Introductory description

Whose claims of victimisation are more likely to believed and why? What role should victims play in the criminal justice process? How have victim-activists influenced policy and practice? How do people make sense of experiences of victimisation?
Once described as ‘criminology’s wayward subdiscipline’ (Rock: 2007:41) ‘victimology’ provides us with the opportunity to engage with a hugely important, but often overlooked, figure in relation to crime: the victim. This module will enable students to identify the ways in which ‘victim’ exists as a socially constructed category, the boundaries of which are heavily policed. Drawing on theoretical work in victimology, we will explore who is more likely to have their experiences of victimisation recognised as such and why. We will examine the roles and experiences of victims within the criminal justice system, drawing on case studies from a variety of international contexts. We will explore how people navigate the aftermath of experiences of victimisation both at an individual and collective level. Finally, we will analyse the utility of ‘victim’ as a concept and reflect on alternative ways of thinking about harm.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Wk1: Theories I: Blaming the victim? Positivist victimology and its radical and feminist critics
Wk2: Theories II: Who has access to victim status? Critical victimology and the ‘ideal victim’
Wk3: The role of victims within the criminal justice system
Wk4: What do victims want? Experiences of victims in criminal justice systems and beyond
WK5: Relationships between victimisation and offending
WK7: Victim activism and victims in the media
WK8: Narrative and visual victimology: victims of war crimes and transitional justice
WK9: Victimhood as a political tool: the case of modern day slavery
WK10: Beyond victimhood

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• 1) Demonstrate an understanding of key schools of victimological theory including: positivist, feminist, radical and critical victimology.
• 2) Critically reflect on the socially-constructed nature of victim status, and the implications of this for criminal justice policy and practice.
• 3) Develop of understanding of the key challenges facing victims in a variety of different contexts.
• 4) Evaluate the utility of ‘victim’ as a concept and explore alternatives.
• 5) Demonstrate an understanding of how victim’s experiences are constructed and expressed, through engagement with visual and narrative victimology.
• 6) Develop skills in assessing and evaluating relevant literature for seminar discussions, presentations, independent study, research and essays.
• 7) Develop skills in engaging with mediums such as news and current affairs, podcasts, media representations of victims, to connect academic research and debates to current events and cases.

Indicative reading list

Duggan, M. (Ed.). (2018). Revisiting the 'ideal victim': Developments in critical victimology. Policy Press.
Walklate, S. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of victims and victimology. Routledge.
Long, L. J. (2021). The ideal victim: A critical race theory (CRT) approach. International Review of Victimology, 27(3), 344-362.
Drake, D. H., & Henley, A. J. (2014). ‘Victims’ Versus ‘Offenders’ in British Political Discourse: The Construction of a False Dichotomy. The howard journal of criminal justice, 53(2), 141-157.
Dunn, J. L. (2001). Innocence lost: Accomplishing victimization in intimate stalking cases. Symbolic Interaction, 24(3), 285-313.
Marshall, Hannah, Matthew Bacon, and Jack Spicer. "Emerging Victims in Contemporary Drugs Policing." The British Journal of Criminology (2024): azae020.
Fohring, S. (2024). # WhyIDidntReport: Exploring victim accounts of non-reporting. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 17488958241283947.

Interdisciplinary

The module will draw upon research from a range of disciplines including: Sociology and Criminology (across all weeks) as well as making connections with research from Political Science (in week eight, which explores the experiences of victims of war crimes and processes of transitional justice), Psychology (in week four, which explores victims' needs in the aftermath of victimisation, and week eight) and Media Studies (in week seven, which explores media representations of victims).

International

The following weeks will draw on case studies from a variety of international contexts:
Week seven: Victim activism and victims in the media will use a case study of activism and media reporting around violence experienced by indigenous women in North America
Week eight: Narrative and visual victimology: victims of war crimes and transitional justice will draw on case studies in Uganda and South Africa
Week nine: Victimhood as a political tool: the case of modern day slavery will draw on case studies from Nigeria and Vietnam.
Week ten: Beyond Victimhood: will explore the insights that decolonising movements in criminology provide in terms of thinking beyond concepts of victim and offender.

Subject specific skills

Research and analytical skills
Critical Reading
Critical Writing
Literature searches and referencing
Cross-cultural understanding (see details of the international focus of the module below)

Transferable skills

Communication skills
Research and analytical skills