Victims of Crime Research Series: The Role of the Victim in the Criminal Process: Literature Review — 1989 to 1999

Source: (2001) Ottowa ON, Canada: Canada Department of Justice.

This literature review focuses on the role of the victim within the criminal justice system and what types of rights, such as participation, they should have in the process.

This review is divided into six sections. The first section provides an overview of the report. The next section centers on the historical and theoretical background of the contemporary justice system as well as number of its models. The third section concentrates on victims’ rights in Canada. Two primary issues addressed here are Federal initiatives and provincial initiatives. Federal initiatives include restitution, victim surcharge, victim impact statements and sentence reform, as well as victims of violence. Provincial initiatives, on the other hand, include issues pertaining to the victims’ Bill of Rights, victim assistance, and compensation. Section four concentrates on victims’ rights around the world from America to Europe. The fifth section then addresses issues concerning social science perspectives, mediation, and victims’ satisfaction. Two topics analyzed in this section include the roles of social workers, and mediation in respect to the restorative justice. A concluding section notes that the 1990’s literature on victims’ rights showed a big growth in the ‘victim industry’ with few indications that the situation of victims had actually been improved.