Applied criminology research

Applied criminology research

A Victimological Analysis of the Factors Influencing Harms Arising from Environmental Hazards: A Zemiological Approach

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ramin Pourali 1
mohammad javad fathi 2
seyed mahmoud mirkhalili 3
1 Corresponding Author, PhD. Student in Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Tehran Farabi, Qom, Iran. Email: Ramin.pourali@gmail.com
2 Associate Prof Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of law, University of Tehran, Farabi Qom, Iran.. (Corresponding Author). Email: mjfathi@ut.ac.ir
3 Prof Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of law, University of Tehran, Farabi Qom, Iran. Email: mirkhalili@ut.ac.ir
10.22034/aqcr.2026.2072836.1122
Abstract
Field and Aims: In the contemporary era, environmental degradation and its attendant consequences frequently manifest in the form of environmental hazards which, once materialized, lead to extensive environmental and social harms. The analysis of such harms within the framework of traditional criminal law, due to its narrow focus on the restrictive concept of “crime,” lacks the capacity to identify and address numerous structural, lawful, and gradual forms of damage. Accordingly, the present study employs the analytical framework of zemiology—as an approach within critical criminology and victimology concerned with the study of social harms beyond crime—to elucidate the nature of victimization resulting from environmental damage and to identify the factors contributing to its reproduction. In this research, zemiology is not conceptualized as a type of harm per se, but rather as a critical analytical framework for examining environmental harms and the structural and governance mechanisms that generate them.
Method: Adopting a descriptive–analytical approach, this research draws on contemporary interdisciplinary sources in victimology, environmental justice, and zemiology, and applies a systematic and structural analysis of the relevant data.
Findings and Conclusions: The findings indicate that victimization arising from environmental damage is the product of the interconnection of three categories of factors: structural, socio-economic, and cultural–behavioral. Weak environmental governance, the inefficiency of compensation mechanisms, environmental inequalities, and the lack of institutional transparency have resulted in environmental victims within the Iranian legal system largely remaining in a state of “invisibility,” thereby being deprived of their fundamental rights, including effective compensation, participation, and empowerment. The results further suggest that effective prevention of environmental victimization requires a shift away from purely punitive and reaction-oriented approaches toward preventive policies grounded in restorative justice, institutional accountability, and social participation. In this regard, rethinking environmental legislation, strengthening victim-centered institutions, and the targeted use of modern monitoring and early-warning technologies can play a significant role in reducing environmental victimization from a zemiological perspective and in advancing environmental justice.
Keywords
Victimology
Environmental Hazards
Structural Victimization
Zemiology
Environmental Justice

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 02 October 2025
  • Revise Date 30 January 2026
  • Accept Date 24 February 2026
  • First Publish Date 25 February 2026
  • Publish Date 25 February 2026