Victims: Recognition and Redress

How well-placed is the criminal justice system to meet the needs of victims? How can criminal justice actors and processes enhance victim experiences? And how might justice be pursued outside the criminal justice system? This subject introduces students to issues and innovations relating to victims of crime. Victims have historically occupied a secondary place within liberal legal systems, as crimes are conceived as offences against the state. Yet victims are frequently required to narrate their experiences to assist in the adjudication of guilt — a process that may be cathartic for some and traumatising or re-victimising for others. Increasingly, many victims seek justice outside formal legal processes, pursuing alternative forms of recognition and redress. Part One of the subject examines victims in relation to traditional criminal justice processes, including reforms aimed at enhancing victim participation. Part Two investigates alternative justice responses, such as public inquiries, apologies, memorialisation, and other non-legal mechanisms that reflect broader understandings of harm, healing and accountability. The subject will explore the historical emergence of victimology; policy and procedural reforms within criminal justice; recognition and redress beyond legal processes; the role of testimony, truth-telling and memory in alternative justice; and future directions in victim-centred justice. Students will critically consider the evolving role of the victim in legal and social contexts, and debate the strengths and limitations of both legal and non-legal responses to harm. The subject includes content on sexual violence victimisation, which some students may find distressing.