Administrative team
Prof. Jo-Anne Wemmers
Co-founder of the CJVAC
Jo-Anne Wemmers is a full professor at the School of Criminology at the Université de Montréal where she co-created the new Justice and Victims program. An expert in victimology, her research themes include victims and victimizations at the national level as well as international crimes. Professor Wemmers is the author of about a hundred publications, including the book Victimology: A Canadian Perspective (PUQ, 2017). She is a regular researcher at the International Centre for Comparative Criminology (ICCC), where she is responsible for the research group Victims, Rights and Society. She is editor of the International Review of Victimology, and a member of the Canadian Partnership on International Justice which received the Governor General's Innovation Award (2023).
Prof. Amissi Manirabona
Co-founder of the CJVAC
Amissi M. Manirabona is a full professor at the Faculty of Law of the Université de Montréal where he teaches courses on Canadian criminal law, international criminal law, and the law of victims of crime. Professor Manirabona is a regular researcher at the International Centre for Comparative Criminology (ICCC) and has written dozens of publications. He has just published a monograph entitled Introduction to the Law of Victims of Crime in Canada (Toronto, Lexis-Nexis 2020), which received the Walter Owen Award from the Canadian Foundation for Legal Research.
Me Marika Lachance Quirion
CJVAC and research coordinator
Me Marika Lachance Quirion was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 2016 and has practiced as a lawyer in several areas of law such as civil law, family law, labour and employment law, as well as criminel and penal law. Me Lachance Quirion worked on various research projects in victimology as part of her studies in criminology at the Université de Montréal, where she completed her master's degree under the supervision of Professor Jo-Anne Wemmers. Her master's thesis focused on the experiences of criminal justice and restorative justice for victims of sexual violence.
Audrey Deschênes
Research assistant
Audrey Deschênes is a doctoral student in criminology at the Université de Montréal, where she also obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in criminology. Ms. Deschênes has taken part in several research projects in victimology since the beginning of her graduate studies and she is notably responsible for research statistics at the Justice centre for victims of crimes (CJVAC). She undertook her master's degree under the supervision of Professor Jo-Anne Wemmers who is also supervising her as part of her doctorate. Her master’s thesis addresses secondary victimisation in the criminal justice system, while her doctoral thesis focuses on the experience of victims of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces.