Examining Secondary Victimization in Missing Persons Cases and True Crime Media

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Families, Social Bonds, and Criminal Justice

Abstract

Secondary victimization is defined by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) as “individuals, other than the person directly victimized, who also experience harm as the result of a crime. For example, a family member or close friend of a victim” (Office for Victims of Crime Performance Measure Dictionary and Terminology Resource 2020:5). Despite the existence of a formal federal definition, secondary victimization research pertaining to missing persons cases is severely lacking. Rather, within the scholarship, secondary victimization research almost exclusively covers those who have been victimized by a loved one’s homicide, sexual assault/rape, or fraud. This project aims to understand how media coverage affects secondary victims in missing persons cases and answer the research question of how to reduce harm for secondary victims of the missing. Through observation research and interviews, the researcher will conduct exploratory research expanding the topic of secondary victimization, particularly examining how media coverage affects both the integrity of the case and the secondary victims involved. It is anticipated that the study’s findings will shine a light into the lived experiences of secondary victims of the missing and provide guidance for the creation of new secondary victim resources or reinforce existing resources.

Author

• Kate Fazioli, University of Michigan-Dearborn