Children are the most criminally victimized segment of the population, and a substantial number face multiple, serious "poly-victimizations" during a single year. And despite the fact that the priority emphasis in academic research and government policy has traditionally gone to studying juvenile delinquents, children actually appear before authorities more frequently as victims than as offenders. But at the same time, the media and many advocates have failed to note the good news: rates of sexual abuse, child homicide, and many other forms of victimization declined dramatically after the mid-1990s, and some terribly feared forms of child victimization, like stereotypical stranger abduction, are remarkably uncommon. The considerable ignorance about the realities of child victimization can be chalked up to a field that is fragmented, understudied, and subjected to political demagoguery. In this persuasive book, David Finkelhor presents a comprehensive new vision to encompass the prevention, treatment, and study of juvenile victims, unifying conventional subdivisions like child molestation, child abuse, bullying, and exposure to community violence. Developmental victimology, his term for this integrated perspective, looks at child victimization across childhood's span and yields fascinating insights about how to categorize juvenile victimizations, how to think about risk and impact, and how victimization patterns change over the course of development. The book also provides a valuable new model of society's response to child victimization - what Finkelhor calls the Juvenile Victim Justice System - and a fresh way of thinking about barriers that victims and their families encounter when seeking help. These models will be very useful to anyone seeking to improve the way we try to help child victims. Crimes against children still happen far too often, but by proposing a new framework for thinking about the issue, Childhood Victimization opens a promising door to reducing its frequency and improving the response. Professionals, policymakers, and child advocates will find this paradigm-shifting book to be a valuable addition to their shelves.

"Highly recommended for expert and beginner alike. It is well written, well organized, easy to read, and packed with useful information." -- Child Abuse & Neglect "This book represents a milestone in expanding the resource base for professionals working in the child abuse field." -- Journal of Child and Family Studies

Children are the group most likely to be victimized yet least likely to report the crimes against them. Because of their unique vulnerability, an elaborate set of protections tries to secure their safety at home, in school, and in the community, yet they often experience further trauma inside the very criminal justice system designed to punish those who harm them. Such a system can leave child victims without emotional healing and a sense of justice because it does not consider the full scope of their wishes, interests, and rights. This failure can be attributed to the system's tendency to view children as objects of protection instead of legitimate rights-holders.Here, using a nuanced, multi-dimensional theory of children's interrelated rights and needs vis a vis victimization, Tali Gal presents an innovative restorative justice model for repairing harms and rebuilding relationships in the wake of crimes against children. It validates empirically documented children's needs--such as telling their stories, asking questions, and a sense of autonomy and control over the proceedings--and holds their associated and often-overlooked rights--such as rehabilitation and their overarching best interests-paramount. The rich theoretical underpinnings of the book are vividly illustrated by examples of successful restorative justice programs involving children (including the highly controversial inclusion of child victims of sexual assault). In addition, a set of eight heuristics provides a convenient reference for restorative justice programs to ensure that they safeguard the full range of child victims' needs and rights at all times.With its unique human-rights perspective on the study of childhood victimization and an innovative, child-inclusive restorative justice model, this book promises to be a touchstone for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers concerned with children's well-being in the aftermath of crime and violence.

In a 2004 study by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, and Rockefeller Foundations it was reported that a large number of American families are currently faring poorly in their struggle to provide for themselves. Low-income and poor families were found to contain one-third of all of the children in American working families. Low-wage jobs without benefits mean that families at or below the poverty line live a precarious existence. This four-volume set is designed to reveal, explicate, analyze, and assess the effects of an inadequate income on children. Each volume contains original essays written by an interdisciplinary roster of contributors. The first volume, Children and the State addresses policy and legislation that affect low-income families. One issue that is considered in this volume is the lack of a national housing policy in the United States. The second volume, Health and Medical Issues includes discussions on the status of Medicaid, the lack of mental health services available for low-income families, and the difficult-to-access healthcare for the rural poor. Volume three, Families and Children explores the effects of welfare reform, especially the issue of childcare and the increased work expectations of parents. Other compelling topics in this volume include low-income families and the Family and Medical Leave Act, poor children and the internet, and the increase in economic insecurity among low-income families who increasingly live on credit. In the final volume, The Promise of Education, universal pre-kindergarten, Head Start, and the education of immigrant children are all explored.

This work compiles experiences and lessons learned in meeting the unique needs of women and children regarding crime prevention and criminal justice, in particular the treatment and social reintegration of offenders and serves as a cross-disciplinary work for academic and policy-making analyses and follow-up in developing and developed countries. Furthermore, it argues for a more humane and effective approach to countering delinquency and crime among future generations. In a world where development positively depends on the rule of law and the related investment security, two global trends may chart the course of development: urbanization and education. Urbanization will globalize the concepts of “justice” and “fairness”; education will be dominated by the urban mindset and digital service economy, just as a culture of lawfulness will. This work looks at crime prevention education as an investment in the sustainable quality of life of succeeding generations, and at those who pursue such crime prevention as the providers of much-needed skills in the educational portfolio. Adopting a reformist approach, this work collects articles with findings and recommendations that may be relevant to domestic and international policymaking, including the United Nations Studies and their educational value for the welfare of coming generations. The books address the relevant United Nations ideas by combining them with academic approaches. Guided by the Editors’ respective fields of expertise, and in full recognition of academic freedom and “organized scepticism”, it includes contributions by lawyers, criminologists, sociologists and other eminent experts seeking to bridge the gap between academic and policy perspectives, as appropriate, against the international background, including the United Nations developments.​ The second volume opens with Part IV, which presents articles on different kinds of crime prevention. The effectiveness of punishment and, in particular, imprisonment is examined by contrasting it with alternative sanctions and the following questions are raised: Does harsh punishment have a crime preventive effect? What are the side effects of imprisonment on the offenders and their families? Are alternatives, such as restorative justice or mediation, more effective and cheaper? Part V outlines proactive strategies of crime prevention, e.g. for potential sex offenders or in the domain of internet crime. Part VI envisions a more peaceful and inclusive society, which would be realized by improving the protection of women and children in their everyday life, and easing the reintegration of those who have become offenders. The importance of the role played by the UN in formulating these goals is underlined. The volume concludes with an epilogue of the 70th President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, Martin Sajdik, and a post scriptum of the editors. p>

Child sexual abuse has become a prevalent topic of study and discussion in the fields of Child Psychology, Pediatrics, Law Enforcement, and Social Work. But even with the widespread knowledge of identifiable behavior in its victims and abusers, society's response to child sexual abuse is failing profoundly. Rebecca Bolen's authoritative book, Child Sexual Abuse: Its Scope and Our Failure, clearly defines the scope of child sexual abuse and addresses society's ability to respond to the problem. It is her thesis that society's response to child sexual abuse is failing because the policies, programs, and statutes designed to assess and identify abuse are grounded in historical and myth-bound theoretical child sexual abuse literature rather than in the empirical knowledge base. This comprehensive text on child sexual abuse covers: The historical conceptualization of child sexual abuse, starting with Freud. A review of the empirical literature on the incidence and prevalence of child sexual abuse. The professional response to child sexual abuse. The most sophisticated model of risk of child sexual abuse done to date. Two new models of understanding reactions by nonoffending guardians. The pervasiveness of the threat of extrafamilial abuse. £/LIST£ This text is divided into three main areas of discussion: Sociohistorical Context, Scope of the Problem, and Aftermath. This comprehensive review can be used not only as a text, but also as a primary reference for professionals in government, law enforcement, medical, mental health, and any agency that works with child sexual abuse offenders and victims.

Child Maltreatment, Third Edition, by Cindy Miller-Perrin and Robin Perrin, is a thoroughly updated new edition of the first textbook for undergraduate students and beginning graduate students in this field. The text is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to child maltreatment by disseminating current knowledge about the various types of violence against children. By helping students understand more fully the etiology, prevalence, treatment, policy issues, and prevention of child maltreatment, the authors hope to further our understanding of how to treat child maltreatment victims and how to prevent future child maltreatment.

Trauma, Psychopathology, and Violence: Causes, Correlates, or Consequences critically examines correlates, consequences, and potential causal relationships involving trauma, psychopathology, and violence. The authors address methodological and theoretical challenges to understanding the interrelationships among trauma, psychopathology, and violence from the perspective of their own research fields. Chapters focus on different types of traumas, traumas occurring at different developmental stages and in different contexts, and the contributions of biological and genetic factors in understanding psychopathology and violence. Each of the chapters offers recommendations for needed research. The book is divided into six topical areas: (1) Setting the context; (2) Biological and genetic factors in understanding trauma, psychopathology and violence; (3) Trauma in childhood and risk of psychopathology and violence; (4) Culture and community context in understanding trauma, psychopathology, and violence; (5) Responses to disasters and terrorism; and (6) Trauma, psychopathology, and violence in the military. The third volume in the American Psychopathological Association series, Trauma, Psychopathology, and Violence is a much needed addition to the scholarship of the mental health consequences of violence and trauma.

The term victim refers to a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action. Victimology focuses on the victimization in terms of psychological effects, impact on criminal justice system and new policies and it is a major aspect in the area of forensic field. Victimization can occur due to abuse, assault, maltreatment, war, terrorism, crimes and it can happen in different settings like home, school, and public. In the past, more emphasis was given to perpetrators and various theories tried explain the behavior of perpetrator and their offences. Recently, researchers started focusing different aspects of victimology and explored risk factors for becoming victim, reasons for repeated victimization, and forensic, psychological and social dimensions of victims and consequences of victimization. But there is a need for new theories and researches to have more thorough understanding of victimization. The field of criminology dealt with crimes and various theories has developed to explain why crime occurs and more focused on perpetrators. A crime involves perpetrator and victim and not much attention has been given to the victim until recently. What happens to a victim, what are the psychological and social consequences of a harmful act to a victim, vulnerabilities to become a victim are getting serious attention now a days and started influencing the criminal justice system. The psychological and social impacts of victimization may be a short or long duration but the impacts cannot be ignored. The legal remedies and psychological healings are important aspects of victimization. While considering these factors, the book would be focusing on origin and scope of victimology, different types of victimization such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, maltreatment, cyber crimes, war and terrorism, natural calamities, victimization at school and work place, human trafficking, crime against persons, crime against property, white collar crime, elder abuse, victim with disabilities, secondary victim and re-victimization and its psychological impacts and related issues. The book would also focus on victimology and forensic factors and its influence on criminal justice system in addition to the psychological management of victimization.