Despite Western society's preoccupation with safety and protection, its most vulnerable members still lack access to the level of security that many of us take for granted. In this trailblazing study, Laura Huey illustrates the issue of a 'security gap' faced by increasing homeless populations: while they are among the most likely victims of crime, they are also among the least served by existing forms of state and private security. Invisible Victims presents the first comprehensive, integrated study of the risks faced by homeless people and their attempts to find safety and security in often dangerous environments. Huey draws not only on current debates on security within criminology, but also on a decade's worth of her own field research on the victimization and policing of the homeless. A theoretically and empirically informed examination of the myriad issues affecting the homeless, Invisible Victims makes a compelling case for society to provide necessary services and, above all, a basic level of security for this population.

Lynch condemns the sloppy, fearful thinking that has converted affirmative action into quotas and that has kept social researchers shying away from this explosive topic. Shulamit Reinharz Choice There is nothing quite like Frederick Lynch's book which describes how affirmative action works in real life, and points to some very disturbing effects. This is a subject that should be discussed not only in the Supreme Court and Lynch makes an important contribution to that discussion. Nathan Glazer, Harvard University More and more questions have surfaced in the past decade concerning the wisdom and fairness of affirmative action programs. In this book, Lynch takes a hard look at affirmative action policy development and the social and ethical implications of a system that promotes gender and race as criteria for vocational advancement and educational opportunity. He focuses on the experiences of white males who have been victims of reverse discrimination under such programs and explores the lackluster response from government, the media, and employing institutions. Lynch examines the political taboo that for two decades effectively stifled discussion of the issues that affirmative action raises in both public discourse and scholarly analysis. He reviews the original ideals and purposes of affirmative action and contrasts them with the program as it has actually operated in everyday work settings. In case studies based on interviews and other data, Lynch assesses the reactions of white males to affirmative action social barriers, as well as their impact on co-workers, friends, and relatives. He describes the role of the mass media, the social sciences, and ideological elites in creating a conspiracy of silence concerning the hidden and unintended consequences of affirmative action policies. The only study that deals specifically with the impact of affirmative action on white males, this book is a must read for anyone who is truly interested in understanding the sociological, political, and psychological complexities of this issue.

"This book offers a variety of contributed chapters to expand the study of crime victims to be more inclusive of common types of victimization, and to increase student, researcher, and practitioner understanding of victimization and barriers to victim assistance"--

Indigenous women and girls are more likely to suffer extreme violence than other women. They are more likely to disappear and never be seen again. And sadly, they are more likely to be murdered by a serial killer. For decades, it has been Canada's dirty little secret. Then in 2014, the horrific murders of Loretta Saunders and Tina Fontaine made headlines across Canada, ignited widespread outrage and exposed Canada's national shame. So why is the level of violence towards Indigenous women reaching crisis levels? Centuries of discrimination, long term effects of the dreadful residential school era, and many other appalling government-approved practices have resulted in widespread racism towards Indigenous people. Attempts at genocide didn't cease centuries ago like many believe. They just became more subtle. Invisible Victims is a shocking work that shines a spotlight on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women tragedy in Canada, its root causes and several cases. It also includes serial killers who specifically targeted Indigenous women as victims, as a direct result of indifference on the part of Canada's law enforcement, media and government.

In Invisible Slaves, W. Kurt Hauser discusses slavery around the world, with research and firsthand stories that reframe slavery as a modern-day crisis, not a historical phenomenon or third-world issue. Identifying four types of slavery—chattel slavery, debt bondage, forced labor, and sex slavery—he examines the efforts and failures of governments to address them. He explores the political, economic, geographic, and cultural factors that shape slavery today, illustrating the tragic human toll with individual stories. Country by country, the author illuminates the harsh realities of modern-day slavery. He explores slavery's effects on victims, including violence, isolation, humiliation, and the master-slave relationship, and discusses the methods traffickers use to lure the vulnerable, especially children, into slavery. He assesses nations based on their levels of slavery and efforts to combat the problem, citing the rankings of the United States' Trafficking Victims Protection Act. He concludes with an appeal to governments and ordinary citizens alike to meet this humanitarian crisis with awareness and action.

Social scientist, victim advocate, and the mother of a murder victim - Deborah Spungen is well acquainted with all facets of what she defines as "the blackest hell accompanied by a pain so intense that even breathing becomes an unendurable labor." In Homicide: The Hidden Victims, Spungen illustrates just how and why family members become co-victims when a loved one is murdered, and she poignantly addresses the emotional, physical, spiritual, and psychological effects of such traumatic events. The timely information and innovative modalities discussed in this book make it ideal for mental health and criminal justice professionals, pastoral counselors, social workers, and victim advocates.

In/Visible War addresses a paradox of twenty-first century American warfare. The contemporary visual American experience of war is ubiquitous, and yet war is simultaneously invisible or absent; we lack a lived sense that “America” is at war. This paradox of in/visibility concerns the gap between the experiences of war zones and the visual, mediated experience of war in public, popular culture, which absents and renders invisible the former. Large portions of the domestic public experience war only at a distance. For these citizens, war seems abstract, or may even seem to have disappeared altogether due to a relative absence of visual images of casualties. Perhaps even more significantly, wars can be fought without sacrifice by the vast majority of Americans. Yet, the normalization of twenty-first century war also renders it highly visible. War is made visible through popular, commercial, mediated culture. The spectacle of war occupies the contemporary public sphere in the forms of celebrations at athletic events and in films, video games, and other media, coming together as MIME, the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network.