The 4th Conference on Victimology centred on prostitutesʼ victimization
Next Thursday, 16th May, from 9 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., the Paranymph Hall of the Historic Building of the UB hosts the 4th Conference on Victimology, which this year is focused on the high risk population group composed by those people who prostitute themselves. The conference includes a lecture given by the Roger Mathews, professor of Criminology at the University of Kent (United Kingdom) and expert on prostitution, and two round tables: one to highlight several research works, and the other to analyse professional and association experiences on this issue.
Next Thursday, 16th May, from 9 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., the Paranymph Hall of the Historic Building of the UB hosts the 4th Conference on Victimology, which this year is focused on the high risk population group composed by those people who prostitute themselves. The conference includes a lecture given by the Roger Mathews, professor of Criminology at the University of Kent (United Kingdom) and expert on prostitution, and two round tables: one to highlight several research works, and the other to analyse professional and association experiences on this issue.
Although the violence that sex workers suffer during their lives and the difficulties that aspects such as social stigma or legality limits mean for their protection, their victimization has been not much studied in our country. Victimology is a really recent field of knowledge in which we need to tackle our lack of training and education.
The main objective of the conference is to provide an overall view of prostitution victimization, leaving apart ideologies, which promotes discussion among involved sectors. The expert Noemí Pereda, UB professor and head of the Research Group on Child and Adolescent Victimization (GReVIA), participates in the conference, as well as some professional who are in contact with sex workers and can describe the reality that this group of population live. Montserrat Neira, a sex worker who holds a degree in Political and Administration Sciences, participates too.
Roger Matthewsʼ lecture, entitled “Victimizació de prostitutes”, takes place at 9.30 a.m. Matthews, who is the Director of Studies of the MA in Criminology at the University of Kentʼs School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, is one of the few authors who has published a prostitutesʼ victimization guide, entitled Prostitution, Politics & Policy. Matthews was professor of Criminology at Middlesex University (1977-2004), at the University of Leicester (1990-1993) and at London South Bank University (2004-2011). His research is centred around the issues of crime and punishment, with a particular focus on crime prevention and community safety.
The conference is organised by the Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatments of the UB and the Center for Legal Studies and Specialized Training of the Department of Justice of the Government of Catalonia, together with GReVIA, the Catalan Society of Victimology, the Group of Advanced Studies on Violence and Vicki Bernadet Foundation.
Previous conferences
In 2010, the Conference on Developmental Victimology: Research, Intervention and Legal Protection of Minors set up these annual meetings on victimology. The first conference analysed the latest researches on the victimization of children and the effects of corporal punishment, sexual abuse and multiple victimization. The expert David Finkelhor participated in it.
One year later, the second Conference on Victimology was organised. Entitled “De-victimization and repair: fostering resilience and preventing secondary victimization”, it gathered prestigious experts, such as Enrique Baca and Stefan Vanistendael, who presented the latest researches carried out on resilience development and victim protection factors.
Last year, the third conference was centred on a victimization high risk population groups composed by those people who suffer a mental disability or disorder.