Deviants : Victims or Victimizers?

Are deviants primarily victims or victimizers? MacNamara, a world class criminologist, focuses on an area of overlap between two branches of criminology: victimology and the study of deviance. The deviant groups that are the subject of this book include homosexuals, drug abusers, prostitutes, members of religious cults, ex-mental patients, and prisoners; while the kinds of victimizations that are explored include physical injuries, emotional pain, economic expenses, social costs and the degradation of the quality of everyday life. In fact, some 'victimless crimes' might better be termed 'crimes without complainants'; the participants may be harmed; but neither party engaging in the consensual transaction asks for intervention by the authorities. The equation of 'deviant' with 'victimizer' is more familiar than the association of 'deviant' with 'victim'. Some experts assert that deviants are being vicitimized at a hitherto unappreciated rate; others suggest that their suffering has been overstated -- Do deviants pose a substantial threat to the well-being of law-abiding citizens, or is the harm caused by deviant groups exaggerated? The contributors to this edited volume willingly take on these controversial questions, with divided results. The debate they engender and the information they impart should make this book an ideal text for courses in deviance, victimology, criminology and social problems, as well as fascinating reading for professionals and academics.MacNamara, Donal E. is the author of 'Deviants : Victims or Victimizers?' with ISBN 9780835747684 and ISBN 0835747689.