The Inflation of Abuse and the Rise of the Victim

Abstract

Abuse is a moralised concept that represents the functional equivalent of sin. The association of abuse with victimisation emerged as an idea in the 1970s and became a defining dimension of human experience in the 1980s. Since that time abuse has become normalised to the point that it serves as the cultural exemplar of evil. The narrative of abuse has facilitated the formulation of an ideology of evil through which a variety of problems are given meaning.