BLOG: Keeping Perspective: Victims of Crime
Most of us feel a deep sense of sympathy for victims of crime, particularly those families that have to live with the permanent loss of a loved one. My husband works voluntarily with “VICTIMS SUPPORT” and they deal with many individuals and families who have had their lives torn apart by an untimely death, or who have to pick up the pieces after their property or personal safety has been violated in some way.
Supporting people who are grieving needs to be done in a sensitive and caring manner and I was challenged this week by a thought provoking article that compared the work of Victims Support with the activities of the Sensible Sentencing Trust (SST). The SST promotes the idea that in NZ we are too focused on the rights of offenders and not supportive enough of those who are the victims of crime. They call for tougher sentencing measures and view any effort to improve outcomes for offenders as being done at the expense of their victims.
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