Abstract
Jo‑Anne M. Wemmers’ Victimology: A Canadian Perspective, Second Edition, stands as one of the most comprehensive and methodologically grounded contribution to contemporary victimology in Canada and the world. The book arrives at a moment when more than 2 million Canadians are projected to experience violent victimization in 2024, the majority of which will never be reported to police (Statistics Canada, 2025). This empirical reality – highlighted in the book’s description – frames Wemmers’ central argument: that victimology must move beyond a narrow preoccupation with offenders and criminal justice institutions and instead adopt a victim‑centred, trauma‑informed, and intersectional approach to understanding harm and justice.
The focus on lived experience and trauma assists Wemmers’ call for enhanced legal rights and powers that ably frame victims’ rights as human rights. This enables what the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime has recently indicated as the next frontier for victims’ rights in Canada, that legal rights must be ‘real, respected and enforceable’ (Office of the Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime, 2025: 4). The second edition updates legislation, integrates new theoretical frameworks, and expands its global perspective, making it a crucial text for criminology, psychology, social work, and sociology students, as well as local and international practitioners of criminal justice policy.
The book is organized into 12 chapters, supplemented by four appendices that include the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, a survey of victim compensation programmes across Canada, and a sample victim impact statement. This structure reflects Wemmers’ dual commitment to theoretical depth and practical applicability. The chapters move from conceptual foundations – such as the evolution of the notion of the crime victim and the history of victimology – to empirical tools like victimization surveys, and then to applied topics including victims’ rights, assistance, compensation, and participation in the criminal justice process.
The breadth of coverage is one of the book’s most significant strengths. Wemmers does not treat victimology as a niche subfield but as an interdisciplinary domain that intersects with law, psychology, sociology, and public policy. The inclusion of discussion and reflection questions at the end of each chapter further positions the text as a pedagogical resource designed to cultivate critical thinking rather than passive absorption.
Wemmers’ treatment of the evolution of victimology is both historically grounded and theoretically rich. To this end, Wemmers traces the shift from early criminological models – where victims were largely invisible – to the emergence of victimology as a distinct field concerned with the experiences, needs, and rights of victims. The book’s second chapter, ‘History of Victimology’, situates this evolution within broader socio‑legal transformations, including the rise of the victims’ rights movement and the increasing recognition of state obligations towards those harmed by crime.
The fifth chapter, ‘Theoretical Victimology’, synthesizes key frameworks, including lifestyle‑exposure theory, routine activities theory, and more recent approaches such as intersectionality and trauma‑informed perspectives. The integration of intersectionality is particularly noteworthy. Wemmers emphasizes that victimization is not experienced uniformly; rather, it is shaped by overlapping structures of inequality such as race, gender, class, disability, and immigration status. This aligns the book with contemporary scholarship that critiques earlier victimological theories for their tendency to universalize victim experiences.
One of the book’s most compelling contributions is its discussion of victimization surveys and the persistent ‘dark figure’ of crime – the vast proportion of victimization that never enters official statistics. Chapter 3 provides a detailed examination of survey methodology, its strengths, and its limitations. Wemmers underscores that while police‑reported data remain essential, they capture only a fraction of actual victimization. This is especially salient in the Canadian context, where underreporting is a major barrier to understanding the true scope of harm.
By foregrounding the ‘dark figure’ of crime, Wemmers challenges policymakers and practitioners to rethink assumptions about crime trends, resource allocation, and the adequacy of existing support systems. The book’s empirical grounding strengthens its normative claims about the need for more accessible, culturally competent, and trauma‑informed services.
Chapters 6 and 7 – on victims’ needs, secondary victimization, and victims’ rights – are among the most impactful sections of the book. Wemmers argues that victims’ needs extend far beyond the criminal justice process. They include emotional support, safety, information, restitution, and recognition. Yet victims often encounter systems that exacerbate rather than alleviate harm. Secondary victimization – harm caused by institutions, procedures, or professionals – remains a pervasive issue.
The second edition’s incorporation of trauma‑informed law is a major advancement. Wemmers explains how trauma affects memory, behaviour, and engagement with legal processes, and she critiques adversarial systems that misinterpret trauma responses as inconsistency or unreliability. This discussion is particularly relevant for cases involving sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and marginalized communities.
The book’s analysis of victims’ rights is nuanced and critical. While Canada has made significant strides – most notably through the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights – Wemmers argues that rights on paper do not always translate into meaningful change. The appendices provide the full text of key legal documents, enabling readers to evaluate the gap between legislative intent and lived experience.
Wemmers highlights persistent challenges: inconsistent implementation across provinces, limited enforcement mechanisms, and the tension between victims’ rights and defendants’ constitutional protections. Her argument is not that victims’ rights should supersede due process, but that justice must be reconceptualized to include victims as legitimate stakeholders rather than peripheral observers.
Chapters 11 and 12 introduce reparative and transformative justice frameworks, positioning them as alternatives to traditional punitive models. Reparative justice focuses on repairing harm through restitution, apology, and dialogue, while transformative justice seeks to address the structural conditions that produce violence in the first place.
Wemmers’ discussion is balanced: she acknowledges the promise of these approaches – particularly for Indigenous communities and marginalized groups – while also recognizing their limitations, such as resource constraints and the need for community buy‑in. Her analysis situates Canada within global movements towards more holistic and community‑based responses to harm.
The chapters on victim assistance, compensation, and participation in the criminal justice process provide a detailed overview of existing programmes and their shortcomings. The inclusion of a comparative appendix on victim compensation programmes across Canada is especially valuable for practitioners and policymakers.
Wemmers argues that assistance must be accessible, adequately funded, and culturally responsive. She critiques the uneven distribution of services across provinces and the bureaucratic barriers that often prevent victims from receiving timely support. Her analysis of victim impact statements – supplemented by a sample in the appendix – highlights both their symbolic importance and their practical limitations.
The book’s pedagogical design is exemplary. Each chapter includes discussion and reflection questions that encourage students to engage critically with the material. The writing is accessible without sacrificing scholarly rigour, making it suitable for both introductory and advanced courses. The integration of Canadian law and policy, combined with a global perspective, ensures that readers understand both the national context and broader international trends.
While the book is comprehensive, some readers may desire deeper engagement with emerging digital forms of victimization, such as cyberstalking, online harassment, and technology‑facilitated abuse and coercive control. Although the book references global perspectives, the rapidly evolving nature of digital victimization may require even more sustained attention in future editions.
In addition, while Wemmers effectively integrates intersectionality, there is room for further exploration of how colonialism, systemic racism, and state violence shape victimization in Canada, particularly for Indigenous peoples. These issues are present in the text but could be expanded with possible case study integration or reference, given their centrality to Canadian criminological discourse, and the international interest in such topics.
Victimology: A Canadian Perspective, Second Edition, is a foundational text that significantly advances the study of victimization in Canada. Wemmers combines theoretical sophistication, empirical rigour, and practical relevance, offering a holistic and victim‑centred framework that challenges traditional criminal justice paradigms. The book’s integration of intersectionality, trauma‑informed approaches, and reparative justice reflects the evolving landscape of victimology and positions the text as essential reading for students, scholars, and practitioners.
