Chester Borrows: A justice system that re-victimises those brave enough to complain

Although there are many Rules of Law rights which apply to an accused person, there are very few if any that are applied to victims. Photo/File

I have just spent two days at a victim's conference in Wellington listening to the lived experience of those offended against.

There are several reflections which come out of the conference which are worth thinking about.

One woman said that living with her husband with the prospect of spontaneous violence at any moment and not knowing if that violence would end her life was the most terrible experience of her life.

The second most terrifying experience was going through the court processes as a result of bringing the matter to the attention of authorities.

Re-victimisation by the judicial process was a common theme. The justice system cannot be safe if it re-victimises and cannot be effective if it takes so long to traverse.

Victims hate the lack of status and attention through a court process. Our justice system treats all offending as crimes against the state – a hangover from breaching the King's Peace - so a victim is "just a witness". Without representation and without rights.

Although there are many Rules of Law rights which apply to an accused person, there are very few if any that are applied to victims.

No rights to counsel, no rights to ask questions, no right to make an unedited Victim Impact Statement, no right to have processes explained.

These all sit alongside a huge and dramatic inconsistency between Judges, counsel, police and courts officers as to the services and advice they receive. It creates radical differences in the experience they endure as a victim.

There is also a disparity of public sympathy between victims who are treated as genuine or real, and those who are not treated the same way.

For example, some victims are offended against spontaneously and randomly and others grow up in abusive households with multiple and ongoing crimes committed on them from very early ages.

This can, in turn, lead on to them committing crimes themselves, but much of society transitions them from victim status to offender status and removes any sympathy or understanding as to their predicament randomly and without notice.

It is reported that 80 per cent of prisoners have come to the notice of our social welfare agencies via a need to have their care and protection monitored and assured.

They justifiably feel completely let down by the very government that was empowered to intervene to make them safe, leaving them more vulnerable to harm. The government struggles to take responsibility for this, but these victims pay the price.

With the percentage of prisoners suffering from diagnosable mental illness reported to be as high as 91 per cent, you would expect attendance at such a conference by professionals attached to the Ministry of Health to be assured.

This was not the case, sadly and shockingly they were absent. This is indicative of another of the most frequent themes coming from victims and offenders alike.

The siloed thinking and response of government agencies. Offenders and victims fall through not the cracks, but the gaping holes of government service delivery. State agencies have blood on their hands.

Victims in New Zealand come in all shapes and sizes, economic and social status, as a long chain of horrific abuse and as spontaneous one-off tragic events. All deserve to be given a fair go, allowed a voice, and not to be left re-victimised, bruised and broken by a process no longer fit for purpose.

This is just another reason why there needs to be transformational change in the way we do what passes for justice in our country.