The criminal justice landscape has evolved significantly during the last
four decades, with its predominant focus on the offender shifting to the
background, while the role and experiences of the victim have emerged as
centre stage, rhetorically at least. The focus of this book is to examine the
range of complex factors that have impacted upon and altered this landscape.
In particular, the interplay between victimology as an academic
discipline, the role and activism of individuals and special interest groups,
and the subsequent impact upon policy making and professional practices.
The merger of narratives, from the basic tenets of the early positivist
victimologists to the challenges of radical, critical and cultural approaches,