Edited by Carol Hagemann-White, Liz Kelly, Thomas Meysen

This book offers insights and perspectives from a study of “Cultural Encounters in Intervention Against Violence” (CEINAV) in four EU-countries. Seeking a deeper understanding of the underpinnings of intervention practices in Germany, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, the team explored variations in institutional structures and traditions of law, policing, and social welfare. Theories of structural inequality and ethics are discussed and translated into practice

Leverkusen-Opladen: Verlag Barbara Budrich, 2019. 282p.

By Inka Lilja, Elina Kervinen, Anni Lietonen, Natalia Ollus, Minna Viuhko, Anniina Jokinen.

The HEUNI report "Unseen Victims" presents the manifestations and consequences of gender-based violence and the challenges in assisting victims of violence in the migration context. With this report we aim to increase the understanding of policymakers on the structural challenges asylum-seeking and refugee women who have experienced gender-based violence face.

Helsinki: European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI), 2020. 100p.

By N Elbers; A Akkermans; H Soleto Muñoz; Fiodorova; A Grané; J Maria Tamarit; L Arantegui; P Patrizi; GL Lepri; E Lodi; D Chirico; I Lāce; L Vaivode; J Dilba; A Brekasi; N Zoidou Saripapa; N Spetsidis.

The second eBook of the FAIRCOM Project, available as download on this page, presents the results of an investigative study on State Compensation and Offender Compensation in the current five partner countries: Greece, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Spain. It identifies good practices and offers recommendations.

The last 20 years, victims of crime have received increased attention in the criminal trial process. Various EU legislation, in specific the Victims’ Rights Directive 2012/29/EU,1 has established important victims’ rights, such as the right to receive information, respectful treatment, legal support, victim support and compensation. Most EU member states have implemented the legislation and the position of victims has clearly been strengthened. Now that victims of crime are in the spotlight, it is a good opportunity to also focus on specific vulnerable groups of victims in criminal law: victims of sexual crimes. Victims of sexual crimes require special attention for several reasons. Firstly, the scale in which sexual violence occurs is significant: according to a report of the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), it is estimated that 3.7 million women in the EU are subjected to sexual violence every year. 2 In total 11% of women have experienced some form of sexual violence since they were 15 years old. 5% of women have been raped since the age of 15. 3 The FRA did not include sexual violence to men. What is known about men is that 10% of victims of violent sexual crimes are men, the majority (90%) of the victims are women. 4 Of the perpetrators, 99% are men, 1% are women. 5 Secondly, victims of sexual crimes need support in their search for justice. Only 14% of victims of sexual violence report their offense to the police.6 Sexual crimes are often associated with shame and stigma and often mentioned in relation to secondary victimisation. About 25% of victims of sexual crimes do not dare to report the crime because of shame and 12% does not report because they think they will not be believed. Victims of physical violence also do not report because of shame or not being believed but the percentages are much lower, respectively 8% and 2%.7 Of the victims of sexual crimes who report to the police, about 46% are not satisfied with the treatment received by the police.

Amsterdam: Free University of Amsterdam, 2020. 94p.

Edited by The Centre for Child Law.

Child victims and witnesses of crime are amongst the most vulnerable people in the justice system. The United Nations issued guidelines for their protection in 2005. This publication sets out the guidelines in the South African context. Does South African law reflect these guidelines? What are the challenges to be faced in order to bring South African law and practice in line with these international standards? Answers to these questions are provided in this up-to-date analysis of the current state of the law. This publication is a useful guide for students of law, as well as for practitioners who work with children in the courts. Launched during the internationally recognised “16 days of activism to end violence against women and children”, the publication is designed to be of assistance in the everyday working life of presiding officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, social workers, intermediaries and other professionals.

Pretoria: Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2008. 59p.

By S.K. Witting.

With access to and usage of it increasing dramatically over the past 20 years, the Internet has become an emerging realm for human interaction. With children constituting one-third of Internet users worldwide, this realm offers endless opportunities to learn, connect, and interact. At the same time, the Internet facilitates child sexual abuse on a large scale – through the production, dissemination, and accessing of child sexual abuse material.This study aims to critically analyse emerging aspects of the international and national regulation, investigation and prosecution of online child sexual abuse material from a child-rights and rule-of-law-based approach. It investigates emerging aspects of substantive and procedural law which have been little explored in the past, zooming in on complex constitutional aspects by applying a comparative legal analysis approach with a strong focus on the Global South as well as interdisciplinary legal research.In order to solve these complex legal issues, the answer lies in the identification and subsequent navigation of a variety of dichotomies that govern the discourse on online child sexual abuse material. The international and national regulation, investigation and prosecution of emerging aspects of online child sexual abuse material hence require constant identification, reflection and calibration of competing discourses, with a view to developing a cyber-specific yet victim-sensitive response that upholds the rule of law and takes a child-centred approach.

Leiden: Leiden University, 2020. 158p.

By J.J. Rokven.

Why do offenders often become victims of crime themselves? And are victims of crime also more likely to become criminal offenders? While criminological research often treats victims and offenders as distinct groups, Von Hentig already in 1948 noted that these groups may overlap. In his textbook, The Criminal and His Victim, Von Hentig criticized the traditional offender=oriented nature of criminology and drew attention to the fact that victims and offenders both play important roles in criminal events and people may alternate between the role of victim and offender. Subsequently, numerous studies have examined the relationship between victimization and offending and virtually all documented a strong connection between the two: those who engage in criminal offending are often also the ones who suffer from it (Fagan, Piper, & Cheng, 1987; Jennings, Piquero, & Reingle, 2011; Jensen & Brownfield, 1986; Lauritsen & Laub, 2007; Lauritsen, Sampson, & Laub, 1991; Ousey, Wilcox, & Fisher, 2011; Sampson & Lauritsen, 1990; Singer, 1981; Smith & Ecob, 2007). Despite the strong empirical evidence for the victimization-offending relationship, the etiology of this relationship is still not well understood. The aim of this study is therefore to provide more insight in the underlying processes that explain this victim-offender overlap.

Nijmegen, Netherlands:Radboud University, 2016. 186p.

By N. N. Koster.

Crime is a major problem in society as, for instance, indicated by the most recent report of the Security Monitor.1 According to this monitor, almost 2.5 million citizens in the Netherlands were victimized in 2016 by either a property crime (11.5%) or a violent crime (2.3%). Yet, the Security Monitor does not register how many of these victims were first-time victims or repeat victims. Dutch studies into the prevalence of repeat victimizations, although rather out-dated, suggest that repeat burglary victimization is a serious issue to tackle in the Netherlands (e.g. Arends, 1997; Eijken & Van Overbeeke, 1998; Hakkert & Oppenhuis, 1996; Kleemans, 2001; López, 2001; Tseloni, Wittebrood, Farrell & Pease, 2004; Wittebrood, 2006). For example, Hakkert and Oppenhuis (1996) reported that 21% of the burglary victims have to deal with another burglary within a year and that these repeat burglary crime victims account for 44% of all (attempted) burglaries (see also Kleemans, 2001; Tseloni et al., 2004). In addition, repeat violent crime victimization may also be an important issue. Hakkert and Oppenhuis (1996), for example, reported that about 43% of victims of violent crime face another violent crime victimization within a year – accounting for 77% of all violent crimes (see also Police Monitor Population, 1999). These figures should be seen as a low estimate, because many victims do not report their victimization.

Leiden: University of Leiden, 2018. 205p.

By Leslie Sebba.

Over the past two decades considerable interest has developed in the subject of the victims of crime. This interest reached a peak in 1982 with the establishment and report of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime (1982), which made numerous recommendations for legislative, executive, and other institutional action on both the federal and state levels, including an amendment to the United States Constitution. However, the momentum continued. Subsequent developments have included the establishment of an Office for Victims of Crime in the Office of Justice Programs, a flurry of legislative activity across the nation, and the declaration of National Crime Victims' Rights weeks with the participation of the U.S. president. The interests of victims have been taken up not only by special organizations established for the purpose, such as the National Organization of Victims' Assistance (NOVA), the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization in Virginia, and the National Victim Center (founded in honor of Sunny von Bulow), as well as more narrowly focused groups such as MADD (Mothers against Drunk Driving), but also by such mainstream professional bodies as the American Bar Association (ABA), the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Conference of the Judiciary, the American Psychological Association, and the National Institute for Mental Health. Landmark legislation at the federal level includes the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, and the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act and other related provisions of the Crime Control Act of 1990. (See also the Attorney-General's Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance, issued in pursuance of the 1982 and the 1990 acts.) A review of victim-oriented legislation both at the federal and at the state levels, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1996. 446p.

By Petter Gottschalk and Lars Gunnesdal.

Lack of Detection, Investigation and Conviction Compared to Social Security Fraud . Examines the magnitude, causes of, and reactions to white-collar crime, based on the theories and research of those who have uncovered various forms of white-collar crime. It argues that the offenders who are convicted represent only ‘the tip of the iceberg’ of a much greater problem: because white-collar crime is forced to compete with other kinds of financial crime like social security fraud for police resources and so receives less attention and fewer investigations. Gottschalk and Gunnesdal also offer insights into estimation techniques for the shadow economy, in an attempt to comprehend the size of the problem. Holding broad appeal for academics, practitioners in public administration, and government agencies, this innovative study serves as a timely starting point for examining the lack of investigation, detection, and conviction of powerful white-collar criminals.

Palgrave Macmillan. (2018 ) 151p.

Edited by Carissa Byrne Hessick.

The legal definition of child pornography is, at best, unclear. In part because of this ambiguity and in part because of the nature of the crime itself, the prosecution and sentencing of perpetrators, the protection of and restitution for victims, and the means for preventing repeat offenses are deeply controversial. In Refining Child Pornography Law, experts in law, sociology, and social work examine child pornography law and its consequences in an effort to clarify the questions and begin to formulate answers. Focusing on the roles of language and crime definition, the contributors discuss the increasing visibility child pornography plays in the national conversation about child safety, and present a range of views regarding the punishment of those who produce, distribute, and possess materials that may be considered child pornography.

Michigan University Press. 2016. 200p.

By S. Giora Shoham and John Hoffman.

With depth, clarity and erudition, this primer covers all the classic theory and research on the sociology of crime. CONTENTS: 1. Criminology and Social Deviance. 2. Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Criminology. 3. Ecological Theories of Crime and Delinquency. 4. Anomie and Social Deviance: Strain Theories. 5. Differential Association and its Progeny. 6. Control Theories of Crime and Delinquency. 7. Social Reaction to Crime: Stigma and Interaction. 8. Conflict and Radical Perspectives on Crime. 9. Recent Developments in the Sociology of Crime. References. RECOMMENDED: Excellent text for upper division undergraduate classes, or beginning graduate classes. Strongly recommended as a substitute for those expensive, superficial introductory textbooks!

NY. Harrow and Heston Publishers. 2012.

By Nicola Delvino.

In March 2019, local newspapers in Miami reported that Mabel – a Nicaraguan woman who had reached out to the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) after suffering a sexual offence – was arrested and detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Mabel was reported to ICE by MDPD officers while she was still in the police station and cooperating with them in the investigations. A month earlier, The Nation reported the story of Nancy, a victim of rape who was deported from the United States to Mexico after reporting the crime to the police, testifying in court, and cooperating with US law enforcement authorities to ensure the prosecution and expulsion of the perpetrator. In 2018, it was reported that Maria, a Colombian survivor of domestic violence, was briefly arrested by immigration authorities at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, in North Carolina, where she appeared for a hearing related to her case. Maria’s case is not isolated, as it is widely reported that immigration arrests at courthouses in the United States in the recent past have been targeting crime victims as often as perpetrators. In all these cases, the victims had suffered a crime while in the United States with an irregular migration status.

Oxford, UK: School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, 2019. 49p.

Edited by Sandra J.T.M. Evers, Catrien Notermans and Erik van Ommering.

“Children should be seen, and not heard. The above maxim, though representing a Victorian value, was commonly pronounced in family homes up until a half century ago. It is based on the principle that a well-behaved child is a child who does not bother adults or disrupt their conversations. While such approaches have evolved considerably since then, in mainstream social science theory, children’s voices usually are not heard. Wallowing as it were in a phase of innocence, immaturity and dependence on adult care and protection, children continue to be largely deemed unfit as sources of scientific inquiry.”

Leiden. Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.