Victims, victimology and transitional justice

This chapter outlines some of the key debates, challenges and practices of victims and victimology in transitional justice. It begins by discussing who is a victim for the purposes of transitional justice, and the reality of recognition of victimization in the aftermath of mass atrocities. The chapter explores the role of victims in transitional justice processes and mechanisms through the three main rights to justice, truth and reparation, as well as the emerging fourth pillar of transitional justice: guarantees of non-repetition. Victimology is concerned with the study of victimisation, examining how harm impacts victims and wider society, as well as assessing victimisation’s causes, extent and consequences. Domestic criminology and victimology for ordinary crimes have highlighted the plight of victims whose interests have been neglected, and the conflict between perpetrators and themselves ‘stolen’ by the state. In the field of transitional justice, justice is often cited as a key demand of victims of gross violations of human rights and international crimes.