ABSTRACT
Early studies in the field of victimology began in the 1940s and concentrated on developing typologies of victim characteristics and behaviour, often emphasising the extent to which victims were seen as contributing to their own victimisation. This was challenged by the rise of the feminist movement in the 1970s which raised awareness of the treatment of victims of rape, child abuse and domestic violence within the criminal justice system and questioned the early victimologists’ assumptions and methodology (see Williams 2005b). This period saw the creation of the first refuges for female victims of domestic violence. It also saw the creation of the Rape Crisis movement (Mawby and Walklate 1994).
