Our managing director, Philippa Southwell, attended the scoping review on vulnerability, victimhood, and safeguards from charge to conviction which took place at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.
The event marked the launch of the report, Victims as Defendants by the University of York. Ms Southwell was interviewed for the report on her experience of working with victims who are defendants and provided evidence of her experience of the dichotomies and issues concerning vulnerable defendants processed through the criminal justice system. The summary findings of the report are:
- Defendants who are victims are unlikely to be a minority in the criminal justice system
- There are still significant issues with identification of victims
- Defendant or suspect status tends to trump a person’s victim status once they have entered the criminal justice system
- Stereotypes of “victimhood” means Courts expect defendants who claim to be victims to demonstrate behaviour in line with their stereotypes
- Certain victims struggle to “fit” their experiences within the narrow scope of existing defences, such as duress or self-defence
The report consists of three chapters covering the following areas:
- Domestic Abuse
- County Lines
- Status, safeguards, and special measure
The full report can be seen here.
