Criminality, judgement and eschatology

Abstract

The so called emancipation of the victim of crime in the last decades - socially, in criminal proceedings, and also our theoretical reflection raises the question whether, morally speaking, our views on criminality have changed. Is this perhaps indicative of a broader cultural shift in perspectives, a reframing of the position of the victim and the perpetrator? The approach of the Dutch victimologist Jan van Dijk seems to mirror a social and political trend towards a post-Christian way of dealing with criminality. But his approach is perhaps somewhat too contemporary, as I will argue, for he fails to take into account the shadow sides of a culture which affords the victim such a central place.