The study of criminal victimisation has developed to the stage where by victimology is now regarded as a central component to the study of crime and criminology. This focus of concern has been matched by the growth and development of support services for the victim of crime alongside increasing political concern with similar issues. The central purpose of this book is to bring together leading scholars to produce an authoritative handbook on victims and victimology that gives due consideration to these developments. It will be concerned to reflect contemporary academic, policy, and political debates on the nature, extent and impact of criminal victimisation and policy responses to it.This book: provides an overview of the importance of the role of the victim in the criminal justice system, with an analysis of the different theoretical perspectives within victimology; explores the relationship between victimisation and feminism with particular focus on domestic and sexual violence; and analyses criminal justice policy and service delivery in relation to victims of crime, looking at developments within the UK and international perspectives.This handbook will be fundamental reading for students and academics studying victims and victimology and an essential reference tool for those working within the victim support environment.