Dunn explores the shifting perceptions over time of victims as blameworthy, blameless, pathetic, or heroic figures. She also links those images to their real-world consequences, demonstrating that they dominate the ways in which people think about intimate violence and individual responsibility. Her analysis cuts to the core of fundamental issues at the center of debates about crime and deviance, victimization, and social problems.

After the Second World War, the role of the victim in criminal conflict became an object of interest for academics. But it was only in the 1960s that the importance of providing protection and assistance to crime victims was highlighted in particular by the victims' movement, which inaugurated a new era of criminal justice in systems throughout the world. Moving beyond just the role of controlling crime and punishing the offender, the criminal justice system also began to contribute to the victims' rehabilitation and to help the victim to move on from the event psychologically and emotionally. Although some criminological research was conducted on this topic, the effect that the criminal justice system and victim support services have on the well-being of crime victims is still uncertain. The current study sought to understand the healing process of victims of crime, the potential consequences of their participation on the criminal justice system, and the support of victim centers. Moreover, it aimed to find out whether the existence of a Victim Support Act would change the treatment that the victim receives in the criminal justice system. Thus this research was conducted based in two countries – Switzerland and Brazil – where the outcome of the victims' movement on the criminal justice system was different, as was the participation of the victim in the criminal justice system and the government's provision of support. In order to conduct this research the qualitative method was employed, which is the most efficient to gather sensitive information. Interviews with crime victims were the main source of information. Hearing observation and document research were used as complementary sources. The results of this research show that victims who have contact with the criminal justice system and victim services are not more likely to recover than those who had no contact. This is to say, the support offered has no major effects; the influence of the criminal justice system and the victim support services in the emotional well-being of crime victims is rather neutral. However, considering that the sample is not representative, findings are not expected to be generalized. Instead, findings may give insight to practitioners or to future criminal justice policy makers, suggesting what may work to improve the emotional well-being of crime victims, as well as suggesting further studies.

Presents the findings of a project that was designed to assess current practices & procedures used in the handling of criminal court cases involving children as victims/witnesses. Project utilized case reviews & interviews of participants in recently adjudicated cases to describe current approaches to children in the criminal justice system.

The Cologne Occasional Papers on International Peace and Security Law cover essays, studies and expert's reports on current public international law issues. The series is edited by Claus Kreß.

This volume critically analyses political strategies, civil society initiatives and modes of representation that challenge the conventional narratives of women in contexts of violence. It deepens into the concepts of victimhood and agency that inform the current debate on women as victims. The volume opens the scope to explore initiatives that transcend the pair abuser–victim and explore the complex relations between gender and violence, and individual and collective accountability, through politics, activism and cultural productions in order to seek social transformation for gender justice. In innovative and interdisciplinary case studies, it brings attention to initiatives and narratives that make new spaces possible in which to name, self-identify, and resignify the female political subject as a social agent in situations of violence. The volume is global in scope, bringing together contributions ranging from India, Cambodia or Kenya, to Quebec, Bosnia or Spain. Different aspects of gender-based violence are analysed, from intimate relationships, sexual violence, military contexts, society and institutions. Re-writing Women as Victims: From Theory to Practice will be a key text for students, researchers and professionals in gender studies, political sciences, sociology and media and cultural Studies. Activists and policy makers will also find its practical approach and engagement with social transformation to be essential reading.