The first chapter lays the foundation for issues and concepts discussed in the following chapters. The second chapter examines the extent of victimization and the development of victimization surveys, followed by a chapter that addresses the costs associated with being a crime victim and the additional burdens that stem from becoming involved with the criminal justice system. The fourth chapter considers how the criminal justice system responds to victimization, the impact of those responses, and the continuing needs of victims. Remedies for victims that are discussed in this chapter include offender restitution, civil litigation, private insurance, and victim compensation. Attention is given to whether or not victim compensation is effective in meetings victims' financial needs resulting from the victimization. The fifth chapter on sexual assault considers the personal tragedy that victims experience, the healing process these people face, and common coping strategies. It also discusses how the police, hospital personnel, and the prosecutor respond to the victim. The chapter encompasses spousal rape and date or acquaintance rape. The sixth chapter on spouse abuse contains a brief history of spousal violence, the prevalence of spousal violence, theories of spouse abuse, police intervention, prosecutorial and judicial action, and the coordination of system approaches to spousal violence. The seventh chapter on child maltreatment encompasses the detection of child maltreatment, a survey of child maltreatment laws, its prevalence, characteristics of maltreated children, theories of child maltreatment, and some coping strategies. The eighth chapter on elder abuse addresses the criminal victimization of the elderly, its incidence, characteristics of victims and offenders, theories of elder abuse and neglect, and responding to elder abuse and neglect. The ninth chapter on homicide victimization considers its prevalence, theories of homicide victimization, and survivors of homicide victimization. The tenth chapter on victimization at work and school considers the nature and extent of such victimization, along with intervention and prevention. The final chapter focuses on victim rights, including the victim rights amendment, victim rights legislation, the effect of victim rights legislation, victim impact statements, and informal victim participation. 893 references and subject and author indexes