Supporting Victim/Survivors Through the Criminal Justice Process
摘要
In this chapter, the authors explore the support given to victim/survivors as they navigate the Criminal Justice System (CJS), by an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA), through specialist organisations. This includes adults and children/young people, who are victims/survivors. Specifically focusing on the 7 essential elements of an ISVA, a strategy implemented by the government (Horvath et al., 2021) due to the rise in sexual violence/abuse, and the new guidance, released in May 2025 (MoJ, 2025a). An ISVA will have detailed knowledge of the CJS and how to support people as they navigate the system, if they feel that they want to formalise a complaint/report to the police. The thought of pursuing justice through the courts can have further impact and can be a trigger to a survivor/victim. This chapter explores how the risk of revictimisation of the victim/survivor by the CJS process victim is mitigated, by involvement of an ISVA, by linking this to how the statutory guidance for this role aims to address possible causes of stress and trauma. Authors consider how specialist organisations apply this advice, and how special measures can be put in place to support the victim/survivor when they are in court. In addition to utilising published resources, first author Dawn Shanahan draws upon her experience as a Professional ISVA. This chapter will conclude considering a few ways in which we might begin to think about the potential impact on victims/survivors of this process, how effective it is, and how it can be made more accessible to others.