Product Description
Victimology in Africa (3rd edition)
Author: R Peacock
Format: Physical Hardcopy
An ancient African worldview translates from the traditional isiZulu umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu as “I am what I am because of who we are”.
Justice in traditional Africa did not seek to create offences or offenders, but rather to maintain equilibrium in communitarian societies. This stands in stark contrast to the individual-orientated and punitive nature of Western concepts of law and criminal justice (including the administration of International justice), and highlights the need in Africa – with its history of colonisation, abuse of power and conflict – to shift the boundaries of victimology in transitional and post-conflict societies outside the realm of narrow and oppressive Western viewpoints. Victimology in Africa takes a critical emancipatory approach to the study field, one which recognises indigenous African values as a conceptual framework.
Victimology in Africa critically analyses hidden victimisation in society, dehumanising notions of victimhood, victimisation patterns, secondary victimisation by the Western criminal justice system together with the exploitation of international financial institutions and the misappropriation of traditional knowledge on the African continent.
Its African approach to victimology – one that celebrates intense humanness and universal interconnectedness – can be considered an emerging area of specialisation in the field. Such an alternative framework refers to the historical, cultural, political and socioeconomic dimensions of victimisation on the colonial–postcolonial continuum and considers macro and micro links between interpersonal victimisation and victimisation in broader society.
Victimology in Africa contains a cutting-edge presentation of contemporary scholarly discourse that is relevant both contextually and globally, seeking to stimulate further empirical enquiry and theory development, and to inform policy and practice.
The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation is honoured to endorse the third edition of Victimology in Africa . The literature is a move away from the westernised approach to justice to one that seeks to focus on the humanness of those affected and using the philosophy of Ubuntu, drawing on traditional/restorative approaches to justice.
Contents:
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SECTION 1: VICTIMOLOGY IN CONTEXT
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Chapter 1 Overview of concepts in victimology
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Chapter 2 Theoretical approaches and perspectives in victimology
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Chapter 3 Assessing the extent and nature of victimisation
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Chapter 4 Laws and policies supporting victims’ rights in South Africa
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Chapter 5 Victim empowerment
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Chapter 6 Challenges of the criminal justice system in addressing the needs of victims and witnesses
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Chapter 7 Evaluating victim impact statements: application and challenges
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Chapter 8 Restorative justice around the world and in cases of mass victimisation
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Chapter 9 When the dust settles: a case study of the post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Sierra Leone
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SECTION 2: SPECIFIC PATTERNS OF VICTIMISATION
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Chapter 10 The nexus between childhood victimisation and high risk behaviour
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Chapter 11 African voices for change: women, victimisation and resisting state violence
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Chapter 12 Victims of selected crimes of robbery with aggravating circumstances
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SECTION 3: MARGINALISATION AND MULTIPLE VICTIMISATION
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Chapter 13 Victimisation vulnerability of street children
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Chapter 14 Kill or be killed: the plight of child soldiers in Africa
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Chapter 15 Human trafficking: an African perspective
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Chapter 16 Victims of hate crime
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Chapter 17 Military veterans as victims
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Chapter 18 Sexual violence in prison
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SECTION 4: FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN VICTIMOLOGY
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Chapter 19 In the name of what? Victimisation by international financial institutions
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Chapter 20 Traditional knowledge misappropriation and victimisation in Africa
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Chapter 21 Colonial and apartheid victimisation: towards finding solutions to deal with an atrocious past
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Chapter 22 Recent past and immediate future challenges of victimology in a volatile environment
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Chapter 23 Victimology in Africa: some concluding remarks
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