Includes bibliographical references and index.

List of Tables and Figures;
List of Abbreviations;
1. Introduction;
1.1 Researching the History of Victims;
1.2 Criminal Prosecutions and Victims at the Old Bailey;
1.3 Patterns of Prosecutions;
1.4 Aims and Structure of This Book;
2. Hidden Victims;
2.1 Unreported Crime;
2.2 Reasons Not to Prosecute;
2.3 Engaging with the Law;
2.4 Rejected Prosecutions;
2.5 Sexual Crimes;
2.6 Conclusion;
3. From Prosecutors to Victims;
3.1 Supporting Victims as Prosecutors;
3.2 Supporting Victims beyond the Prosecution Process;
3.3 Conclusion;
4. Public Prosecution;
4.1 State Prosecution;
4.2 Police Prosecution;
4.3 Towards a Public Prosecutor;
4.4 Conclusion;
5. Victims at the Old Bailey;
5.1 The Data and Their Limits;
5.2 Social Class;
5.3 Gender;
5.4 Age;
5.5 Ethnicity;
5.6 Institutions;
5.7 Conclusion;
6. Trials and Outcomes;
6.1 The Impact of Counsel;
6.2 Defendants’ Pleas;
6.3 Verdicts;
6.4 Punishment Sentences;
6.5 Conclusion;
7. Post-​war Victims and the Pains of Prosecution;
7.1 Rape and Sexual Assault;
7.2 Domestic Violence;
7.3 ‘Homosexual’ Victims;
7.4 Racially Aggravated Victimization;
7.5 Conclusion;
Epilogue;
Appendix: Datasets;
Bibliography;
Index.

"This chapter provides an introduction to the work. It opens with three historical cases which demonstrate crime victims' changing experiences of, and engagement with, the process of criminal justice between the late seventeenth and late twentieth centuries. It outlines existing research on the history of victims and the development of the field of victimology, before moving on to outline the methodology and key datasets used in the study. It provides an overview of general patterns of prosecution over time and finishes by summarising the aims and structure of the book"-- Provided by publisher.