April, along with his two friends. The victims were all minors and the perpetrator was as well. I won’t go into detail, but we lost an important sense of justice as victims when the perpetrator essentially got a slap on the wrist and was back to living in our community. It’s important to think about victims when you’re learning, reading case studies, or even just absorbing true crime media. There are lost stories that don’t make the front page because they’re lost to the monster that caused them. Victims aren’t just those who were the one at the crime scene, crimes have a ripple effect that reach far beyond the six degrees of separation. I think to this day about the paramedics that saved my brother’s life, they will forever have that night ingrained in their memory. I will forever have that night engraved in my memory and I think it has changed my view of criminology for the better. I used to just want the answer, now I feel that I’ve pushed past that barrier and want to know how to make things better for not just the victims, but their whole support system. There is always more to the story, take a step back and look further before you decide where to go.
- Kylie Rae Barr