Victims of crime can be better assisted and empowered in the criminal justice system through various approaches that focus on their emotional, legal, and social needs. Here are some key ways:

1. Improved Access to Support Services: Victims should have easy access to counselling, medical care, and legal aid services as soon as they report a crime. Organisations like Thuthuzela Care Centres in South Africa, which offer comprehensive services to victims of gender-based violence, can serve as a model for broader victim support.
2. Victim-Centred Approach in Court: The justice system should adopt a victim-centred approach by prioritising the well-being of the victim throughout the legal process. This includes reducing trauma by providing witness protection, counselling during court proceedings, and using private testimony options (such as testifying behind screens or via video).
3. Legal Education and Guidance: Victims are often unfamiliar with legal processes and may feel overwhelmed. Providing clear legal education and guidance through victim support officers or social workers helps victims understand their rights, the legal steps involved, and what to expect during investigations and trials. This empowers them to make informed decisions.
4. Restorative Justice Programmes: Offering restorative justice options, where appropriate, allows victims to participate in mediated discussions with offenders. This can provide closure, give victims a sense of control, and allow them to express the impact of the crime, which may not always happen in traditional court settings.
5. Compensation and Restitution: Ensuring that victims are compensated for losses resulting from the crime, whether through court-ordered restitution or government-run compensation funds, helps them recover financially. This is especially important for victims of violent crimes or theft who may have incurred medical bills or lost property.
6. Strengthening Reporting Mechanisms: Victims need to feel safe when reporting crimes, especially in cases involving domestic violence or gender-based violence. Creating more anonymous reporting channels or victim-friendly police services, where victims feel listened to and supported, can encourage more people to come forward.

By implementing these strategies, the criminal justice system can provide victims with the support, protection, and empowerment they need to recover from their experiences and seek justice.