When the victims become activists –

Victimization is often associated with increased political participation, and victims are influential political actors in many countries of the world. However, for the victims, activism is expensive: they tell and tell painful stories, face burning criticism and work on exhaustion – all at one of the worst moments of their lives. So why do they do it? Based on ethnographic research with families for Safe streets, a group of victims who have become activists in New York, this article advances a new explanation in the participation of victims in politics. I propose that for some victims, the creation of meaning is an advantage in progress of activism. My inductive research suggests three ways of which the victims find a meaning in politics. First, thanks to their activism, the victims can reconstruct the losses and the damages they have suffered as political problems, rather than random and inexplicable events. Victims can also seek to help others by modifying the laws to prevent similar tragedies from recurring, and some victims see their activism as a means of fulfilling important obligations towards their communities, their families and their deceased loved ones.