Consider the following questions to check your understanding.

1. To what extent has criminology acknowledged the female victim?
2. Outline the ways in which the criminal justice system is said to be taking violence against women seriously.
3. Critically discuss the importance of the changing official definitions of violence against women.
4. Critically consider the tensions that exist when thinking about prostitution/ sex work in relation to ‘agency’ and ‘victimization’.
5. Consider the problem of attrition with regard to sexual offences and violence against women.
6. Critically debate some of the dilemmas and tensions that police officers may face when policing violence against women.
7. How useful is the ‘coercive’ dimension to understanding violence against women?
8. Discuss the importance of linking ‘local’ concerns about violence with more ‘global’ concerns.
9. How might we make the state more accountable in relation to such crimes?
10. Is there anything to be gained from reconceptualizing violence against women as a human rights issue?