Victim Support: a profile
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200100005 |
| Pages | 35-40 |
| Published date | 01 February 2001 |
| Date | 01 February 2001 |
| Author | Dame Reeves |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 3 Issue 1 • February 2001 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited 35
key words
crime
court
witnesses
support schemes
abstract
In the latest in a series of
profiles of organisations that
provide services within the wider
adult protection setting, Helen
Reeves describes how Victim
Support meets and helps people
who have been abused. While not
specifically established to assist
vulnerable adults and their carers,
Victim Support’s services are readily
available to this group and, as the
case examples show,they can make
a substantial difference at vital
times.
It is a sad fact that crime and the fear of crime will affect
most people at some time in their lives. Victim Support exists
solely for the purpose of helping people cope with the
complex and confusing consequences of crime. The knowl-
edge and experience we have gained since the first Victim
Support scheme was launched more than 25 years ago means
that we are uniquely qualified to respond to people’s needs and
to provide the support and information to which they are
entitled.
Victim Support is a national charity, independent and non-
governmental (Victim Support, 1999), that offers a free and
confidential service, irrespective of whether a crime has been
reported. Each year we offer help to over one million people
who have been affected by crime. This help is provided
through a network of local schemes that cover the whole of
England, Wales and Northern Ireland (there are separate,
sister organisations covering Scotland and the Republic of
Ireland). Staff and volunteers within these schemes are trained
to provide emotional support, information and practical help
to people who have suffered the effects of crimes ranging from
burglary to the murder of a relative.
Victim Support’s witness service offers information and
support to any witness who needs it, in every Crown Court
centre in England and Wales, and in a growing number of
magistrates’ courts. Here, staff and volunteers are trained to
provide support and information about the court process to
witnesses, victims and their families before, during and after
the trial. By April 2002, witnesses in any of the criminal
courts in England and Wales will be able to receive help.
I will look briefly at the effects of crime and the needs of
victims, and then move on to summarise Victim Support’s
model for service delivery, considering first our community-
based Victim Support schemes and then the witness service.
When discussing our role at court, I will also look specifically
at the work that has been undertaken on ‘vulnerable witnesses’.
Victim Support: a profile
Dame Helen Reeves
Chief Executive, Victim Support
Organisational profile
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