Victimology -- The Study of Victims -- in Australia (From The Australian Criminal Justice System: The Mid 1980s, P 294-309, 1986, Duncan Chappell and Paul Wilson, eds. -- See NCJ-110891)

• NCJ Number: 110906
• Author(s): R Whitrod
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper examines the development of the crime victims' movement in Australia, the impact of victimization, the criminal justice system's treatment of crime victims, and victim needs.

Abstract

A series of international conferences on victims and the feminist drive to upgrade the treatment of female crime victims have combined to produce victim compensation programs in Australia, the use of victim surveys to increase victimization data, and a 1980 Law Reform Commission report that devoted substantial attention to victims' needs. A number of biographical accounts of crime victims' experiences, widely read in Australia, have also increased victimization awareness. Another principal development is the establishment of the Victims of Crime Service in a number of States to provide victim services. Some police forces have created the position of victim liaison officer. Victims tend to feel distressed, helpless, isolated, and uninformed. Whether or not these victim needs are met will depend largely on victims themselves as they both inform and influence governmental institutions regarding their needs and the services required to meet them. 30 footnotes.