Feminist Voices, Gender and Victimisation

This chapter commences from a position that accepts the patriarchal nature of western societies, that is, the law, or rule of the father. Such societies will feature male domination in a broad and cultural sense and in institutions such as the legal system where a male standpoint and interests preside. Drawing on this universally accepted feminist position, this chapter explores how gender relates to victimisation. The content is organised around three main headings, feminism and victimhood, sexual crimes and victimisations, and responses to victimisation. Under these themes the chapter applauds the theoretical, policy, practice and research achievements of feminist approaches. It explores how feminist thinking has furthered both our knowledge about serious forms of violent victimisation and gendered theorising of perpetrators and victims of crime. It illustrates the patterns and processes associated with victimisation and highlights how gender matters most in respect of revealing the nature and extent of sexual crimes (Davies 2014). The example of rape is used to illustrate the influences of feminist voices in our understanding of victimisation. This organising framework facilitates a reflexive discussion whereby gender-wise approaches alongside some seemingly intractable feminist conundrums that appear to be impeding feminist theorising particularly in areas of victimisation that affect women and children affected by sexual abuse.