Exploring Victimology

Exploring Victimology: The Effects and Consequences of Victimization combines original writing on key topics in victimology with carefully chosen articles that expand on the subjects. The book gives students a basic introduction to important issues while also exposing them to outstanding primary sources.

Students will gain insight into the effects and consequences of victimization on various populations, including women, children, elderly, and secondary victims. The book provides an introduction to the field of victimology, discusses theories and the measurement of victimization, examines victim precipitation and victim blaming, and explores the various costs of crime to victims.

Individual readings examine issues such as the economic toll of intimate partner violence, the overlap between being a victim and being an offender, issues involving secondary victims of rape, victim precipitation among individuals arrested for intimate partner violence, and the effects of fear of crime. The final group of readings will familiarize students with victims’ rights and explore the future of victimology.

Efficiently and effectively blending elements of a reader and a traditional text gives students an overview of the relevant issues in one book. Exploring Victimology is appropriate for undergraduate courses in criminology, criminal justice, sociology, or women's and gender studies programs, and may also be used as a supplemental text for graduate course work.