Progressive criminal justice systems are increasingly paying attention to the need to protect victims psychologically, physically, financially and legally. The so-called “victim-oriented approach” is becoming a popular tendency.
This approach assumes that the victim, his/her protection and interests should be more prioritized in the criminal process. Such an approach requires balancing of this process taking into account victims’ interests, especially where the focus has been on the offender.
In the post-Soviet countries, the retributive system still prevails: the key is the ret- ribution to the offender and bringing him to justice. However, under such a system, victims of crime and their violated rights remain in the shadow.
Ukrainian law contains a wide range of victims’ rights allowing them to actively par- ticipate in the investigation of crime and subsequent trial. However, in practice many of them remain a declaration. Moreover, the national criminal justice system some- times not only does not restore violated rights, but also causes to victims repeated psychological trauma – secondary victimization. The very concept of protecting the victim from secondary victimization is unknown to the Ukrainian law and practice.
Research Summary