<p>The purpose of this essay is to define the meaning of the concept of crime victim and how the crime victim as a concept is constructed. The question is answered through an investigation of the discourse that constructs and reproduces the crime victim. Furthermore the purpose is to open a theoretical discussion which aims to clarify whether or not the crime victim is a subject or an object through an examination of how the individual is constructed as a crime victim by the crime victim discourse.</p><p>The essay takes a theoretical point of view based on a mixture of Michel Foucault’s and Ernesto Laclau & Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theories. The method used to organize the research – regarding the meaning of the concept of crime victim – is Laclau & Mouffe’s discourse analysis which is an extension and a part of the theory mentioned above.</p><p>The discourse analysis creates a model of the crime victim discourse which answers the question of how the concept of crime victim is constructed, and how this concept should be understood. By observing the construction closely – of the individual as a crime victim – a discussion concerning the crime victim as a subject or an object is elaborated upon. Throughout the discussion the view of the subject as a construction is questioned and another theoretical complementary addition is being made – to the discourse theory – to solve the questions that otherwise would have been left unsolved. The theory which is brought in to complement the discourse theory at this point is Emma Engdahl’s theory about the elementary forms of social life.</p><p>The essay ends in five conclusions which together answer the essays questions in order to fulfil its purpose. The conclusions are: (1) The concept of crime victim is defined by two statements: (a) A crime victim is a person who has been subjected to a crime and has suffered pain. (b) All crime victims are in need of redress. (2) A crime victim who has been constructed exactly like the pattern of the concept of crime victim is an object. (3) The crime victim is a construction of an individual with innate capability to create a subject. (4) The discourse of the crime victim is trying to construct an object of a subject. (5) Whether the crime victim is a subject or an object depends on how the individual chooses to conduct himself in relation to the concept of crime victim used in the discourse.</p> / <p>Syftet med denna studie är att ta reda på vad brottsofferbegreppet innebär, och hur brottsofferbegreppet är konstruerat. Frågan besvaras genom en kartläggning av den diskurs som har konstruerat och reproducerar brottsoffret. Vidare syftar studien till att öppna en teoretisk diskussion som har för avsikt att klargöra om brottsoffret är ett subjekt eller ett objekt genom att titta på hur brottsofferdiskursen konstruerar individen till ett brottsoffer.</p><p>Studien har tagit utgångspunkt i både Michel Foucaults och Ernesto Laclau & Chantal Mouffes diskursteorier. Den arbetsmetod som används i studien är Laclau & Mouffes diskursanalys vilken bör ses som en förlängning och en del av den teoretiska utgångspunkten som nämnts ovan.</p><p>Den diskursanalys som genomförs i studien målar upp en modell av brottsofferdiskursen vilken svarar på frågan om hur brottsofferbegreppet konstrueras och hur begreppet ska förstås. Genom att titta på hur individen konstrueras som ett brottsoffer utvecklas en diskussion kring brottsoffret som ett subjekt eller ett objekt. I diskussionen uppkommer en kritisk hållning till att se subjektet som en konstruktion och ytterligare en teoretisk komplettering till diskursteorin görs för att lösa de frågor som annars skulle ha lämnats obesvarade. Den teori som här förs in i diskussionen och förenas med diskursteorin är Emma Engdahls teori om det sociala livets elementära former.</p><p>Uppsatsen mynnar ut i fem slutsatser som tillsammans svarar på studiens frågeställningar och uppfyller dess syfte. Dessa slutsatser är: (1) Definitionen av brottsofferbegreppet är tvådelad: (a) Den individ är ett brottsoffer som utsatts för ett brott och därav oskyldigt lidit skada. (b) Alla brottsoffer är i behov av upprättelse. (2) Ett brottsoffer som är helt konstruerat efter brottsofferbegreppets mönster är ett objekt. (3) Brottsoffret är en konstruktion av en individ med medfödda förmågor att skapa ett subjekt. (4) Brottsofferdiskursen försöker att göra ett objekt av ett subjekt. (5) Om brottsoffret är ett subjekt eller ett objekt beror på hur individen väljer att – i brottsofferdiskursen – positionera sig till begreppet brottsoffer.</p>

The purpose of this essay is to define the meaning of the concept of crime victim and how the crime victim as a concept is constructed. The question is answered through an investigation of the discourse that constructs and reproduces the crime victim. Furthermore the purpose is to open a theoretical discussion which aims to clarify whether or not the crime victim is a subject or an object through an examination of how the individual is constructed as a crime victim by the crime victim discourse. The essay takes a theoretical point of view based on a mixture of Michel Foucault’s and Ernesto Laclau &amp; Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theories. The method used to organize the research – regarding the meaning of the concept of crime victim – is Laclau &amp; Mouffe’s discourse analysis which is an extension and a part of the theory mentioned above. The discourse analysis creates a model of the crime victim discourse which answers the question of how the concept of crime victim is constructed, and how this concept should be understood. By observing the construction closely – of the individual as a crime victim – a discussion concerning the crime victim as a subject or an object is elaborated upon. Throughout the discussion the view of the subject as a construction is questioned and another theoretical complementary addition is being made – to the discourse theory – to solve the questions that otherwise would have been left unsolved. The theory which is brought in to complement the discourse theory at this point is Emma Engdahl’s theory about the elementary forms of social life. The essay ends in five conclusions which together answer the essays questions in order to fulfil its purpose. The conclusions are: (1) The concept of crime victim is defined by two statements: (a) A crime victim is a person who has been subjected to a crime and has suffered pain. (b) All crime victims are in need of redress. (2) A crime victim who has been constructed exactly like the pattern of the concept of crime victim is an object. (3) The crime victim is a construction of an individual with innate capability to create a subject. (4) The discourse of the crime victim is trying to construct an object of a subject. (5) Whether the crime victim is a subject or an object depends on how the individual chooses to conduct himself in relation to the concept of crime victim used in the discourse. / Syftet med denna studie är att ta reda på vad brottsofferbegreppet innebär, och hur brottsofferbegreppet är konstruerat. Frågan besvaras genom en kartläggning av den diskurs som har konstruerat och reproducerar brottsoffret. Vidare syftar studien till att öppna en teoretisk diskussion som har för avsikt att klargöra om brottsoffret är ett subjekt eller ett objekt genom att titta på hur brottsofferdiskursen konstruerar individen till ett brottsoffer. Studien har tagit utgångspunkt i både Michel Foucaults och Ernesto Laclau &amp; Chantal Mouffes diskursteorier. Den arbetsmetod som används i studien är Laclau &amp; Mouffes diskursanalys vilken bör ses som en förlängning och en del av den teoretiska utgångspunkten som nämnts ovan. Den diskursanalys som genomförs i studien målar upp en modell av brottsofferdiskursen vilken svarar på frågan om hur brottsofferbegreppet konstrueras och hur begreppet ska förstås. Genom att titta på hur individen konstrueras som ett brottsoffer utvecklas en diskussion kring brottsoffret som ett subjekt eller ett objekt. I diskussionen uppkommer en kritisk hållning till att se subjektet som en konstruktion och ytterligare en teoretisk komplettering till diskursteorin görs för att lösa de frågor som annars skulle ha lämnats obesvarade. Den teori som här förs in i diskussionen och förenas med diskursteorin är Emma Engdahls teori om det sociala livets elementära former. Uppsatsen mynnar ut i fem slutsatser som tillsammans svarar på studiens frågeställningar och uppfyller dess syfte. Dessa slutsatser är: (1) Definitionen av brottsofferbegreppet är tvådelad: (a) Den individ är ett brottsoffer som utsatts för ett brott och därav oskyldigt lidit skada. (b) Alla brottsoffer är i behov av upprättelse. (2) Ett brottsoffer som är helt konstruerat efter brottsofferbegreppets mönster är ett objekt. (3) Brottsoffret är en konstruktion av en individ med medfödda förmågor att skapa ett subjekt. (4) Brottsofferdiskursen försöker att göra ett objekt av ett subjekt. (5) Om brottsoffret är ett subjekt eller ett objekt beror på hur individen väljer att – i brottsofferdiskursen – positionera sig till begreppet brottsoffer.

Criminalistic study of crime victims (criminalistic victimology) In this thesis I try to briefly outline some of the most important issues and topics concerning criminalistic victimology. I address both how the victim affects the crime itself and its investigation, but also how the crime investigation affects the victim. When investigating a specific criminal act, there are two major conflicting goals we try to achieve; to investigate as thoroughly and effectively as we can, and to avoid secondary victimization of the victim. Both professional and attentive approach is vital to criminalistics as a whole, not just criminalistic victimology. A successful investigation depends in many cases greatly on whether and how the victim cooperates, and that in turn depends on how the victims and the general public view the police, the courts, and other criminal justice authorities. It is therefore necessary to understand the victim, to comprehend their role in the formation of the criminal act, and to ensure their confidence in the criminal justice. This thesis opens with a brief summary of the subject's history, afterwards it explains the key concepts and expressions found in the paper. It then carries on to deal with the victim's part in the creation and preservation of evidence and in reporting the criminal act. The...

The topic of my thesis is Assistance to victims of crime. I have chosen this topic for its importance in our era full of violence and crime. It is an issue interesting not only for lawyers but for many other different professions and public in general. My goal was to lay out as much information as possible and talk about some problematic spots regarding the rights of victims and their position not only in the criminal procedure. The first part of my thesis is focused on brief explanation of the history and development of the relatively young science - victimology and basic terms used in victimology. Significant part of the first chapter covers analysis of one simple word "victim". The following part of this paper tries to examine individual elements of the complex assistance provided to crime victims. The third chapter discusses possibilities of financial support to the victims from the government when it is impossible to obtain reparation from the offender. Many countries, including the Czech Republic, have enacted appropriate laws and have also become signatories of the European Convention on the Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes. The following chapter is concerned with the role of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of crime victim assistance and their cooperation with the...

Studiens syfte har varit att undersöka om egenskaper och omständigheter kring brottet, som kan kopplas till uppfattningen om det ideala offret, påverkar utfallet av polisers självständiga bedömningar av brott av hederskaraktär. För att studera detta har en kvantitativ metod tillämpas samt en logistisk regression av data baserad på identifierade brott av hederskaraktär i Dalarna genomförts. Studiens resultat visade att 11 variabler som har anknytning till egenskaper hos målsägare och gärningsperson samt omständigheter inom brottet och utredningen, såsom kön, ålder och anmälningstillfälle, har en signifikant betydelse för utfallet av bedömningarna. Studiens viktigaste slutsats är att det inte går att urskilja något tydligt samband mellan utfallet av uppmärksammade brott med hederskaraktär och uppfattningar som beskrivs i teorin om det idealiska offret. / "The ideal victims of honour-related crime" The purpose of this study is to examine if characteristics of victim and perpetrator and circumstances involving the crime, which are described in the theory of "the ideal victim", have an influence on the outcome of police employee’s independent assessment on crimes of honour character. In order to examine this a quantitative method has been applied and a logistic regression has been made of data based on identified crimes whit honour as a motive. The results of the study have shown that eleven variables which has a connection to characteristics and circumstances involving the crime and the investigation, as gender, age and circumstances surrounding reporting the crime, have a significant influence on the outcome. The study’s main conclusion is that no clear connection can be drawn between the outcome of assessments on crimes with an honour motive and the perception of the ideal victim.

Studiens syfte är att studera vilka erfarenheter individer har som blivit utsatta för brott. Detta för att erhålla en ökad förståelse för brottsoffers situation. Utifrån syftet har frågeställningen Erfarenheter av att vara brottsoffer utvecklats. För att söka svar på frågeställningen har intervjuer valts som datainsamlingsmetod. Intervjuerna har spelats in, transkriberats och analyserats genom IPA-modellen. I resultatet framträdde några centrala kluster. Dessa var försvarsmekanismer, tystnad som följd av stigmatisering, ambivalens och maktaspekter. Utifrån den insamlade datan drogs slutsatserna att brottsoffer utsätts för en emotionell påfrestning som de försöker hantera genom försvarsmekanismer, att brottsoffer tenderar att ha en låg känsla av sammanhang samt ett litet handlingsutrymme och en begränsad makt. Vidare drogs slutsatsen att det finns stereotyper om brottsoffer som kan leda till att brottsoffer stigmatiseras. Risken för stigmatisering leder till att brottsoffer tenderar att inte tala om brottet. Vidare kan brottet komma att ha negativa konsekvenser på brottsoffrets jag. / The purpose with the study is to examine peoples experiences of crimes to gain a greater understanding for crime victims situations. From the purpose has a question arised which is Experiences from being a crime victim. To seek an answer on the question has interviews been chosen as data collection method. The interviews have been taped, transcribed and analyzed through the IPA–model. Some central clusters did emerge from the result. These were defense mechanisms, silence as a result of stigma, ambivalence and aspects of power. From the collected data were the conclusions drawn that crime victims are exposed to an emotional strain that they are trying to control by defense mechanisms, that crime victims tend to have a low sense of coherence and a little discretion and a limited amount of power. The conclusion were also drawn that there are existing stereotypes about crime victim, which can result in that the crime victim gets stigmatized. The risk for the crime victim to become stigmatized leads to the fact that the crime victims don´t want to mention the crime. The crime can also result in negative consequences for the crime victims self.

This study sought to explain how crime victims emerged as a target group in the Swedish Social Services Act in 2001. The findings, derived from legislative documents, a literature review, and focus group interviews with social workers, showed that the 2001 provisions both duplicated and undermined pre-existing provisions of the Social Services Act. The explicit aim of the reform was to improve services to crime victims. The provisions did not, however, change the legal responsibility of the social services, nor did they strengthen the social rights of crime victims. The social services already assumed responsibility for crime victims according to other provisions of the act. To some degree, the reform can be explained symbolically. Support for crime victims was a complicated issue for the social democratic government. The economic crisis of the early 1990s ruled out reforms that might bring high increased costs. Yet expanding crime victims’ rights at the expense of the offender (e.g. toughening penal law and promoting victim impact statements) was not in line with social democratic ideology. By enacting the 2001 provisions, the government showed its commitment to providing support to crime victims. At the same time, the provisions did not increase costs or strengthen crime victims’ rights. In this way, the provisions solved a political dilemma for the government. Incorporating the 2001 provisions in the Social Services Act may seem to have been a modest reform. Symbolic politics, however, are not empty; rather, they reflect attitudes and beliefs. This study proposed that the reform revealed the state’s increasing concern with violence against women and individual responsibility. Furthermore, the provisions may have constituted a normative reorientation of the Social Services Act, in which individual responsibility increasingly replaced solidarity, the holistic view, and a right to assistance according to need.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe „Nusikaltimų aukų pagalbos ir paramos sistema Lietuvoje“ nagrinėjama Lietuvoje egzistuojanti pagalbos ir paramos nusikaltimų aukoms sistema, jos sudedamosios dalys ir elementai. Tema yra mažai nagrinėta ir aktuali tuo, kad tai naujas socialinių paslaugų sektorius Lietuvoje, kadangi iš esmės tuo susirūpinta vos prieš dešimtmetį, todėl dar nėra atlikta šios sistemos kompleksinė analizė, nėra tyrimų, kitų išsamesnių apibendrinančių darbų. Šio baigiamojo darbo objektas – nusikaltimų aukų pagalbos ir paramos sistema Lietuvoje, tikslas – pateikti rekomendacijas sistemai patobulinti. Siekiant šio tikslo buvo sprendžiami tokie uždaviniai kaip, valstybinių įstaigų bei nevyriausybinių organizacijų veiklos pagalbos nusikaltimų aukoms srityje nagrinėjimas ir vertinimas, pagalbos ir paramos nusikaltimo aukai sistemos Lietuvoje turinio atskleidimas, remiantis teisine literatūra ir teisės aktais, statistiniais duomenimis, internetinių svetainių informacija bei kitais informacijos šaltiniais, kai kurių Europos Sąjungos valstybių narių pagalbos ir paramos sistemos nagrinėjimas, pagalbos teikimo labiausiai pažeidžiamoms nusikaltimų aukoms – moterims ir vaikams analizė ir vertinimas, remiantis ekspertų apklausa. Atsižvelgiant į tyrimo objektą ir tikslą, magistro darbe buvo analizuojami tarptautiniai ir nacionaliniai teisės aktai, reglamentuojantys nusikaltimų aukų apsaugą, taip pat buvo vertinama institucijų ir organizacijų veikla šioje srityje, remiantis įvairiais... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In Master’s final thesis „The System of Help and Support for Crime Victims in Lithuania“ there is researched an existing in Lithuania system of help and support for crime victims, its components and elements. This theme has not been widely researched and is relevant because it is a new sector of social services in Lithuania. For the reason that this issue was raised only ten years ago there is no complex analysis of this system; there are no researches and other comprehensive resumptive works. The object of this final thesis is the system of help and support for crime victims in Lithuania; its purpose is to give recommendations for the improvement of the system. For the attainment of the purpose there were set the following tasks: the research and evaluation of the activity of public companies and nongovernmental organizations in the field of help and support for crime victims; the revelation of the content of system of help and support for crime victims in Lithuania on the ground of juridical literature, legal acts, data, information of Internet pages and other information sources; the analysis of some help and support systems of the member states of the European Union; the analysis and evaluation of help and support provided to the most vulnerable crime victims – women and children on the ground of the inquiry of experts. Considering the object and purpose of the research in this Master’s thesis there were analyzed international and national legal acts regulating the... [to full text]

The victims of crime are helped in the Czech Republic not only by public authorities such as police, prosecutors or curts, but also by nonprofit organizations and clinics. They assist the victims not only to cope with the mental trauma but also to claim thein rights (for example the right to compensation). There are currently many such organizations offering psychological or legal adice in our country. Neither all victims not all potential victims from the public are Avare of these type sof assistance. Not everyone in the immediate vicinity of the victims konws, how to treat them, how to communicate with them or how to help them. People´s awareness of helping organizations is reported in the quantitative research carried out on potential victims, who are all of us.

The thesis deals with the protection of victims of crimes, especially from the point of view of the formal aspect of their guarantee. The aim of the thesis is to identify the rights of victims belonging to such persons by law, taking into account the shortcomings of the law adopted for the protection of victims and its subsequent amendment, together with the concrete implications for the status of the victim. For this purpose, the work is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the necessary definition of the concepts that are crucial to this work, such as the victim, the victim and the particularly vulnerable victim, as well as the determination of the basic distinguishing features between the concepts of crime victim and the victim. The second chapter deals with the legislative development of the protection of victims of crime, at international, European and Czech level. At the same time, this chapter briefly summarizes the legislative development of the adoption of the first independent law on the protection of victims in the territory of the Czech Republic. The third chapter presents the most important shortcomings of the original wording of the Act on the Protection of Victims, which have been widely criticized by the authors of the said law and which have been manifested...