Table Of ContentThis volume flls a critical gap in the literature and signifcantly advances knowl-
edge on rurality and victimization. Rich in detail and broad in scope, it ofers a
thoughtful and provocative challenge to the urban bias evident in victimization
theory, research, and practice. A must read for all scholars and students interested in
victimization and social contexts.
—Jillian Turanovic, Associate Professor of Criminology and
Criminal Justice, Florida State University
Victims of crime are neglected globally – and even more so in rural areas. Harkness
and Hale address this void through Rural Victims of Crime, ofering an innovative
assessment of ‘the rural victim’. The book is an expedition through notions of place
and space, constructions of rural victims in a variety of contexts, and the impact
that geographic location has on the type and prevalence of victimisation. A must-
read for academics and students of the subject.
—Willie Clack, Senior Lecturer in the School of Criminal Justice,
the University of South Africa, Pretoria
Victimisation research typically focuses on urban settings, despite diferences in
experiences, impacts, risks, barriers to help-seeking, and responses in rural areas – as
victim/survivors, advocates and practitioners can attest. This important collection
provides much needed insights, evidence, theoretical and conceptual contributions,
and calls for greater attention (and resourcing) beyond the cityscape.
—Bridget Harris, Associate Professor of Criminology,
Monash University and Deputy Director, Monash Gender and
Family Violence Prevention Centre
This volume signifcantly expands our understanding of victimization by situating
it in a global rural context. Opening chapters lay the groundwork for coverage of
a range of substantive topics, each structured around a theoretical framework. Case
studies accompany these topics, putting a human face on each.
—Ralph Weisheit, Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice,
Illinois State University
This book brings to the forefront the vital link between the need to understand the
context of victimisation for the billions of rural peoples around the world, and their
great need for access to justice services in the countries where they live.
—Joseph F. Donnermeyer, Professor Emeritus,
The Ohio State University
RURAL VICTIMS OF CRIME
Rural Victims of Crime ofers a pioneering sustained assessment of ‘the rural victim’.
It does so by examining and analysing the conceptual constructs of a victim and
challenging the urban bias of victimisation and victimology in criminological study.
Indeed, far too much criminological scholarship is based on the false assumption
that rural areas are relatively crime free – and thus free, too, of victims.
Providing international perspectives, chapters in this edited collection focus
centrally on notions of place and space, and constructions of rural victims in a
variety of contexts, exploring the impact that geographic location has on the type
and prevalence of victimisation. The concept of victimisation is often considered
in terms of interpersonal relationships between humans, neglecting the potent
impact of victimisation of non-humans and the natural and built environment.
Rural Victims of Crime discusses existing notions of victimology in relation to
non-human subjects, broadening conceptualisations of the victim and associated
impacts resulting from victimisation. Structured in three parts, Rural Victims of
Crime conceptualises the rural victim, enhances understanding of the realities
of rural victimisation and considers both formal and informal responses to rural
victimisation. Chapters are accompanied by practical, contemporary case studies to
connect theory with praxis.
This book is an essential and valuable resource for academics, students and
practitioners alike in the felds of criminology, criminal justice, rural studies,
victimology, geography, sociology and spatiality.
Rachel Hale is an independent researcher based in Melbourne, Australia.
Alistair Harkness is a senior lecturer in criminology at the University of New
England, Australia.
Routledge Studies in Rural Criminology
Edited by Joseph F. Donnermeyer
The Ohio State University
For a long time, criminological scholarship that focused on rural people and com-
munities was lacking. Thankfully, those days have begun to wane, being replaced
by a more vigorous intellectual examination of rural crime and criminal justice
issues.
The Routledge Series in Rural Criminology is the frst series dedicated to signifcant
criminological and criminal justice issues afecting rural peoples and rural com-
munities. It brings together rural criminology scholars across the world in order to
actively apply, critique, and revise criminological theory. More than that, the books
in this series show how the implications of their research are key for crime preven-
tion, policing, and criminal justice policy in rural areas.
This series will highlight the best and most innovative research and theorizing in
rural criminology. In doing so, it promises to be foundational in the development
of this evolving feld.
Rural Crime Prevention
Theory, Tactics and Techniques
Edited by Alistair Harkness
Woman Abuse in Rural Places
Walter S. DeKeseredy
Research Methods for Rural Criminologists
Edited by Ralph A. Weisheit, Jessica Rene Peterson and Artur Pytlarz
Rural Victims of Crime
Representations, Realities and Responses
Edited by Rachel Hale and Alistair Harkness
RURAL VICTIMS
OF CRIME
Representations, Realities
and Responses
Edited by Rachel Hale and
Alistair Harkness
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First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Rachel Hale and Alistair Harkness;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Rachel Hale and Alistair Harkness to be identifed as the
authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-367-67761-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-67763-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-13269-1 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003132691
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
Notes on contributors x
List of fgures xv
List of tables xvi
Foreword xvii
Preface xviii
Acknowledgements xx
1 Rural victims of crime in contemporary context 1
Rachel Hale and Alistair Harkness
PART I
Representations 13
2 Measuring and researching rural victimisation 15
Rachel Hale, Alistair Harkness and Kyle J.D. Mulrooney
3 Access to justice for rural victims 27
Joseph F. Donnermeyer
4 Rurality, crime and fear of crime 38
Vania Ceccato
viii Contents
PART II
Realities 49
5 Interpersonal violent victimisation beyond the cityscape 51
Ethan M. Rogers, Mark T. Berg, James C. Wo and
William Alex Pridemore
Case study: lethality beyond the cityscape 65
6 Male violence against women in rural places 68
Walter S. DeKeseredy
Case study: rural battered women syndrome 80
7 Victims with disabilities in rural areas 83
Marg Camilleri
Case study: barriers to reporting victimisation for rural
victims with complex communication needs 97
8 Victimisation of the vulnerable older rural resident 100
Barbara Blundell, Emily Moir and Amy Warren
Case study: applying the crime triangle to Indigenous
rural elder abuse 114
9 Modern slavery in agrarian settings 117
Richard Byrne and Kreseda Smith
Case study: farm worker victimisation by an organised
criminal gang in the United Kingdom 129
10 Victims of farm crime 132
Gorazd Meško and Katja Eman
Case study: metal rods in corn – when personal
resentment exceeds all limits of normal 145
11 Victims of hate crime in rural communities 148
Melina Stewart-North, Rachel Hale and George Van Doorn
Case study: beard cutting as hate crime in a rural Amish
community 160
Contents ix
12 Rural victims of the climate crisis 163
Rob White
Case study: my home is on fre 174
13 The natural and built rural environments as victims 177
Louise Nicholas and Suzie Thomas
Case study: Rio Tinto destruction of Juukan Gorge cave
system, Western Australia 189
PART III
Responses 193
14 Legal supports and services for rural victims 195
Hannah Haksgaard
Case study: South Dakota’s rural attorney recruitment
program 207
15 Policing rural victims 210
Danielle Watson, John Scott, Tifany Sutherland and Lamese Laponi
Case study: policing rural victims in
the Pacifc Island State of Tuvalu 220
16 The provision of support and advocacy for rural victims 224
Shelly A. McGrath and Melencia Johnson
Case study: victim advocacy in the Delta Region of the
United States 237
17 Community-level responses to rural victimisation 241
Tarah Hodgkinson
Case study: implementing SafeGrowth in North Battleford
and Roma 252
18 Rural victimology scholarship into the future 256
Rachel Hale and Alistair Harkness
Index 267
