NEW: The full symposium program including the paper presentation schedule is available in downloadable PDF format here.

 

Opening Ceremony Speakers (Sunday, August 23)

HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand

The World Society of Victimology and Tokiwa University are honored to announce that Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol from Thailand will grace the Opening Ceremony of the 13th International Symposium on Victimology with Her presence as the event’s headlining keynote speaker.
She will speak on a topic based on her experiences working for the benefit of the underprivileged within the criminal justice system.

 

 

 

Keynote Speakers (August 24 - 27)

 

Theme

“Victimology and Human Security”

 

 

Sub-themes

1. Theory on Victimology and Human Security
2. The Draft UN Convention on Victims in the light of international instruments and national norms
3. The work of the UNHCR and victims of abuse of power, refugee victims and displaced persons
4. Victims of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and other transnational victimizations
5. Victim issues in the national justice systems: focusing on restorative justice and victims surveys, including the International Crime Victim Survey
6. Responses to disaster victimization
7. Psycho - traumatological and psychological interventions, building a network and coordination of victim-specialized interveners (professional and volunteer)
8. Victimization of indigenous people and other socially marginalized groups
9. Special Victimizations, among them victims of family violence, torture, terrorist attacks, consumer fraud, or cyber victims.

 

 

NEW: Symposium Presentation Schedule available in downloadable PDF format here.

 

 

 

Program Outline

	Morning Program	Afternoon Program
Sunday, August 23		Participant Registration (10:00-15:00) Opening Ceremony (15:00-17:30) With Special Addresses by: HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand Isao Okamura (Chairperson, National Association of Crime Victims and Surviving Families, Japan) Johan Cels, Ph.D. (Representative of the UNHCR, Japan) Reception (18:00-20:00)
Monday, August 24	Plenary Session #1 (9:00-10:00) Rianne M. Letschert, Ph.D. (The Netherlands) Associate Professor and Research Director, International Victimology Institute University of Tilburg/Netherlands Parallel Sessions (10:30 - 12:30) Lunch (12:30-14:00)	Plenary Session #2 (14:00-15:00) Nils Christie, Ph.D. (Norway) Professor of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway Special Session (15:30 - 17:30) “The Promotion of Policies for Crime Victims by the Japanese Government�E(Tentative Title) Conducted by officials involved with victim-related policies respectively from the Japanese Cabinet Office, National Police Agency, and Ministry of Justice. Regional Networking Sessions (17:45 �E19:00) Five different sessions representing the global regions of Asia and Oceania, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America
Tuesday, August 25	Plenary Session #3 (9:00-10:00) Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D. (USA) Distinguished University Professor of Clinical Psychology, Interim Vice-Chair for Education, Department of Psychiatry , Director, National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, USA Parallel Sessions (10:30 - 12:30) Lunch (12:30-14:00)	Plenary Session #4 (14:00-15:00) Saburo Takizawa (Japan) Professor, Toyo Eiwa University; Visiting Professor, United Nations University, Tokyo; Former UNHCR Representative in Japan Parallel Sessions (15:30 - 18:00)
Wednesday, August 26	Plenary Session #5 (9:00-10:00) Heather Strang, Ph.D. (Australia) Director, Centre for Restorative Justice at the Australian National University, Australia;  Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Parallel Sessions (10:30 - 12:30) Lunch (12:30-13:30)	Site Visits (13:30 - 18:00)
Thursday, August 27	Plenary Session #6 (9:00-10:00) Chiori Noto(Japan) Hokkaido Shiraoi Town Museum Curator, attendant, Member of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido Parallel Sessions (10:30 - 12:30) Lunch (12:30-14:00)	Plenary Session #7 (14:00-15:00) Murray Straus, Ph.D. (USA) Professor of Sociology and Co-Director, Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire Plenary Session #8 (15:30 - 16:30) Jane Nady Sigmon, Ph.D. (USA) Senior Coordinator for International Programs, U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons WSV General Membership Meeting (16:30-17:30) Banquet (19:00 - 21:30) (at the Mito Lakeview Hotel)
Friday, August 28	Rapporteur Session (9:00 - 10:30) Beulah Shekhar, Ph.D. (India) Coordinator, Victimology & Victim Assistance, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tamil Nadu, India Elmar Weitekamp, Ph.D. (Germany) Professor , University of Tubingen, Germany - Professor of Criminology, Victimology and Restorative Justice in the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium Closing Ceremony (11:00 - 12:00)

 

Notes:

1. The official language of the symposium will be English.
2. Simultaneous interpretation in Japanese and English will be available in all plenary sessions and during the special session that will be held on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 24.
3. As much as is possible, efforts will be taken to translate paper presentations.
4. It is tentatively planned that the site visits will include visits to facilities such as the district court, police headquarters, detention facilities, and so on.
5. Lunch service will be provided on Monday, Aug. 24 through Thursday, Aug. 27 for all regular symposium participants at no additional charge.

 

 

Site Visits

We are very pleased to invite you to the victimology-related site visits being organized as a part of the official program of the symposium for the afternoon of August 26, 2009.

All participants of the symposium are strongly recommended to join one of the four different courses according to their interests. Each course has a specific theme and will include visits to different institutions in the central area of Ibaraki Prefecture. All of the courses have a seating capacity of 35-40 participants. Participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. As the participation fee for the site visits is already included in the registration fee for the symposium, all you need to do is apply for a seat reservation for the course. However, space is limited, so please apply as soon as possible. All of the courses will surely develop your knowledge about victim policies and practices in Japan.

 

Date & Time:

August 26 (Wed.), 2009  
13:30 (Departure from the campus)
17:30-18:00 (Return to the campus)

Course Themes and Visiting Institutions:

Course A: Victim Services Provided by the Police and their Affiliated Organizations (Capacity: 40 persons)

Coordinator:

Prof. Nobuho Tomita

Visit to:

Ibaraki Prefectural Police Headquarters (including the Ibaraki Prefectural Police Headquarters�EOffice and a Koban (“Police Box�E in the Precinct of the Mito Police Station)

Cooperating Organizations:

• Office for Victims of Crime, Police Administration Department, Ibaraki Prefectural Police
• Ibaraki Victim Assistance Center, Inc. (IVAC)

Coordinator’s message :

Articles 22 and 23 of the “Law for the Assistance to the Victims of Crime through the Payment of Crime Victims Benefit and Other Measures�Eprovide that the police and their affiliated organizations should provide various services to the victims of crime. In this course, participants will gain an understanding of how and in what way they are working together for the victims. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to see other aspects of the activities carried out by the Japanese police.

 

Course B: Victim Participation in the Criminal Justice System (Capacity: 40 persons)

Coordinator:

Prof. Masaharu Senzu

Visit to:

Mito District Public Prosecutors Office, Mito District Court

Cooperating Organizations:

• Mito District Public Prosecutors Office
• Mito District Court

Coordinator’s message :

In this course, we will visit the Mito District Public Prosecutors�EOffice and get a summary explanation of the criminal justice system in Japan from an officer. Following that, we will move to the Mito District Court in order to see the practice of victim participation in the stages of a court trial (mainly focusing on the Victim Participant System, which was put into action in December, 2008). I hope this visit becomes an opportunity for all of the visitors to consider the further development of the victim participation system as well as to comprehend the practice of victim participation in Japan.

 

Course C: Victim-oriented Correctional Program and Offender Rehabilitation (Capacity: 35 persons)

Coordinator:

Prof. Takeshi Koyanagi

Visit to:

Juvenile Training School (Suifu Gakuin)

Cooperating Organization:

• Juvenile Training School (Suifu Gakuin)

Coordinator’s message:

All of the correctional institutions in Japan, including prisons, juvenile prisons, detention houses, juvenile training schools, and juvenile classification centers, are national institutions administrated by the Correction Bureau of the Ministry of Justice. This centralized administration system is one of the most unique systems of Japanese corrections. Juvenile training schools house crime-committing juveniles for the purpose of their rehabilitation. In this course, you will learn about the recent developments in the victim-oriented correctional programs practiced in the correctional institutions in Japan.

 

Course D: Reponses to Victims of Family Violence (Capacity: 40 persons)

Coordinator:

Prof. Susumu Nagai

Visit to:

Ibaraki Welfare and Consultation Center

Cooperating Organizations:

• Child and Family Support Section, Health and Welfare Division, Ibaraki Prefectural Government
• Spousal Violence Counseling and Support Center, Child Guidance Center
• NPO Women’s Net RISE

Coordinator’s message:

In this course, you will learn about the status quo and challenges for victims of family violence in Japan. We will visit the Welfare Guidance Center of Ibaraki Prefecture, where the Spousal Violence Guidance and Support Center (SVGSC) are located. The SVGSC is the administrative agency which counsels, supports, protects and provides other services for victims of family violence. Lectures on the status quo of dealing with cases of spousal violence, child abuse, etc. will be given by staff of the Child and Family Division and the Welfare Guidance Center of Ibaraki Prefecture. The RISE, a local specified nonprofit organization, will also participate and share its experience as a coordinating private sector. Questions are always welcome.

 

Regional Networking Sessions (Monday, Aug. 24 17:45-19:00)

All participants are encouraged to participate in the Regional Networking Sessions, which will be held on the evening of Monday, August 24, immediately after the special session being held by the Japanese government. These sessions, organized according to five different world regions (Asia and Oceania, Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa, Latin America), provide participants with the rare opportunity to present and discuss the state of affairs and the activities and research taking place in their own country with other participants from the same global region.

 

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