NCJ Number
157305
Date Published
1995
Length
160 pages
Annotation
The crime victim movement is examined with respect to the organizational system and groups affiliated with the movement, the organization leaders and agenda, recent changes in State and Federal laws related to victims, and the legal decisions made regarding victims' rights.
Abstract
Much of the discussion is based on a survey of organizations serving victims. The discussion notes that the crime victim movement is changing our understanding of justice, defining a role for victims and family members beyond the evidentiary need of the prosecution in court. The discussion focuses on the social and political trends that converged to form the movement, the development of a common ideology of victim rights that complements a moral view of crime, and the nature of national and local organizations focusing on victims' rights. These include victim-witness programs, advocacy groups, domestic violence shelters, and rape crisis centers. The discussion concludes that the movement has an impact, although the impact is not yet clear. Some of the changes it has advocated have been more symbolic than real, and others have served other interests more than those of victims. Tables, chapter reference lists, index, and appended methodological information