Victims' rights are generally defined as legal entitlements afforded to victims of crime. They vary according to the legal jurisdiction within which they are applied and are dependent on several variants including societal, cultural, political, socio-economic and geographical. Victims's rights belong to the public law sphere, and relate to criminal justice proceedings, constitutional law and restorative justice. Victims' rights must be aligned with international human rights law and in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Examples include the right to restitution, the right to a victims' advocate, and the right not to be excluded from criminal justice proceedings.For a description of typical U.S. victim's rights, see For statutory protection of victim's rights, see, e.g., A key principle underlying victims' rights is the need to avoid secondary victimisation in their implementation particularly when victims' are called to take a role in criminal justice proceedings.
United States History During the colonial and revolutionary periods, the United States criminal justice system was victim-centric, in that crimes were often investigated and prosecuted by individual victims. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, however, the role of the victim in criminal proceedings was reduced, owing to shifts in attitudes in the way crimes were perceived; the criminal justice system became seen as a tool to remedy social harms rather than an avenue to redress personal harm.
The modern crime victims' rights movement began in the 1970s, in part as a response to the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Linda R.S. v. Richard D. (410 U.S. 614). In Linda R.S., the court ruled that the complainant did not have the legal standing to keep the prosecutors' office from discriminately applying a statute criminalizing non-payment of child support. In dicta, the court articulated the then-prevailing view that a private crime victims have no jurisdiction in deciding the process of a criminal prosecution. This ruling served as a high-water mark in the shift away from the victim-centric approach to criminal justice, relegating the role of victims in the criminal trial to being evidence for the prosecution.NCVLI Bulletin, "Fundamentals of Victims' Rights: A Brief History of Crime Victims' Rights in the United States," available at ncvli.org
The Linda R.S. ruling, notwithstanding, stated that Congress could create legislation that safeguards victims' rights and provides standing to victims where they would otherwise not have any. At the same time, social consciousness about victims' rights surged. Supporters of the law and order, civil rights, and feminist movement challenged conventional views of the criminal justice system on the role of the victim. By providing educational resources and legal assistance and establishing the country's first hotlines and shelters for victims of crime, much of the movements' work later became the grassroots foundation of the modern victims' rights movement.
In 1982, President Ronald Reagan's Task Force on Victims of Crime released its final report which detailed the concerns of victims' rights advocates, stating that "innocent victims of crime have been overlooked, their pleas for justice have gone unheeded, and their wounds — personal, emotional, financial — have gone unattended". The report contained 68 recommendations for service providers and government officials, many of which are mandated through victims' rights legislation today, as well as a recommendation for a victims' rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In the decades that followed, proponents of victims' rights experienced substantial legislative success. Today, the victims' rights movement continues to increase access to procedural mechanisms for victims to enforce their rights and promote legislation that guarantees those substantive rights. Modern victims' rights organizations include the National Alliance of Victims' Rights Attorneys, National Organization for Victim Assistance, and the National Center for Victims of Crime."About Us ". National Center for Victims of Crime.
Victims' rights legislation
Since 1982, thirty-three states have amended their constitutions to address victims' rights, and all states have passed victims' rights legislation. That same year, Congress passed the first piece of federal crime victims' rights legislation, the Victim and Witness Protection Act. In 1984, the Victims of Crime Act was passed. A decade later, in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act became law. In 2004, the landmark Crime Victims' Rights Act was passed, granting crime victims eight specific rights, and providing standing for individual victims to assert those rights in court.See: Statement of Sen. Feinstein re. CVRA (150 Cong. Rec s2329, April 22, 2004; and Jon Kyl, Stepven J. Twist, Stephen Higgins, "On the Wings of Their Angels: The Scott Campbell, Stephanie Roper, Wendy Preston, Lourna Gillis, and Nila Lynn Crime Victims' Rights Act," Lewis and Clark Law Review, 581, (2005)
Federal law
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA)
VOCA established the Crime Victims Fund, which awards grants to crime victim compensation programs, Victim Notification Systems, and victim assistance programs. The fund is financed by offender fees.
Crime Victims' Rights Act of 2004
The Crime Victims' Rights Act, part of the Justice for All Act of 2004, enumerates the rights afforded to victims in federal criminal cases. The Act grants victims the following rights:
Protection from the accused, Notification, Not to be excluded from proceedings, Speaking at criminal justice proceedings, Consultation with the prosecuting attorney, Restitution, Proceedings free from unreasonable delay, Fair treatment, and respect for the victims' dignity and privacy
State law All states have passed legislation that protects the rights of victims of crime, and most have passed constitutional amendments that afford protection to crime victims. Some state laws apply to only victims of felony offenses, while other states also extend rights to victims of less serious misdemeanor offenses. When a victim is a minor, disabled, or deceased, some states permit family members to exercise rights on behalf of the victim.
Common state law protections include the rights to: Treatment with dignity and respect, Information about the prosecution, plea offers, court proceedings, and sentencing, Make a statement in court at the time of sentencing, Protection, Seek compensation from a state victim's rights fund, Restitution from the offender, Return of personal property, and Information about parole proceedings or release from incarceration, and to make a statement to the parole board, Enforcement of victim's rights. Many prosecuting attorneys' offices have a victim's rights officer or multiple employees who assist victims of crime during and after a prosecution.
Criticism In 2008, Human Rights Watch published a report comparing United States victims' rights laws to international human rights standards, which found that "while U.S. Jurisdictions, both federal and state, have made significant progress in recent decades, much more can be done to ensure that victims' rights and legitimate interests are upheld." The report states that the U.S. should use the UN's Basic Principles as a guide to inform their laws and policies. In addition, it recommends that the U.S. adopt policies that define "victim" arbitrarily; expand access to victim services and compensation; and "maintain and enforce standards for the collection and preservation of evidence, particularly rape kit evidence." The report also recommends U.S. ratification of the CEDAW and CRC.
Canada
History Public discussions about victims’ rights in Canada began at the end of the 20th century. Before this, victims of crime were primarily considered witnesses in criminal proceedings although they did receive some recognition through provincial victim compensation programs which began in the late 1960s. There was a significant increase in the attention to victims’ rights beginning in the 1980s. A combination of factors have been put forward to explain this change including international law, the women's movement, a fearful conception of crime in the public, advocacy for victim and witness services, as well as criminal justice officials bringing awareness to the situation of victims.Government of Canada (1983). Canadian Federal-Provincial Task Force on Justice for Victims of Crime Report. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/jus/JS42-15-1983-eng.pdf Feminists in the women's movement had a particular impact on how law reform was shaped regarding the treatment of victims and survivors of sexual violence in the criminal justice system. However, many feminists within this movement were critical of politics that fixated on punishment. They maintained a focus on the systemic nature of sexual violence which differentiated them from those focused on victimization as an individualized issue.
The Canadian Government began to discuss victims of crime more seriously with the abolishment of the death penalty and the introduction of the Peace and Security Package in 1976. They carried out studies on victimization as part of this package which were used to gain a greater understanding of the reality of crime. The first large scale victimization survey was administered by Statistics Canada in 1982 and similar surveys took place again in 1988 and 1993. The Canadian Federal-Provincial Task Force on Justice for Victims of Crime was established in 1981, to further look at the needs of victims, to address a variety of victim related issues such as funding and legislation and finally to make recommendations. They delivered their final report in 1983 which also took into consideration the results of the first victimization survey from 1982.
At the international level, Canada signed on to the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crimes and Abuse of Power (UN Declaration) in 1985 but they did not enact legislation giving victims formal rights at that time. However, at the provincial level, Manitoba became the first province to legislate victims’ rights in their 1986 Justice for Victims of Crimes Act. Other provinces followed suit and similarly enacted victim focused legislation.
In 1988, the Canadian Government followed numerous recommendations made in the 1983 Task Force Report and amended the Criminal Code. In this amendment, there were major changes such as new provisions on victim impact statements and victim surcharges.Young, Alan (2001). The Role of the Victim in the Criminal Process: A Literature Review – 1989 to 1999. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rr00_vic20/rr00_vic20.pdf Together in the same year, the Canadian Statement of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime was released and supported by federal, provincial and territorial governments. This statement was revised in 2003 and in the time between these two statements, in 1992, victims gained rights at the federal level for the first time as they were legislated into the Corrections and Conditional Release Act allowing victims the right to certain information about the offender.