Contemporary Developments in Attitudes and Interactions with Victims of Crime
A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychiatric, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 November 2024 | Viewed by 1952
Special Issue Editors
Interests: victim and witness interviews; sexual violence; victim blaming; jury decision making
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Victims of crime are subjected to traumatic ordeals that can have long-lasting impacts on their health and wellbeing. These experiences will also create further difficulties for victims to give evidence and seek appropriate help. It is therefore imperative for professionals interacting with victims (e.g., police, healthcare professionals, support workers, jurors) to approach these interactions professionally and ethically. However, research continues to demonstrate that many professionals, as well as society in general, will approach cases unempathetically and problematically, drawing on cognitive biases or inaccurate pre-conceived beliefs. The impact of negative victim attitudes (e.g., victim blaming) are extremely problematic, they can cause re-traumatisation to victims, incite self-blame, and push many individuals away from wanting to report crimes or seek out support.
Research has come a long way in helping to identify and dispel problematic victim attitudes, as well as informing best practise for those working with crime victims (e.g., trauma-informed support). Despite this surge in empirical enquiry, the problem with negative victim attitudes persists. The following Special Issue calls for contemporary explorations into the treatment and perception of crime victims.
Dr. Dara Mojtahedi
Dr. Dominic Willmott
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- victim
- survivors
- support
- crime
- trauma
- victim attitudes
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