Victims of Crime Research Digest No. 11

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Introduction

Welcome to Issue 11 of the Victims of Crime Research Digest.

The theme of the 2018 Victims and Survivors of Crime Week (May 27 – June 2, 2018) is “Transforming the Culture Together.” This theme recognizes that throughout Canada, countless dedicated professionals and volunteers work to create and implement policies and initiatives to help transform the culture of the criminal justice system. They also foster culture change by advocating for, and delivering, effective and efficient services to victims and survivors of crime.

Empirical research plays an instrumental role in transforming the culture of our criminal justice system by helping policy makers to:

• Understand how amendments to the Criminal Code and other federal legislation are implemented at the provincial and territorial level;
• Identify new and emerging issues;
• Measure changes in attitudes and behaviours of criminal justice professionals, as well as victims and survivors.

This issue of the Digest begins with a review of departmental research on the use of testimonial aids – tools that help witnesses testify in criminal proceedings. Thirty years after legislation first authorized their use, author Susan McDonald explores what we know and what more we need to learn about these important tools. The second article, written by Alisha Shivji and Dawn McBride, examines strategies victim services volunteers can use to cultivate compassion satisfaction, and avoid compassion fatigue and burnout. The article is informed by one author’s personal volunteer experience, but will also resonate with those who have served in a professional capacity with victims. The third article, by Cynthia Louden and Kari Glynes Elliott, is a summary of a multi-year, multi-site study on the development of Child Advocacy Centres in Canada. The next article, by Jane Evans, Susan McDonald and Richard Gill, reviews a study of the experiences that crime victims and survivors have had with restorative justice in Indigenous communities. In the final article, authors Carly Jacuk and Hassan Rasmi Hassan survey the case law on third-party records from 2011-2017.

Over the past three decades, Canada has made significant advances towards creating a system that treats victims and survivors with courtesy, compassion and respect. While the research shows that some progress has been made, more must be done; legislation and policy alone cannot transform the culture of the criminal justice system. Victims and Survivors of Crime Week provides an opportunity to share promising practices, innovative approaches and lessons learned in our collective efforts to enhance access to justice for victims and survivors of crime. We hope that this issue of the Digest continues to challenge and inspire all of us working in the criminal justice system. As always, we welcome your feedback.

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