Conference papers

Paradigms and paradoxes of victimology

Robert Elias
Department of Politics, University of San Francisco

Published in:
International victimology : selected papers from the 8th International Symposium : proceedings of a symposium held 21-26 August 1994
Chris Sumner, Mark Israel, Michael O'Connell and Rick Sarre (eds.)
ISBN 0 642 24008 6 ; ISSN 1034-5086
Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 1996

• Download paper (PDF 107kB)

Abstract

Elias provides a strong condemnation of the current state of victimology. Despite the growth of the intellectual discipline, he maintains that levels of victimisation around the world have increased. He argues that victimology has been coopted by a particular political agenda, that of law and order, which does not work in the best interests of most victims and survivors. He 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.