Criminology, Victimology and Human Rights: Towards a Synthetic Paradigm.

This paper gives a comparative overview of the development and influence of victims? rights and human rights in Canada and the United States. Despite many political, economic, social, and cultural similarities and close historical ties, the two countries have taken distinct approaches to the status and rights of victims. The paper outlines the differing constitutional and legal articulation of rights as outlined in the US Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the victimological effect in the criminal justice systems. It also examines the status of victims of social exclusion in the two countries by looking at specific issues of gay marriage, aboriginal rights, and linguistic minorities. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]