Victims’ responses after mass atrocities: a note on empirical findings.

Source: (2012) Contemporary Justice Review. 15(1):39-56.

mpirical research has shown that in the aftermath of mass atrocities, a large majority of the victims of gross human rights violations are much more concerned with their immediate needs than with the criminal prosecution of the perpetrators of these violations. The focus must shift from the perpetrators to the victims and that, in order to bring about desirable compensating improvements in the lives of those victims who are directly affected by these gross human rights violations, greater weight must be given to the interests and concerns expressed by them about matters fundamental to their well-being. The attention of legal scholars, policy analysts, and human rights campaigners and activists of the imperativeness of material reparations to meet the crying needs of a society emerging from political violence, comparative to criminal prosecution of the perpetrators must be engaged.