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From Invisible to Conspicuous: The Rise of Victim Activism in the Politics of Justice

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Victimology

Abstract

Crime victims are now significant voices in criminal justice politics and reform. No longer the invisible or forgotten people of the criminal justice system, the symbolic and political resonance of victimhood has grown to such an extent that the victim now plays an important role in the shaping of public debates about justice. The authors ask how has this come about and is it desirable? Starting with an overview of theories explaining this change, an analysis of high-profile cases is developed in order to illustrate where the victims’ voices have led to changes in the law, criminal justice and society. From the family’s quest for justice in the murders of Stephen Lawrence, Milly Dowler and Clare Wood, to newspaper and social media campaigns, such as Megan and Sarah’s Law through to #MeToo, victim activism is analysed in relation to campaigns driven by injustice, anger, fear, forgiveness and compassion. The chapter concludes by arguing that whilst the media may exaggerate, skew and sometimes sensationalise crime and violence, it also provides a platform for victims to have their voices heard and this has democratised, as well as mediatized their voices.

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Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the EU COST Action (CA18121) that funds the research network we both participate in called Cultures of Victimology: Understanding Processes of Victimization Across Europe. And we are very grateful to the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust (SG161060) who funded our project: ‘Giving voice’ to Victims: a strengths-based investigation into victim identities’ and the research participants on this project whose insights helped shape the ideas in this chapter. And thanks also to Professor Suzan van der Aa at the University of Maastricht for her contribution to a joint paper with Dr Simon Green at the European Society of Criminology annual conference in Sarajevo (2018) entitled: ‘Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: A Victimological Analysis of the #MeToo Campaign’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology and Sociology, University of Hull, Hull, UK

    Nicola O’Leary

  2. Faculty of Arts, Culture and Education, University of Hull, Hull, UK

    Simon Green

Authors
  1. Nicola O’Leary
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  2. Simon Green
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Correspondence to Nicola O’Leary .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK

    Jacki Tapley

  2. Department of Social Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Pamela Davies

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O’Leary, N., Green, S. (2020). From Invisible to Conspicuous: The Rise of Victim Activism in the Politics of Justice. In: Tapley, J., Davies, P. (eds) Victimology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42288-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42288-2_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-42287-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-42288-2

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