Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy
This article evaluates the contemporary discursive status of victims and people convicted of criminal offences. The rhetoric used by British politicians to convey the meaning of ‘rights’ is explored within media output, parliamentary speech-making and other forms of political discourse. Our analysis...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53845/ |
| _version_ | 1848798994600296448 |
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| author | Drake, Deborah H. Henley, Andrew |
| author_facet | Drake, Deborah H. Henley, Andrew |
| author_sort | Drake, Deborah H. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This article evaluates the contemporary discursive status of victims and people convicted of criminal offences. The rhetoric used by British politicians to convey the meaning of ‘rights’ is explored within media output, parliamentary speech-making and other forms of political discourse. Our analysis details how victims’ rights are sometimes advocated for at the expense of ‘offenders’’ rights in public discourse. Examination of parliamentary debates illustrates that differentiating between ‘victims’ and ‘offenders’ elides consideration of more meaningful support for victims, worsens opportunities for the reintegration of ex-prisoners and constructs a false dichotomy between citizens who do not fall into mutually-exclusive categories. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:28:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-53845 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:28:37Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-538452018-09-07T18:40:58Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53845/ Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy Drake, Deborah H. Henley, Andrew This article evaluates the contemporary discursive status of victims and people convicted of criminal offences. The rhetoric used by British politicians to convey the meaning of ‘rights’ is explored within media output, parliamentary speech-making and other forms of political discourse. Our analysis details how victims’ rights are sometimes advocated for at the expense of ‘offenders’’ rights in public discourse. Examination of parliamentary debates illustrates that differentiating between ‘victims’ and ‘offenders’ elides consideration of more meaningful support for victims, worsens opportunities for the reintegration of ex-prisoners and constructs a false dichotomy between citizens who do not fall into mutually-exclusive categories. Wiley 2014-05 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53845/1/Drake%20and%20Henley_final_1_AH%20corrections.pdf Drake, Deborah H. and Henley, Andrew (2014) Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 52 (2). pp. 141-157. ISSN 0265-5527 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hojo.12057 doi:10.1111/hojo.12057 doi:10.1111/hojo.12057 |
| spellingShingle | Drake, Deborah H. Henley, Andrew Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy |
| title | Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy |
| title_full | Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy |
| title_fullStr | Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy |
| title_short | Victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in British political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy |
| title_sort | victims’ versus ‘offenders’ in british political discourse: the construction of a false dichotomy |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53845/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53845/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53845/ |