Summary of content

This module will consider the social scientific and criminological approaches to victimisation, trauma and the social harm. Increasing social scientific study has sought to understand the true incidence of victimisation for various crime typologies, the impact of crime on victims, why some victims report their victimisation while others do not, and how as a society we respond to victimisation. It has done this through the development of theories of victimisation, seeking to explain and understand why some individuals are more likely to be victimized than others and examined the merits and demerits of both statutory and non-statutory responses to victimisation including: advocacy policy, practice and legal changes alternatives to criminal justice and support and compensation for victims among others. Victims are also gaining a more prominent status among society, in public discourse more generally, and in the media and political commentary in particular. Additionally, the impact crime has on individuals and society has been conceptualised in varying ways, for example as trauma (including collective and cultural trauma) and social harm.

This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the key issues, theoretical perspectives and debates within victimology, promoting a critical understanding of victim experience, and how the category 'victim' is socially constructed. Additionally, it will take a critical approach to understandings of both trauma and social harm and how society has sought to frame the impact of, and response to, victimisation at the individual and societal level.

The module supports the Programme Aims and Objectives in that as a level 4 module, greater emphasis is placed on independent learning and personal responsibility. Students taking the module are encouraged to develop a deeper and more critical understanding of this field in both the substantive content and in the assessment, which is oriented towards encouraging evidence-based evaluations/arguments and proposing solutions to key contemporary criminological issues and problems. At this level, students should be able to operationalise all the transferable skills previously developed to formulate and present ideas and solutions with minimum supervision, and to engage critically with theory and its application to the subject of victimology, trauma and social harm.

The module incorporates key principles from the Strategy for Learning in that it supports students to be confident, responsible and capable, using engagement-led learning, real world problem solving with opportunities for co-creation and personalisation of learning. The module is informed by the Curriculum for the Common Good and aims to support students to be Active and Global Citizens, have an Entrepreneurial Mind-set, to be Confident and capable of Responsible Leadership. It speaks to the following Sustainable Development Goals: 4 Quality Education 5 Gender Equality 10 Reduced Inequalities 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. The module aligns with the Principles for Responsible Management in Education by supporting interaction, learning, dialogue and debate on issues of global social responsibility and sustainability and the roles of institutions to support this.

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