NCJ Number
95386
Date Published
1982
Length
61 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the extent to which the crime victim's recovery is the orphan of social programs in Canada and the United States.
Abstract
The impact of crime on victims, along with the dimensions of emotional trauma, economic loss, physical injury, inconvenience, and dysfunction, is discussed, and services provided to crime victims are considered, including sexual assault and rape crisis centers, shelters for battered wives, crime compensation by the state, and comprehensive victim assistance. Problems with each of the services are identified; for example, most rural and many urban areas lack rape crisis centers. In addition, only a few agencies have been established to provide comprehensive victim assistance. Six reforms are proposed. First, the police officer responding to the crime should be trained to provide emergency care, avoid further trauma, and refer the victim to available services. Second, victim advocates should be employed to provide emergency help to victims. Third, a code of conduct should be established for the treatment of crime victims; the code should specify standards and resources for protection, redress, and justice. Fourth, social security measures should be rationalized to provide equitable support for victims. Fifth, mental health services should provide special care for the 'posttraumatic stress disorder' suffered by many victims. And finally, international lobbying should continue efforts to improve assistance to victims. Eight figures and approximately 175 references are included.