Victims’ Pathways Towards Wellbeing in the Aftermath of Serious Violent Crime

Ms Holly Blackmore1
1University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

This paper will examine the post-homicide and/or sexual assault experience from the perspective of victims. It will draw upon data from a longitudinal study of victims over 12 months that focused on the effect of the crime, services and support, and monitored changes using semi-structured interviews and self-report psychological measures. The paper will begin by explaining how ‘wellbeing’ was operationalised within the study, and then attempt to contribute towards an understanding of the term from a victim’s perspective. The primary aim of this paper is to map participants’ wellbeing along the various stages of the post-crime journey, from immediately following the crime, throughout the court process, after the offender was sentenced, through to more recently. It concludes by discussing some of the implications of the findings.


Biography:

Holly Blackmore is currently undertaking her PhD at UNSW Law under the supervision of Professor Janet Chan and Dr Jane Bolitho. Her PhD project investigates victims’ experiences following serious violent crime, with a particular focus on their wellbeing. Previously, Holly completed a BA (Hons) majoring in Criminology and Psychology at UNSW. Holly currently works as a Research Officer at UNSW Law and has worked on several research projects spanning across a range of topics, including legal culture and work stress, data and intelligence in law enforcement and national security, and restorative justice.