“Proposals will be brought forward to...support victims.”
The purpose of the draft Bill is to:
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● Put into law the simplified and stronger rights that were
set out in the new Victims’ Code and improve victims of crime
experience of the criminal justice system.
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● Set expectations for the standard and availability of
victim support for victims of domestic abuse and sexual
violence, demonstrating the Government’s continued commitment
to tackling violence against women and girls and domestic
abuse.
The main benefits of the draft Bill would be:
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● Ensuring victims are more consistently aware of their
rights and more consistently supported, helping victims to
deal with and recover from the impacts of crime and improve
their experience as a victim within the criminal justice
process.
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● Helping victims to engage confidently with the criminal
justice system in the knowledge that they will be treated
fairly and supported throughout their journey, thereby
increasing the number of successful prosecutions and enabling
more perpetrators to be brought to justice.
The main elements of the draft Bill are:
● Enshrining the 12 key rights in the new Victims’ Code into law.
Those key rights include being:
o Kept informed at key stages of the case.
o Provided with regular updates on the progress of their case.
o Referred to organisations supporting victims of crime.
o Given the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement and
be informed how it was used in court.
o Informed when an offender is released, where eligible under the
Victim Contact Scheme.
Territorial extent and application
● The contents of the draft Bill are to be agreed.
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Key facts
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● Only 23 per cent of victims were aware of the existence of
the Victims’ Code in the year ending March 2020. We are
working to address the lack of awareness among victims of
their rights, including an awareness raising campaign as part
of the launch of the Victims’ Code, which is supported by the
criminal justice agencies and victims’ groups.
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● We have committed to consult on the provision of
community-based domestic abuse services as part of the
Victims’ Bill consultation.
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● More victims than ever are seeking support, with
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● In 2021-22, the Ministry of Justice will provide just under
£151 million for victim and witness support services. This
includes an extra £51 million to increase support for rape
and domestic abuse victims, building on the emergency funding
provided to help domestic abuse and sexual violence services
meet COVID-19 driven demand. Additionally, £125 million will
be provided to fund the new duty in the Domestic Abuse Act
for local authorities to provide support services to victims
of domestic abuse housed within safe accommodation.
