Victims’ access to justice and support

Natalie Low; Ruth Lamont

Overview

The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 created the office of the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales (Victims’ Commissioner) and placed the Victims’ Code of Practice on a statutory footing.[1]

The Code required criminal justice bodies, including the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, to promote victim services and deliver timely information about the progression of a victim’s complaint.

In the 2023 Victims’ Commissioner survey of 3048 victims of crime, 19% of respondents had heard of the Victims’ Code of Practice. 21% of those referred into victim services said it took a long time to receive help and 38% of respondents were confident that the criminal justice system was fair.[2]

In 2024, the Victims’ and Prisoners Act 2024 was introduced to help improve ‘end-to-end’ support for victims, both to cope and recover from the impact of crime and engage with the criminal justice system (CJS).[3],[4] The Act included:[5],[6]

an explicit reference to the principles that services provided under the Victims’ Code must follow
new duties for criminal justice agencies to promote awareness of the Victims’ Code and collate and share information on compliance
new reviewing and reporting duties for Local Police and Crime Commissioners on local compliance with the Victims’ Code
the creation of specialist advocates for victims of major incidents
automatic suspension of parental responsibility from a parent who has killed the other parent at sentencing (Jade’s Law)[7]

However, both the Victims’ Commissioner and Domestic Abuse Commissioner have criticised the measures as insufficient to protect victims’ interests.[8] In its pre-legislative scrutiny, the Justice Committee also raised concerns about whether the legislation would secure victims’ rights in law or improve compliance with the Code.[9]

The 2024 King’s Speech proposed a new Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill intended to:[10]

ensure victims of crime and antisocial behaviour get access to support
strengthen the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner
reduce delays in the courts system
require offenders to attend sentencing hearings
restrict parental responsibility of child sex offenders and on sex offenders changing their name

This horizon scan article highlights three main areas of challenge related to: victims who may have specific needs or circumstances; domestic abuse; and cyber- or digital-enabled crime.

Challenges and opportunities

The horizon scan identified that some victims have complex needs, which affect their ability to access the justice process and relevant support. For example:

Access to victim services may be affected by discrimination, substance misuse, and practical and emotional barriers, particularly for victims of domestic abuse (HS 88 Women’s Experiences of Crime and the Criminal Justice System).[11]
Elderly[12] and neurodivergent populations[13] require specialist forms of victim support.
People suffering from mental illness are more likely to be victims of crime but are less likely to report the offence or access support.[14]
In rural areas, agricultural crime can have significant impacts on farming communities, exacerbating difficulties with mental health.[15] The Scottish government in 2017 funded a training programme for forensic medical services in rural communities following sexual assault or rape.[16] Victims in rural communities can also find it more difficult to access mental health services.[17]
Victimisation may also be a factor in the subsequent suicide of the victimised person.[18]
Research highlights the importance of working with victims of crime to identify their needs and improve support services.[19],[20]

The horizon scan also identified supporting domestic abuse victims, who are more often women and girls, as an area of challenge.[21] The nature of domestic abuse means it may have a range of legal, health, emotional, social and economic impacts.[22],[23] Victims may need to engage with various agencies, including courts, police and other criminal justice agencies, social services, health and care services, and charitable bodies.22,23 The horizon scan noted that many of these have limited resources.[24]

For example, academics, campaigners and victim advocates have expressed concerns about the ability of the Family Court to respond to domestic abuse in private law child proceedings between parents for contact between an abusive parent and their child.[25],[26],[27] The Family Court makes decisions over whether there should be contact between a child and a parent by reference to the best interests of the child.[28] In 2019, a government consultation identified harm to children by maintaining supervised or unsupervised contact with a violent parent arising from a ‘pro-contact culture’,[29] supported by the presumption of contact in the Children Act 1989.[30],[31]

The government consultation also identified “siloed” responses from the criminal justice system, state-led child protection, private family law and other agencies.[32] Academic research has identified that women can be deemed as posing a risk to their child by staying with an abuser by social services,[33] but subsequently forced to maintain contact post-separation to maintain a relationship between the child and abuser,[34] or be restricted in their ability to relocate.[35]

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 identifies children as victims of domestic abuse when they have seen, heard or experienced the abuse. Research has found that maintaining contact between a child and a violent parent poses a risk to affected children.[36],[37] The Domestic Abuse Commissioner found that the child’s opinion is minimised in decision-making, and the Family Court has found it difficult to assess alleged parental alienation.21 There is limited data available on the incidence[38] of post-separation abuse through contact or repeated court proceedings, the consequences of financial abuse,[39] or digital abuse.[40]

The development of new forms of digitally-enabled crime is a challenge in identifying and responding to victims.[41] Academics have identified difficulties in measuring[42],[43] and investigating online behaviours as criminal,[44] which can limit reporting to police by victims, either unaware, or ashamed, of being victimised.[45],[46] Offences online can be committed across international boundaries, for example in the context of fraud.[47],[48] Perpetrators may use digital devices and technology, for example, in harassment, stalking, or coercive control through mobile phones or monitoring apps.[49],[50],[51] In 2022, 72% of service users of Refuge, a domestic abuse charity, reported abuse through technology.[52]

The internet can be used to carry out new types of crime or abuse (Horizon Scan article on Cyber crime and harm). Examples include:

the use of artificial intelligence (large language data models) for voice synthesis and image generation for political manipulation[53]
creation of child sexual abuse or rape material[54]
using domestic items connected to the internet to victimise a person, such as remote home video devices, or manipulating heating availability to affect the environment[55]

Key uncertainties/unknowns

The development of digital forms of abuse raises uncertainties regarding the determination of harm and identification of a victim. It may be unclear who the victim of an artificially generated exploitative or abusive image actually is, making the ‘harm’ attributable difficult to regulate.[56] For example, where rape is perpetrated in the metaverse through the attack of a personalised, but entirely digital, persona,[57],[58] it is uncertain whether the law applies to the virtual reality, and how real-world legal concepts, such as consent, apply within the online environment (PB61).

The Victims’ Commissioner 2023 survey of victims found that there was low victim confidence in the criminal justice system, given the slow processing of prosecutions and lack of integrated support for victims.2 Uncertainties regarding the plan for addressing the Crown Court backlog of prosecutions means that problems with the reliability of court listings and long extended dates for hearings may continue to affect victims (HS90 Issues affecting courts and the justice system). The effect of the new obligations on criminal justice bodies to support victims and report on their work, under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, is not yet clear.

As of October 2024, the Scottish Parliament was in the process of adopting a Victims and Witnesses Commissioner for Scotland, as part of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.[59]

Key questions for Parliament

How well has the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 addressed the needs of victims of crime? What lessons are there for the use of the Victims’ Code of Practice and improvement of support services for victims?
What is the best way of providing timely, integrated support services to victims of crime that is responsive to their specific needs, irrespective of whether a criminal prosecution takes place?
How can criminal justice bodies and victim support services best assess victims’ risks of suicide following victimisation, to ensure appropriate, timely intervention from mental health services?
How can victims of domestic abuse be protected from continuing coercive controlling behaviour, abuse and harassment post-separation, when a perpetrator seeks contact with their child?
How can police forces improve the measurement, reporting and policing of online victimisation, in the UK and across international borders?
How do criminal offences and victim services need to be adapted to address digitally-enabled harms?

References

[1] Ministry of Justice (2024). The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales and supporting public information materials

[2] Victims’ Commissioner (2024). Annual Victims’ Survey 2023

[3] GOV.UK (2024). Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (legislation.gov.uk)

[4] Ministry of Justice (2022). Draft Victims Bill

[5] House of Lords (2023). HL Bill 31 Explanatory Notes UK Parliament

[6] Ministry of Justice (2024). Clauses 6-11: Review of Compliance with the Victims’ Code

[7] Ministry of Justice (2023). Jade’s Law to be introduced to better protect children

[8] The Telegraph (2024). The Victims’ Bill doesn’t do enough to protect victims

[9] Justice Committee (2022). Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims Bill UK Parliament

[10] Prime Minister’s Office (2024). The King’s Speech 2024

[11] Harris, L. and Hodges, K. (2019), Responding to complexity: improving service provision for survivors of domestic abuse with ‘complex needs, Journal of Gender-based Violence, vol.3, issue 2

[12] Satchell, J. et al. (2023). Psychological distress and interventions for older victims of crime: A systemic review, Trauma, Violence and Abuse, vol.24, issue 5

[13] Siberry, A. (2021). Diversity, difference or disorder? Neurodiversity in police-community partnerships N8 Policing Research Partnership blog

[14] Pettitt, B. et al. (2013). At risk, yet dismissed: the criminal victimisation of people with mental health problems Victim Support and Mind.

[15] Smith, K. (2020), Desolation in the countryside: How agricultural crime impacts the mental health of British farmers, Journal of Rural Studies, vol.80

[16] Scottish Government (2017). Improving forensic medical examination services

[17] Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2023). Rural mental health UK Parliament

[18] Bates, L. et al. (2022). National Policing Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme: Domestic homicides and suspected victim suicides during the Covid-19 pandemic 2020-2021

[19] Würtz Jensen, J. and Thunberg, S. (2024). Navigating professionals’ conditions for co-production of victim support: A conceptual article. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 30(2)

[20] Moroz, A. (2023). North Yorkshire victims’ voice: Understanding victims’ needs, Victim Support and North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner

[21] Office for National Statistics (2023). Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2023

[22] Tudor, S. (2023). Tackling violence against women and girls in the UK. House of Lords Library, UK Parliament

[23] Home Office (2022). Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan – Command paper 639 (accessible)

[24] The Guardian (2020). I wept after hearing women’s stories. A decade of austerity has wrecked lives

[25] BBC News (2023). Family courts: Children forced into contact with fathers accused of abuse

[26] Domestic Abuse Commissioner (2023). The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change

[27] Child arrangements order under section 8, Children Act 1989

[28] Section 1(1), Children Act 1989; Practice Direction 12J Child Arrangements and Contact Orders: Domestic Abuse and Harm.

[29] Ministry of Justice (2019). Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases

[30] Section 1(2A), Children Act 1989; inserted by Children and Families Act 2014.

[31] Walsh, K. (2023). The gap between facts and norms: contact harm and futility, Child and Family Law Quarterly, vol.35, issue 1

[32] Steward, A. and Arnull, E. (2022). Mothers, domestic violence and child protection: The UK response, Violence Against Women, vol.29, issue 3-4

[33] Shevlin, V. (2023). We must stop blaming mothers in child protection social work, Community Care

[34] Thompson, L. (2020). Impossible expectations? Abused mothers’ experiences of the child protection and family court systems, Child and Family Law Quarterly, vol.32, no 1

[35] Piercy, O. and Wright, M. (2024). Domestic abuse and relocation cases, Family Law Journal

[36] Skafida, V. and Devaney, J. (2023). Risk and protective factors for children’s psychopathology in the context of domestic violence – A study using nationally representative longitudinal survey data, Child Abuse & Neglect, vol.135

[37] Gadd, D. et al. (2016). Like father, like son? Young men’s responses to domestic violence between parents’, in M Hydén, D Gadd, A Wade, Response based approaches to the study of interpersonal violence, (Palgrave Macmillan)

[38] Skafida, V. et al. (2023). Asking the Right Questions? A Critical Overview of Longitudinal Survey Data on Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse Among Adults and Young People in the UK, Journal of Family Violence, vol.38

[39] BBC News (2024). I’m trapped in a joint mortgage with my abuser

[40] Raffaela Huber, A. and Godfrey, B. (2024). Tackling digitally enabled coercive control’ University of Liverpool N8 Research Partnership, available at: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/sociology-social-policy-and-criminology/research/research-projects/policing/digital-coercive-control/

[41] Storry, M. and Poppleton, S. (2022). The Impact of Online Abuse: Hearing the Victims’ Voice, Office of the Victims’ Commissioner: The impact of online abuse: Hearing the victims’ voice’, available at: https://victimscommissioner.org.uk/document/the-impact-of-online-abuse-hearing-the-victims-voice/

[42] Office for National Statistics (2022). Nature of fraud and computer misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2022

[43] Correia, S. (2022). Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud’, International Journal of Population Data Science, vol.7 (1)

[44] Horgan, S. et al. (2021). Re-territorialising the policing of cybercrime in the post-COVID-19 era: Towards a new vision of local democratic cyber policing, Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol.11, no 3.

[45] Fissel, E. (2023). Is it a crime? Cyberstalking victims’ reasons for not reporting to law enforcement, Social Sciences, vol.12 (12).

[46] Kemp, S. et al. (2023). When do businesses report cybercrime? Findings from a UK study, Criminology and Criminal Justice, vol.23, issue 3

[47] Financial Times, (2024), North Korean hackers use AI for more sophisticated scams

[48] Snyder, J and Golladay, K. (2023). It happened again: Differences between single and repeat/poly-victimization among financial fraud victims, Journal of White Collar and Corporate Crime, vol.5 (1)

[49] Brady, P. et al. (2023). APPlied stalking: What the next generation of stalking victims consider to be ‘stalking’ and why victims report their experiences to police’, Journal of Criminal Justice, vol.84