Main Content

Marburg students at the Postgraduate Course on Victimology, Victim Assistance and Criminal Justice in Dubrovnik

Flyer: Wolfgang Form

From May 20 to June 1 this year, the 35th Postgraduate Course on Victimology, Victim Assistance and Criminal Justice took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Once again, numerous recognized experts in the field of victimology met with around 60 students from Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia, including staff members of the ICWC and students from Philipps University Marburg.

Read below the short report from one of this year’s participants:

For two weeks in Dubrovnik, with a view of the sea and a historic backdrop, we had the opportunity to attend lectures on the topic of victimology. Lecturers from over 15 countries across 6 continents – including professors, post-docs, doctoral candidates, and practitioners with diverse professional backgrounds – provided insights into their research and daily work with and for victims of crimes. The topics ranged from considerations of the status and rights of victims in different countries, dealing with trauma, and new challenges from cybercrime, to alternatives to the criminal justice system such as restorative justice approaches. Some of these topics would certainly have sparked many more controversial discussions, but the strict lecture format allowed only limited space for this.

Part of the exchange was therefore shifted to long lunch breaks, evenings, and various excursions that rounded out the program. Notable were the warm and pleasantly informal atmosphere and the openness of the lecturers to engage with us students. The framework and length of the summer school also offered the opportunity to get to know other participants from very different regions and disciplines better.

After two weeks full of new insights, we students finally had the chance to speak ourselves: in ten minutes, we could present a topic of our choice and answer the critical but supportive questions of the other participants and lecturers – a valuable learning challenge!

The Marburg students presented the following topics:

  • Ho‘oponopono as a Mechanism of Conflict Resolution
  • Journalists’ Vulnerability Due to Their Profession
  • IS-Returnees: Perpetrator and Victim? A Trial Monitor's Perspective
  • The Trust Fund for Victims

Overall, the summer school at this unique and beautiful location was an extremely enriching experience, which we warmly recommend to other students!