NCJ Number
101192
Journal
Victimology Volume: 10 Issue: 1-4 Dated: (1985) Pages: 560-572
Date Published
1985
Length
13 pages
Annotation
How do societies respond to victims? Dominant responses are to ignore victims or blame them.
Abstract
The criminal justice system works to turn victims into cooperative witnesses. The medical system responds by redefining victims as patients and denying the relevance of the means by which injury occurred. Both institutions define victims to fit existing system procedures and institutional mandates. Recent advances in mental health suggest new principles for response to victims. Both the self-help movement in medicine and political action for women support redefinition of victims and hold that professional helpers must refrain from encouraging dependent behavior. Can victims reach needed services yet move beyond medical and criminal justice institutions? (Author abstract)