REPORTS OF THE SEM INARGROUP 1SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS
Chairperson
Co-Chairperson
Rapporteur
Co-Rapporteur
MembersAdviser

M r. Philip Kaya WELIA
M r. OTA Tomohiko
M r. AKAGI Kazuo
M s. Chirawan KHOTCHARIT
M s. Veronica Guadalupe URIARTE
FLORES
M r. DIALLO Amadou Tanou
M s. KIKUCHI Shizuka
M s. TAJIMA Kayoko
Prof. M IO Yukako(Papua New Guinea)(Japan)(Japan)(Thailand)(El Salvador)(Guinea)(Japan)(Japan)(UNAFEI)

I. INTRODUCTION
In the framework of group workshops during the 156th International Senior Seminar held byUNAFEI and sponsored by JICA from 13th January to 14th February 2014, Group 1, composed ofparticipants from Japan,Papua New Guinea,Thailand,El Salvador and Guinea,focused its discussions
on the following points:a) Access to the justice system by victims,b) Victim compensation and restitution, andc) Prevention against secondary victimization and revictimization.
With a large consensus, the group elected Mr. Philip Welia as Chairperson, M r. Ota as cochairperson, M r. Akagi as rapporteur and Ms. Chirawan as co-rapporteur.

II. SITUATION OF SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS
In criminal procedure,protecting the perpetratorʼ
s rights has been considered most important. On
the other hand, the victimʼ
s rights have not been focused on much. Often the victims are required toparticipate in the criminal procedure for the case,even though the victim does not want to speak about
what happened to him (or her). Victims have no fault in the criminal case. However they have a hardtime talking about the case many times and sacrifice their precious time. Therefore,criminal justicesystems and organizations should pay more attention to protecting “innocent”victims.

III. SUMM ARY OF THE DISCUSSION
A. Access to the Justice System
1. Specific Issues Preventing Crime Victims from Accessing the Justice System in Each Country
First of all,all participantsʼcountries share some common problems,such as lack ofman power andfinancial support from their governments,the huge caseload which affects the final court decision,andalso the trustworthiness of the criminal justice system as a whole. Also,the crime victimʼ
s information
is often published in newspapers and news programmes on national television. In El Salvador, thegang-related offenders deter crime victimsʼaccess to the justice system. In most gang-related crimes,
the crime victim has been intimidated not to report the crime to the police, and they are also
discouraged from giving testimony in court as a witness. Secondly,victims of sexual offences tend notto report said incidents to police because of embarrassment.

150

156TH INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEM INARREPORTS OF THE SEMINAR
2. The M easures to Ensure that All Victims Have Access to the Justice System(a)Informing victims of their rights and developments in the case
The group agreed that victims have to be informed about their rights, and all criminal justiceorganizations should educate the general public via mass media and national or organizational
campaigns.
(b)Victim involvement in decision-making
The crime victimʼ
s right to withdraw the ongoing case is respected in many criminal justicesystems among the participating countries;however,if such cases are considered as crimes against
the State,the crime victimʼ
s request to withdraw the case does not jeopardize the public prosecutorʼ
scomplaint.
(c) Victim participation at trial
The group noticed that in general the crime victim has his or her right to participate at trial but
as an observer and not as a victim. However,in Japan and Thailand,the victim may ask questions
with the public prosecutorʼ
s advice.
B. Victim Compensation and Restitution
1. Current Situation in Each Country
The current situation in all participantsʼcountries is similar:when the victim appeals for restitution
in court, the court can order the offender to pay it.
2. State Compensation
The group came to a consensus that a State compensation system is beneficial to the victims,eventhough it is difficult to set up, because of the financial difficulty. Victims should be compensated by
the perpetrator,but sometimes the perpetrator is not able to pay full restitution. The victims have topay for doctorsʼfees,transportation costs and other expenses. For these reasons,State compensation
systems should be adopted by the governments. For example,in January 1981,the Law for Providing
Compensation to Innocent Victims of Crime (Japanese law) was put into operation for survivors,
disabled and severely injured persons.
3. Restitution by Offenders to Victims and to the Community
Restitution should be paid by the perpetrator. For the community, the perpetrator indirectlycontributes after being rehabilitated in prison by learning job skills, which are intended to help
offenders avoid criminal activity and thus reduce recidivism.
C. Preventing Secondary Victimization and Revictimization
1. Current Situation in Each Country
The current situation in all participantsʼcountries is similar because the crime victim has to answer
the same questions repeatedly during the criminal justice process from police officers,public prosecutors, judges and physicians who gave victim the clinical (or medical)check-ups. Moreover, the mass
media is always longing to present in depth news about crime incidents as soon as possible. There aresome distinguished justice systems in Guinea and Papua New Guinea where the community plays acrucial role in prevention revictimization. “An eye for an eye”revenge seems acceptable for suchjurisdictions with tight and strong community relationships.
2. Information Protection Systems for Victims
In the investigation process, the information protection system for victims should be managed bysealing the victimʼ
s information; however, in some cases disclosure of such information cannot beavoided. Trials have to be in public, but when the victim makes a request, the trial can be closed tothe public.
3. Ensuring Safety of Victims
As a witness,the crime victim is concerned with proving the defendantʼ
s guilt. The police officers
and courts will escort and protect the victim only for important cases or when he or she makes sucha request. However, all participants agree that crime victims should be protected from any further151

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 93
harm. NGOs can play an important role to ensure the safety of victims involved in sexual offences ordomestic violence, and also with the financial support at the governmental and international level.
This protection measure can be used in every country.
4. Prevention against Revenge by the Perpetrator
In domestic violence offences and stalking cases, in some participantsʼcountries, such as Japan,
Papua New Guinea and Thailand, the court has authority to issue a restraining order against theoffender;however, some participantsʼcounties do not implement such orders. In cases in which thesuspect or defendant is on bail, he or she must abide by the courtʼs restraining order as well. One ofthe effective prevention measures against revenge by the perpetrator is implementation of a rehabilitative justice system instead of a retributive justice system and using this restraining order. In
some African countries, revenge by the perpetrator is very rare because the community supports thevictim and his or her family.
5. Alleviation of Burden and Distress of Victims
The group agreed that collaboration has to be on two levels:between intergovernmental organizations and private organizations as well. “One-stop service”,for example,in Japan has been recognized
as a channel to alleviate the crime victimsʼburdens. The“One-stop service”model is a practical systemand should be adopted by other countries.
6. Training for Police Personnel, Prosecutors and the Judiciary
Training on the topic of “Victimization”will broaden the knowledge of all criminal justiceorganizations and allow such organizations to feel empathy for crime victims. This kind of feeling andunderstanding enables criminal justice professionals to treat victims properly. The training should beheld at least yearly and should invite victims to participate and share their emotions.

IV. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
To realize a safe society without crime,criminal procedure should be done properly. It is important
to obtain victim cooperation with the police or prosecutorʼ
s investigation and to testify in court what
happened to him or her precisely. If the perpetrator had not committed the crime, the victim would
never have to sacrifice his or her time,emotions or embarrassment for the investigation and the trial.
But the judicial system requires victimsʼcooperation to punish the perpetrator appropriately,with thegoal of creating a society without crime. Without victimsʼcooperation, the judicial system does notwork and people will start to bypass the judicial system,and maybe even the government. As a result,
we should use our best efforts to support victims and to create a society without crime. We hope theresults of this discussion contribute to the creation of safer communities, even world peace.

152