Tennent2019

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Tennent2019
BibType ARTICLE
Key Tennent2019
Author(s) Emma Tennent
Title ‘Do you think it’s a crime?’ Building joint understanding of victimisation in calls for help
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, MCA, accounts, disavowals, calls for help, descriptions of experience, helpline, offers, requests, social interaction, victim of crime, Victim Support, victimisation, New Zealand
Publisher
Year 2019
Language English
City
Month
Journal Discourse & Society
Volume 30
Number 6
Pages 636–652
URL Link
DOI 10.1177/0957926519870040
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

Society has a moral obligation to help victims, but who is recognised as a victim is a contentious issue. Social interaction is a key site where shared understandings of victimisation are built. This article analyses calls to a Victim Support helpline using conversation analysis and membership categorisation analysis. Callers described experiences of crimes to account for requesting help. Call-takers claimed the rights to describe and assess callers’ experiences in terms of institutional constraints. Call-takers disavowed the category crime to deny callers’ requests and ascribed the category crime to accountably offer help. Participants negotiated their respective rights to describe callers’ experiences and determine the kind of help needed. The analyses demonstrate how participants’ different understandings of victimisation were consequential for the delivery or withholding of support.

Notes