Highlights in the Brief History of Victimology and Victim Assistance
Year Event
1924 Edwin Sutherland writes the first criminology textbook that includes a short discussion about victims.
1941 Hans Von Hentig publishes an article focusing on the interaction between victims and criminals.
1947 Beniamin Mendelsohn coins the term victimology in an article written in French.
1957 In Great Britain, Margery Fry proposes legislation that would authorize the government to reimburse victims for their losses.
1958 Marvin Wolfgang studies the circumstances sur- rounding the deaths of murder victims and discovers that some contributed to their own demise.
1964 The U.S. Congress holds hearings on the plight of crime victims but rejects legislative proposals to cover their losses.
1965 California becomes the first U.S. state to set up a spe- cial fund to repay victims for crime-inflicted expenses.
1966 The first nationwide victimization survey to find out about crimes that were not reported to the police is carried out, and its findings are considered so enlight- ening that it becomes an annual undertaking.
1967 A presidential commission recommends that crimin- ologists study victims.
1968 Stephen Schafer writes the first textbook about victims.
Early 1970s
The first sex crime squads and rape crisis centers are established.
1972 The federal government initiates a yearly National Crime Victimization Survey of the general public to uncover firsthand information about street crimes.
1973 The first international conference of victimologists is convened in Jerusalem.
1974 The first shelter for battered women is set up in Minnesota. The first victim advocates in law enforcement are assigned by the police department in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The first lawyers serving as advocates for victims in legal proceedings are made available on the South East Side of Chicago.
Mid- 1970s
Prosecutors initiate victim–witness assistance programs.
1976 The first scholarly journal devoted to victimology begins publication. A National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) is established to bring together service providers working for government agencies and nonprofits. The probation department in Fresno, California, is the first to instruct its officers to interview victims to find out how the crime impacted them physically, emotionally, socially, and financially.
1977 New York State enacts the first “Son of Sam” law to prevent offenders from profiting from telling about their exploits.
1979 The World Society of Victimology is founded.
Year Event
1981 President Reagan proclaims Victims’ Rights Week every April.
1982 Congress passes a Victim and Witness Protection Act that suggests standards for fair treatment of victims within the federal court system.
1983 The President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime recommends changes in the Constitution and in federal and state laws to guarantee victims’ rights.
1984 Congress passes the Victims of Crime Act, which provides federal subsidies to state victim compensa- tion and assistance programs.
1985 The United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopts a resolution that urges all members to respect and extend the rights of victims of crimes and of abuses of power.
1986 Victims’ rights activists seek the passage of consti- tutional amendments on the federal and state levels guaranteeing victims’ rights.
1987 The U.S. Department of Justice opens a National Victims Resource Center in Rockville, Maryland, to serve as a clearinghouse for information.
1990 Congress passes the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act.
1994 Congress passes the Violence Against Women Act. 2003 The American Society of Victimology is set up to
encourage collaboration between academicians, researchers, and practitioners.
2004 Congress enacts the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, which pledges fair treatment and opportunities for input in federal court proceedings.
2005 A bipartisan group of 18 members of Congress forms a Victim’s Rights Caucus.
2007 VictimLaw, a user-friendly website set up by the National Center for Victims of Crime, provides a searchable database about state legislation concern- ing restitution and compensation for financial losses.
2008 The National Museum of Crime & Punishment opens in Washington, D.C., with exhibits that dramatize the plights of victims.
2011 The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the federal government’s Department of Justice (DOJ) launches a website, www.crimesolutions.org, that evaluates the effectiveness of programs on behalf of crime victims.
2014 The Bureau of Justice Statistics develops a webpage that presents tables of data about victims in a user- friendly format.
2014 California becomes the first state to pass a “Yes Means Yes” law that requires explicit mutual consent before engaging in sex in college campus settings.
SOURCE: Galaway and Hudson, 1981; Schneider, 1982; Lamborn, 1985; National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA), 1989, 1995; Dussich, 2003; Walker, 2003; Garlock, 2007; Rothstein, 2008; Dussich, 2009a, 2009b; and Chappell, 2014.
9781337027786, Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology, Ninth Edition, Karmen – © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization.
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