Empowering Victims: Upholding Justice in Crime Prevention

1. Justice for Victims Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice [E4J]

2. Whatisjustice for victims • Who are victims of crimes: maintheoreticalframework • UN 1985 Basic Principlesdeclaration for Victims of Crime and abuse of power • Data collection: administrative data, victimsurvey and law-case studies The Principles set out in the Declaration are: • Access to justice and fair treatment • Restitution • Compensation • Assistance

3. Victimology Criminalvictimology

4. Impact of victimization • Material; • Physical; • Mental, psychological, emotional; • Economic; • Spiritual, and religious.

5. How are victims exposed to crime?

6. What is a crime related trauma? A sudden violent event (human caused) being exposed to a violent event (even if not personally involved, but witnessed). Most common reactions to trauma : • Feeling of fear, • loss of control, • constant feeling of threats of death, • helplessness, • depression • suicidal ideas • attempted or actual suicide

7. How can we explain negative reactions towards victims of crime?

8. Maslow’ basic human needs

9. Victims’ needs • Support • Protection • Information • Practical needs • Needs for recognition by and in the criminal justice system • Reparation

10. Victims’ rights • Right to be heard • Right to be informed • Right to be protected • Right to be respected and emotional condition being recognized • Right to receive support • Right to receive compensation • Right to deal with specialized professionals • Right to receive assistance across-borders • Others?

11. Victims’ role in the criminal justice system • Participation at all stages during the criminal justice process: reporting stage, investigations stage, pre-trial stage, trial stage, sentencing stages, stage at which the offender is released • Victim-sensitive measures: interviewing techniques; modified court rooms; video evidence; victims’ advocates; special provisions for vulnerable groups, such as children or vicitms of SGBV crimes; Victim Impact Statements; partie civile (civil party)

12. Victim services • Institutional – Governmental Roles and functions. • Non governmental organizations (NGO) Roles and functions How should services for victims address victims’ needs?

13. State compensation, reparation, restitution Compensation can take different forms: • Direct payment, following certain criteria (income, severity of damage, injuries, ability to work) • Direct payment of certain services, like in the case of pro-bono legal assistance where the lawyers will claim to the State their costs; • Indirectly through services and assistance.

14. Contemporary issues affecting Justice for Victims • Challenges and responses to: • transnational organized crime and new forms of crime and • cross-border victimization • The internet and social media • The example of the #MeToo Movement

15. Victims in international criminal justice • The ICC as a victims’ court, with a right to victim participation and reparations • Inspiration for sub-sequent tribunals applying international criminal law • Importance of acknowledgment of the role of victims in the international criminal law context: making international proceedings meaningful to those most affected

16. More information @DohaDeclaration e4j@unodc.org unodc.org/dohadeclaration unodc.org/e4J