Students will analyse the concept of 'victim' within domestic and international contexts, utilising practical and theoretical understandings of victimisation. The four key variables within the Legal Studies discipline (gender, age, race and class) are investigated to expand student understandings of who and what constitutes an 'ideal' victim within the media and the courtroom. The subject also examines the impact of victim's rights discourses in shaping traditional and alternative responses to crime and punishment. The concept of 'victim' will be further explored to consider the ways in which some groups might be victimised by the law, including Indigenous Australians, injured workers, and asylum seekders. Students will also deconstruct the concept of 'victimhood' and determine the extent to which it us useful in legal and social settings.

Subject rules

Readings