Skip to main content
Unit of study_

LAWS6356: Critical Victimology

2025 unit information

This unit examines various perspectives on the recognition of victims of crime as participants in the criminal justice system. This unit examines the victim of crime as a dynamic agent of justice by considering the role of the victim in the development of criminal law, the removal and exclusion of the victim in criminal justice, the rise of the victim rights movement, the development of victim rights and human rights and the contemporary relocation of the victim in common law and statute and as a participant of the criminal trial. It encourages a critical appreciation of the criminal justice system by examining competing theories of victimisation and the attempt to place these theories into a particular policy context. Through a discrete examination of the needs of particular victim groups, law reform inquiries and commissions, and reforms to the criminal trial, this unit will challenge the major assumptions of the removal of the victim from the criminal justice system and will critically evaluate the often incomplete and fragmented way in which victims are granted a level of recognition in the modern justice system on a domestic and international basis. Refer to the Sydney Law School timetable - https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/4533/pages/postgraduate-lecture-timetable

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Sydney Law School

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Law
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
None
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
None
Assumed knowledge:
? 
None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. develop an appreciation of the theoretical context of victimology as a distinct discipline
  • LO2. develop knowledge of the detailed legal and policy framework regulating victim’s involvement in legal and cognate processes on a domestic and international basis
  • LO3. understand the sources of law and policy governing victim rights
  • LO4. to trace the legal, policy and theoretical shifts regarding victim rights and interests on a domestic and international basis
  • LO5. develop an appreciation of the role of the victim in the criminal trial
  • LO6. to appreciate victim rights movements and their role in policy and legal development and reform

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Intensive October - November 2024
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Intensive October - November 2025
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Intensive October - November 2021
Block mode Remote
Semester 2b 2022
Block mode Remote
Semester 2b 2023
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Find your current year census dates

Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.