20 essential principles for corrections-based victim services

2. A process “centered” on meeting the victim/survivor’s needs through the corrections-based victim service agency in the state where the offender was convicted. 

• Victim-Centered VOD must be firmly grounded in helping survivors meet some of the unmet needs they continue to experience, including the wish to express strong feelings, and the opportunity get answers to persisting questions. 
• Because violent crime victimization is often traumatizing for victims, VOD cannot be “mediation” in the dispute-resolution sense, nor a process for creating any uninvited “agreement” or “reconciliation” between parties. 

3. A process that must be completely voluntary for offenders, who must agree to participate in VOD preparation and dialogue without pressure or expectation. 

• While the VOD preparation and dialogue process must always be victim-centered, it must also be sufficiently respectful of and sensitive to the emotional needs and concerns of offenders, as their participation will also require courage.
• Offenders must be free to decline to participate in VOD preparation and dialogue, however undeserved or “unjust” their declining or refusing to participate may feel to the survivors initiating the request.