5 - ‘Working It’

Summary

Contrary to the claims that global justice is for the benefit of victims of conflict, I propose that victims are exploited as the faces of global justice. The construction and reproduction (and normalising) of an ‘ideal victim’ brand is discussed. This chapter illustrates how the value of the victim rises or falls depending on how many marketable attributes the victim fulfils. The use and re-use of such attributes to define victimhood deepens and institutionalises existing stereotypes of a feminised, infantilised, and racialised notion of victimhood. The decision as to who is a perpetrator and who is a victim is presented, therefore, as reflecting political and economic power. Not only is the commodification of victimhood discussed, but also the alienation of victims as they inhabit notions of ‘ideal’ victimhood.