Research into child victims has been overshadowed by concern about the physical and sexual abuse of children. Children who are victims of other crimes have difficulty in attaining ‘victim status’ and have been overlooked by academics and policy makers. ‘Indirect child victims’, affected by witnessing or living with the impact of crimes against others, are more hidden still even though their experience may be no less serious. This article addresses conceptual, ethical, and methodological difficulties encountered in identifying child victims for the purposes of research in carrying out interviews with children and their families and, finally, in assessing the impact of crime upon them.
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