The XXXIX POSTGRADUATE COURSE ON VICTIMOLOGY, VICTIM ASSISTANCE, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE was held in May at the IUC in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Every year, this specialised course brings together approximately 80 international students, and around 50 internationally renowned experts from the field of victimology, criminology, and criminal justice. The course covers different areas such as: Theory and History of Victimology; UN Declarations and Victim Activities; Restorative Justice; Human Trafficking Victims; Victims in Various Criminal Justice Systems; Victimization of Women; Victim Compensation and Restitution; Crisis and Crisis Intervention; Refugees as victims; and much more.
The Course is being held under the supervision of course directors: Chadley James (California State University, Fresno, USA), Dick D.T. Andzenge (St. Cloud University, USA), Dawn Beichner (Illinois State University, USA) and Anna-Maria Getos Kalac, (University in Zagreb, Croatia).
This international two-week course offers a platform to learn from the best experts in the field of victimology, victim assistance and criminal justice, to share work and research among other students, and ultimately create a strong professional network. In a multidisciplinary and international environment, students have the opportunity to learn about current victimology issues, as well as broaden their perspectives on various topics through fruitful discussions at the Course.
This year, the Course took place from May 19th (Monday) to May 31st (Saturday) in beautiful Dubrovnik.
See the full program here:
Presentations from the 2025 Dubrovnik Victimology Course
Below you can find a selection of presentations delivered during the 2025 Dubrovnik Victimology Course, held at the Inter-University Centre (IUC) from May 19th to May 30th. This year’s program brought together leading experts, researchers, and practitioners from around the world to explore contemporary issues in victimology—from theoretical frameworks and criminal justice reform to emerging challenges such as femicide, trauma, sextortion, and restorative justice.
We invite you to browse the presentations and revisit the insightful contributions that shaped this year’s course.
| History and Theory of Victimology | Dick Andzenge |
| Applied Green and Sensory Victimology | Gema Varona |
| Future Skills in Victimology | Janne Fengler |
| Revision of the Victims Rights Directive and the Consequences for the Professionalization of Victimology | Peter Schaefer |
| Victimological Research in Romania | Andra Roxana Trandafir |
| Femicide: Criminal Law Responses | Hans-Jörg Albrecht |
| Femicide: Criminal Law Responses | Anna-Maria Getoš Kalac |
| Sacred Prostitution: A Victimological Perspective of Devadasi System in India | Priyamvadha Mohan Singh |
| Student Diversity & Social Climate in Law Schools and the Potential Impact on Criminal Justice | Kirstin Drenkhahn & Katharina Heermann |
| Drug Trafficking Organized Crime: Global Changes | Hollianne Marshall |
| Trauma: The Next Generation | Sylvie Teague |
| Empowering Youth: Addressing Sextortion Among Pre-teens and Teens | Jolene Sundlie |
| When Traumas Collide: Implications and Coping Strategies at the Intersection of Collective War Trauma and Past Sexual Violence Among Israeli Survivors | Keren Gueta & Carmit Klar-Chalamish |
| Forms of Victimization of Manual Scavengers in Tamil Nadu: A Victimological Analysis | Anantha Rama Krishnan Senthivel |
| Transitional Justice and the Balkan Conflict (Fort Imperial on Mount Srđ) Details: TBD | Wolfgang Form |
| Using Power-Control Theory to Explain and Detect Victimization and Bullying in the Workplace | Hannah Scott |
| Using Experimental Methods to Guide Evidence Based Crime and Victim Support Policies | Kirstie Boyett |
| When Love Turns Lethal: Understanding the Pathways: from Intimate Partner Violence to Homicide | Alexandra Lysova |
| Secondary Traumatic Stress in Canadian Victim Providers | Aaron Eyjolfson & Diana McGlinchey |
| Empty Phrases, Shifted Narratives, Loss of Reality: Normalization Processes of Group Related Misanthropy and Ideas of Inequality | Sabrina Krause |
| How Victim Impact Statements Promote Justice and Victim Wellbeing | Edna Erez |
| Ways to Redefine the CLJ in Favor of Victims: How to Improve Victim Experiences in the Criminal Justice System | Kathy Laster |
| Criminological Analysis of Recidivism | Lea Feuerbach |
| Victims of Violence in Croatia | Reana Bezic & Petra Sprem |
| The Life and Works of Sarah Ben-David | Mally Shechory Bitton |
| What Ails Victimology | Dawn Beichner-Thomas |
| A Critical View on Victimological Theories | Otmar Hagemann |
| Victims of Sexual Violence and Restorative Justice | Jo-Anne Wemmers |
| Media Depictions of Black Women’s Elevated Risk for Intimate Partner Violence | Miltonette Craig |
| Torture and Rehabilitation | Shr-Jie Sharlenna Wang |
| Challenging Yourself, Experiences and Taught Knowledge | Jehanne Hulsman |