Should we pay wages for victim participation?: Victims’ labour at the International Criminal Court

Journal article

Victim participation in criminal justice is usually studied as a legal right, a democratic opportunity or a restorative justice measure. Drawing on evidence from the International Criminal Court’s victim engagement in Kenya and Uganda, I instead conceptualize victim participation as a form of unpaid labour. Building on Marxist-feminist theory, I argue that we do not usually recognize victims’ labour because of the ‘who’ (victims), the ‘what’ (participation), and the ‘why’ (justice) of victim participation. I then make the case for why we should pay ‘wages for victim participation’ drawing on the Wages for Housework campaign of the 1970s, not only to compensate victims for their labour time, but also to open a broader political perspective on life-making, work and justice.

Authors: Ullrich, L

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: British Journal of Criminology: An International Review of Crime and Society
• Article number: azag031
• Publication date: 2026-04-08
• Acceptance date: 2026-03-16
• DOI: 10.1093/bjc/azag031
• EISSN: 1464-3529
• ISSN: 0007-0955
• Language: English
• Keywords: victim participation; International Criminal Court; social reproduction labour; Marxist feminism; wages for housework; wages for victim participation