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Introduction: The Yorkshire Ripper Case—Exploring Recent Crime History

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Revisiting the Yorkshire Ripper Murders

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology ((PSVV))

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Abstract

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the Sutcliffe murders before considering the criminological value of revisiting this infamous case involving the murder of thirteen women by Peter Sutcliffe. It is argued that exploring this case expands understandings of crime, history and place, violence against women, feminist history, struggles over the representation of prostitution/sex work, as well as a closer meditation on the figure of the victim as represented across a range of texts. In addition, the chapter also identifies the book’s methodological and theoretical approach as feminist cultural criminology, which stresses the importance of an engagement with history, academic criminology, cultural studies and popular criminology alongside the recognition of the role of gender in shaping violence and its representation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, Business, Law, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK

    Louise Wattis

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  1. Louise Wattis
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Correspondence to Louise Wattis .

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Wattis, L. (2018). Introduction: The Yorkshire Ripper Case—Exploring Recent Crime History. In: Revisiting the Yorkshire Ripper Murders. Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01385-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01385-1_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01384-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01385-1

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