The Psychological Fragility of Algerian Society in the Face of Crime: When the Victim Becomes the Accused

The Psychological Fragility of Algerian Society in the Face of Crime: When the Victim Becomes the Accused

By S.A

The phenomenon of exonerating the perpetrator and blaming the victim in cases of sexual assault — be it harassment, rape, or pedophilia — is one of the most alarming manifestations of the psychological and sociological dysfunctions embedded in the collective mindset of Algerian society. When society positions itself as the defender of the criminal, adopting justificatory rhetoric rooted in psychological projection and collective denial, it reveals a deep structural crisis in both its ethical and human rights consciousness.

1. Sociological and Psychological Interpretation: Patriarchal Power and Systems of Control

In light of Pierre Bourdieu's theories on symbolic violence and masculine domination, it becomes evident that Algerian society reproduces patriarchal oppression through hierarchical value systems. Within this structure, the man is positioned as the moral and social authority. Women and children are reduced to mere “subjects” within a symbolic ownership system, held accountable for their behavior based on notions of honor and modesty rather than individual dignity and rights.

Rape, arguably the most extreme form of violence, is not only a violation of the body but a psychological destruction of the victim's identity. In patriarchal societies like Algeria, what is most dangerous is the transference of guilt from the criminal to the victim — a process that is psychologically understood as a form of collective denial and pathological internalization of authoritarian values.

According to American psychoanalyst James Gilligan (1996), rape is not driven by sexual desire, but by a pathological need to dominate and humiliate. The rapist is not acting from a legitimate sexual impulse but from a psychological deficit rooted in weakness or humiliation, attempting to compensate through imposing control over another’s body.

Jacques Lacan further explained that the rapist often suffers from a “symbolic loss of self,” resorting to sexual violence as a means of asserting the ego by forcefully invading another’s body and meaning.

2. Socio-Psychological Analysis: The Mechanism of Victim Blaming

According to Melvin Lerner’s “Just World Theory,” people tend to believe in a just world and therefore search for reasons to blame victims rather than confront the unsettling reality that injustice and violence can strike anyone. In Algeria, this tendency manifests as attributing the crime to the victim’s clothing, movement, or even silence — a subconscious defense mechanism to avoid the terrifying truth that criminals exist within our own communities.

Psychologist Lauren Slater, in her analysis of violence against women, argues that victim-blaming is a collective defense that creates a false sense of security: by imagining that the victim somehow invited the crime, people can convince themselves they are safe as long as they avoid her “mistakes” (Slater, 2002).

This is why survivors are blamed for being "immodestly dressed" or "reckless" — psychological projections that protect society from facing a chilling reality: crime can happen to anyone, anywhere.

The same mechanism applies to children, who are often silenced under the pretext of "protecting honor," "avoiding shame," or "showing mercy to the perpetrator." The physical crime is then compounded by a psychological and social one: symbolic rape, as Bourdieu termed it, in which the child is silenced not by force, but by manipulation, fear, and guilt.

Judith Herman (1992) emphasized that societal silence surrounding rape is just as brutal as the act itself. Victims are “raped again” when not believed or when blamed for surviving. Without the ability to speak, the trauma is frozen in their consciousness, leading to long-term psychological disorders.

Forcing a child or woman into silence results in severe mental health consequences: loss of trust in family and society, body shame, self-loathing, depression, suicidal ideation, gender identity confusion, and lasting guilt and social anxiety — especially when their right to justice is denied.

From a Freudian psychoanalytic perspective, this phenomenon reflects defensive mechanisms. Society refuses to acknowledge its role in creating environments that foster sexual violence and shifts the blame to the victim. This protects the collective ego from collapse by directing aggression toward the weakest member of the social chain: the victim.

Thinkers like Fromm, Freud, and Reich explained how repressive societies suppress natural desires, which then transform into aggression. Erich Fromm described the rapist as a product of a culture that represses tenderness while encouraging male aggression — a man who doesn’t know how to ask for love, so he takes the body by force.

Victim-blaming statements like “the child must have been playing provocatively” reflect what Frantz Fanon called a “silent collective complicity” — a dynamic that reinforces impunity and turns the crime into a family secret.

3. A Gendered Moral System Cloaked in Culture and Misused Religion

In societies where patriarchy intertwines with tradition and distorted religious interpretations, a psychological structure emerges that grants moral cover to the perpetrator and blames the victim — especially if she’s a woman or a child. In Algeria, this dynamic is clearly visible in the societal reactions to cases of harassment, rape, or child abuse. The criminal is often seen not as a transgressor, but as a “victim of temptation,” while the victim is blamed — her body, clothing, or behavior seen as the cause.

This collective unconscious seeks to protect the image of the community at the expense of individuals. When the victim is female, she is reduced to a symbol of the family’s honor, bearing the burden of any assault she suffers. Instead of holding the perpetrator accountable, it is the victim who is treated as if she orchestrated the assault.

Meanwhile, the aggressor is often framed as a product of poverty, unemployment, or sexual repression. These excuses not only absolve him of guilt but offer implicit justification — even when the victim is a child, devoid of any sexual awareness.

In societies plagued by political and economic oppression, the weakest — women, children, and the marginalized — become scapegoats. In Algeria, this dynamic results in social punishment for the victim: a girl may be expelled from school, forced to marry her rapist, or pressured into silence to avoid "scandal," while the perpetrator goes unpunished.

Institutions like media, education, and religion often reinforce these dynamics. While crimes are condemned rhetorically, practical discourse still perpetuates misogyny. When girls are portrayed as sources of temptation and men as helpless before their allure, society continues to reproduce injustice rather than dismantle it.

This systemic violence is maintained by outdated laws, weak penalties, and lack of legal and psychological protection for victims — normalizing crime and distorting the image of the victim.

4. Religion as a Tool for Liberation — or Oppression?

In popular discourse, religion is often used to justify victim-blaming. Texts are misinterpreted to uphold patriarchal control rather than protect the vulnerable. When religious discourse emphasizes a woman’s “chastity” as a condition for her dignity, it ignores the individual accountability of the perpetrator.

However, Islam views the rapist as a criminal deserving of the harshest punishment — not a victim of “sexual frustration.” It regards the victim with mercy, not judgment, and forbids forcing her into silence or marrying her attacker.

Islamic jurisprudence across various schools has classified rape as a form of coerced zina (unlawful intercourse) and applied severe penalties:

If the rapist is married (muhsan): death by stoning.

If unmarried: 100 lashes and exile for a year.

Some scholars go further, considering it a case of hirabah (waging war against society), warranting punishments such as execution, crucifixion, amputation, or exile depending on the severity of the crime.

Islam assigns zero blame to the victim. It obligates her protection, physical and psychological care, and the punishment of anyone who slanders her or doubts her innocence.

Philosopher Malek Bennabi argued that when religion becomes mere custom, it becomes a tool of oppression. Its true spirit, however, liberates humanity from fear and violence. Therefore, when religious discourse is used to blame victims or protect criminals, it is no longer faith — but a weaponized ideology serving patriarchal dominance.

Conclusion

Blaming the victim and exonerating the perpetrator in Algerian society is not a matter of isolated attitudes, but a symptom of deep psychological and sociological structures. These must be deconstructed and rebuilt through education, justice, and media reform.

Only when we see the victim as a full human being with rights, and the perpetrator as a free agent accountable for their actions, can true collective healing begin.

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By my pen ~ S.A