Cummins, Leah (2023) Victims of Crime: The Emotional Impact of Crime and The Court’s Response. Masters thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

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Abstract

When a crime is committed, there is a breach in the law, and it must be brought to the attention of the courts and society. There is another party that is affected by this breach, the victim, who must deal with more than just the incident. One option they have is to face their offender in court. This thesis will focus on the victim of the crime and what they go through emotionally after the incident. The first aim is to explore the nature of the emotional impact of crime on victims. The second aim is to study what happens when they are brought to the court, considering secondary victimisation by the courts and the sources of support to deal with the atmosphere. The information in this thesis was found entirely through desk-based research. The study suggests that the emotional impact of a crime is apparent, with a variety of emotions expressed. These emotions did not differ by crime type or in the previous mental health of the victim. When victims brought their strife to court, they were met with having their rights disregarded in the pursuit of a fair system. Their victimhood was constantly questioned and regardless of the crime, they received no protection from further emotional harm. There are some sources of support that the victim can access to make their time in the court easier. The limitations come back to legal issues, with a lack of clarification so the support can be efficiently used with their evidence of influence. The attitudes and behaviours of the courts must be addressed so that victims are not forgotten.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Additional Information:	A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA in Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Keywords:	victims of crime; emotional impact; court response; Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
Item ID:	19060
Depositing User:	IR eTheses
Date Deposited:	15 Oct 2024 14:25
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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