Book review: Victim Support and the Welfare State
| Date | 01 May 2020 |
| Published date | 01 May 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758020910012 |
| Author | Maija Helminen |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
The chapters of the book take the reader through a structured introduction from the broadly
theoretical origins of victims as a discrete site of academic interest to the emergence of the victim
as powerful subject of political conjecture and now, as a subject of rights and powers in systems in
justice increasingly ready to provide victims means of participation or standing in justice pro-
cesses. The chapters are logically ordered and supply ideal context and discussion for teaching use,
enhanced with supplementary materials and examples provided by appendices. Yet this book also
consolidates and develops essential materials for researchers. It will undoubtedly be at home on the
shelves of those interested in policy reform and advancement.
While the broadercontexts of victimologyare well covered, the nexus between the theoretical and
disciplinary context to the emerging structural reforms, including the development of human rights
instrumentsand frameworksand thosetaken to enforce them,could draw fromnuanced policyexample
and discussion, and commentary as to institutional intersectionality.Novel international and compara-
tive approaches to the differencesbetween legalrepresentatives andnon-legal victim advocateswould
enhancethe arguments presented(see Chapter10), showcasing Wemmers’work and leadershipon this
importantpolicy development.Enhanced focus on narrativevictimologyand emerging discourseas to
victim-survivors, particularly what wenow know of the personal and institutional significance ofthe
power of reclaiming traditional abuse narratives by survivors, and risks to be confronted by such
reclamation, could also be enhanced by greater use of Wemmers’ leading work on the International
CriminalCourt, where narrativesplay an essential role throughcase determinationand reparation (see
Chapters 5, 6 and 12). Such guidance is evermore needed – both on the benefits and limits of repre-
sentationand on discoursesaround victim narratives– consideringthe rise of #MeToo and thepower of
progressive, victim-focused social movements that fundamentally challenge key assumptions as to
victim status, power and entitlement. Indeed, such continued momentum demonstrates the rapid
evolution of topics covered by this book,and makes a case for the next edition.
Yet the continued development of this fast-moving field does little to detract from the book’s
core strengths. Wemmers’ Victimology: A Canadian Perspective is essential reading for those
interested in victims of crime in all their dynamism – theoretically, politically, and within the
disciplines. However, Wemmers takes this further by providing a powerful analysis of structural
and institutional reform, through the emerging human rights instruments that place victim rights
firmly on the policy agenda. Bringing together a volume of this kind is no small feat, inter-
nationally significant, but with obvious relevance to those especially interested in Canada’s
justice response.
Carina Gallo and Kerstin Svensson
Victim Support and the Welfare State
Foreword by Robert Elias
Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2019, ISBN 9781138584792 (hbk.), xviii þ166p.
Reviewed by: Maija Helminen, Unive rsity of Turku, Finl and
DOI: 10.1177/0269758020910012
In Victim Support and the Welfare State Carina Gallo and Kerstin Svensson examine how the
Swedish national victim support organization – BOJ – was born, how it developed and what impact
it has had on Swedish crime policies through the years. The study is linked to several research
fields, most importantly to victimology and civil society research. The book is a welcome
256 International Review of Victimology 26(2)
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