Session

Topic

Brief description

Week 1

Introduction and the History of Victimology

• Introduction of Module themes and assessment methodology.
• Lecture to define and illustrate essential concepts and introduce the key international standards regarding victims. (The Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power (1985)).
• Each class should close with a short debrief - to acknowledge the sensitivity of the issues, and to remind students of options for additional information or support, if required.

Week 2

The impact of crime - and understanding trauma

• Lecture based on the materials presented in the first part of Topic two of the Module.
• Encourage students to read this short article on The Science Behind PTSD Symptoms: How Trauma Changes the Brain (Rosenthal, 2019).
• Watch the following videos, to understand the complex effects of victimization.
• • Victim Impact: Listen and Learn - Leanna's Story (3:35 minutes)
  • Victim Impact: Listen and Learn - Amy's Story (4:18 minutes)
• Exercise: as a precursor to the discussion in the next session, ask students to brainstorm the services that could be provided to Leanna and Amy, to assist with mitigating the effects of their victimization (and trauma).

Week 3

The right of victims to an adequate response to their needs

• Lecture based on the materials presented in second part of Topic two of the Module.
• Deliver an exercise in which small groups of students are each assigned a crime type. Crime might include burglary, carjacking, rape, homicide, child sexual abuse, image-based abuse, etc. Ask each group to brainstorm the victims' justice needs (prompting students to think about immediate victims and their families, etc). This exercise can prompt a stimulating discussion or even a formal debate (as a follow up exercise) about whether practical needs (i.e. safety, housing, healthcare, etc are considered justice needs).
• Following this exercise, screen the following video, and use this as a basis to discuss the importance of ensuring that interventions for victims, deliver their intended result.
• Does court order of protection help victims of domestic violence? (3:26 minutes)

Week 4

Victims and their participation in the criminal justice process

• Lecture on the role of victim impact statements (and similar mechanisms) - and the risks of secondary victimization through criminal justice proceedings.
• Watch the following videos: Tutorial from National Crime Institute describing the process of Victim Impact Statements:
• • Toolkit Tutorial: Victim Impact Statements (13:29 minutes)
  • Aly Raisman addresses Larry Nassar, calls out U.S.A. Gymnastics in victim impact statement | ESPN (12:48 minutes)
• Facilitate a class discussion about what would need to change, at all stages of criminal justice proceedings, to enhance the protections for victims, to increase access to justice, and to mitigate the risks of secondary victimization. Encourage students to reflect on what they learned in week one - with respect to the provisions of the   Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power (1985).

Week 5

The gender dimension, and justice for victims of sexual and gender-based violence

• Lecture based on the materials presented in Topic three of the Module.
• Select from the following videos:
• • Jimmy Carter, TED talks , Why I believe the mistreatment of women is the number one human rights abuse (16:23 minutes).
  • Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, TED Talks, We should all be feminists (29:28 minutes).

Week 6

Justice for child victims and witnesses

• Deliver a lecture that draws on the wealth of guidance, at the international level, to assist States in ensuring full respect for the rights of child victims. This includes the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, and the implementation documents thereto, and the more specific guidance on the protection of child victims that is provided in the Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime (the Guidelines), adopted by the Economic and Social Council in resolution 2005/20.
• Deliver an exercise that invites students to assess the practice in their own jurisdiction, by using the checklist provided in the Handbook for Professionals and Policymakers on Justice in matters involving child victims and witnesses of crime.

Week 7

Restorative Justice and victims

• Deliver a lecture based on materials presented in Topic eight of the Module. Further materials are available in Module 8 on Restorative Justice.
• Select from the following videos:
• • Mark Umbreit explaining the principles of restorative justice and of victim offender mediation (9:48 minutes)
  • Katy Hutchison, TED talk on the advantage for victims and the community and offender of a restorative justice approach (18:20 minutes)
  • A story of a woman whose father was murdered and the restorative approach that provided her with peace and well-being (9:41 minutes).

Week 8

Justice in the digital era

• Lecture in two parts:
• The #MeToo movement (based on materials presented in Topic seven)
• Image-based abuse (based on the issues identified in the report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women its causes and consequences on online violence against women and girls from a human rights perspective, as well as this Amnesty International Report on Violence Against Women Online)

Week 9

Victims of crime and international law

• Deliver a lecture based on the materials presented in Topic seven of the Module.
• Deliver an exercise in which students are required to access the "cases and situations" section of the website of the International Criminal Court. Encourage students to consider the needs of victims involved in these situations (or in the cases, if indeed cases are underway). Where students have access to the Internet they can be encouraged to undertake additional research, to better understand the situation that has given rise to international criminal proceedings, in these respective cases, and to better understand the needs and rights of victims.

Week 10

Course wrap-up

• In addition to the shorter debriefing sessions at the close of each class, lecturers should ensure that the final session in the course follows the advice about a strengths-based approach and ideas to inspire students to act as agents of change.
• Deliver the multiple choice quiz, to test students' knowledge.