Paradigms and Paradoxes of Victimology (From International Victimology, P 9-34, 1996, Chris Sumner, Mark Israel, et al., eds. - See NCJ-169474)

• NCJ Number: 169475
• Author(s): R Elias
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This is a condemnation of the current state of victimology.

Abstract

The paper argues that victimology as an intellectual discipline has been coopted by a particular agenda, that of law and order, which does not work in the best interests of most victims and survivors. In addition, some in the field claim the discipline has been seized by a "victimization industry" which turns conferences into pedestals for political rhetoric. The article asks if there can be any use for a victimology that cannot escape a reactionary "right realist" political paradigm which is dominant in the politics of victimization. Rather than defending a politically neutral victimology, the article suggests positions which might facilitate a challenge to right realism: liberal, feminist, radical, socialist, left realist and peacemaking standpoints. In addition, the article calls for a radical shift in attention away from victims of crime to victims in general, from the construction of symbolic policies to the implementation of tangible ones and from a manipulation of punishment to the construction of positive reinforcements. References