Law in Context
Emeritus Professors Stephen Bottomley and Stephen Parker AO introduce law in a critical way to the general public, current students and those thinking of taking up the subject. They explain the Rule of Law, the Adversarial System of Justice, where law comes from, judges, juries, lawyers and many other topics, include problem areas such as access to justice.
Law in Context
Episode 21 - Victims
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Being the victim of a crime can be highly traumatic. Some argue that the criminal justice system can make the victim re-live that trauma all over again.
In this episode we look at how, historically, victims have moved away from being parties in a criminal case, to mere witnesses. This process of sidelining victim may be a necessary consequence of giving the State a monopoly over legitimate punishment but there may still be ways of making the victim's voice heard.
The Victim Impact Statement is one such device. Perhaps restorative justice procedures also help reintegrate the victim as well as the offender back into the community. Perhaps not.
For more information about your hosts and the Law in Context podcast series visit our website at https://lawincontext.com.au