Who We Are

The Italian Society of Victimology (S.I.V.) is an association that has been dedicated to protecting and assisting victims for over three decades. It promotes the field of victimology not only in Italy but also internationally, collaborating with leading associations in the development of this discipline.
Victimology is therefore the discipline that studies victims of harm, violence, or injustice, analyzing their characteristics, needs, reactions, and trajectories of recognition and reparation, not only in relation to criminally relevant conduct but also with reference to social, institutional, environmental, or structural phenomena. It focuses, therefore, on the scientific study of victims and victimization processes, paying attention not only to the perpetrators of harm and the responses of the criminal justice system but also to the public representation of victims and the role of society in recognizing or denying their status. Within the scope of the discipline, a critical and interdisciplinary perspective has recently gained prominence, capable of including in its field of observation also victims of discrimination, environmental disasters, human rights violations, or institutional violence. In this broad vision, victimology establishes itself as a bridge between sociology, criminology, law, psychology, and public policy, with the aim not only of analyzing the dynamics of victimization but also of promoting forms of protection, listening, and reparation that restore dignity and voice to victims.
The S.I.V. was founded by Professor Augusto Balloni with the strong determination to promote and disseminate victimology in Italy. As the founder and President Emeritus of S.I.V., he led the association for over 35 years and is a prominent figure in the international criminological community.

Professor Augusto Balloni

Medical doctor specialized in the Clinic of Nervous and Mental Diseases (Neuropsychiatry) and later in Legal and Insurance Medicine. Since 1963, he has been repeatedly appointed by the judicial authorities to act as a psychiatric expert, providing opinions in nationally significant criminal cases. From 1968, he was a lecturer in Criminal Anthropology at the University of Bologna. From 1970 to 2010, he taught Criminology at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Bologna. Scientific Director of the Center for Studies on Deviant and Criminal Behaviors (Ce.Sco.De.C.) of the Department of Sociology at the same University, where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences during the academic years 1984-87. From 1992 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2009, he was the Director of the Interdepartmental Research Center on Victimology and Security (C.I.R.Vi.S.). Author of over 200 publications, including books, essays, articles, and research findings on Legal and Social Medicine, Clinical and Forensic Psychiatry, Psychology, and especially Criminology. Founder and President of the Italian Society of Victimology from its foundation in 1991 until 2025, he initiated and edited the Criminology, Victimology and Security Journal.

In 2025, a new Board of Directors, composed of long-standing members of the Society who have had the opportunity to collaborate with Prof. Balloni over the years, took office to provide additional impetus and strength in the goal of expanding the activities and dissemination of the S.I.V.