Victims as Vote Winners

Abstract

Chapter 2 explores the notion of victims as vote winners to evaluate the recent socio-political context in which policies and practices concerning victims have emerged. The Coalition government’s neoliberal agenda is explored in relation to its impact on victims’ services and the increasing politicization of victimization. The analysis of victims’ ‘figureheads’ invokes earlier considerations of governance and responsibility to assess the impact these figureheads have on victims. This ‘politicization’ critique suggests that a strategic co-opting of victims’ issues may be warranted in light of a need to deflect public attention away from a growing media interest in ‘political deviance’ illustrated through government ministers’ engagement in fraudulently claiming expenses.