CRIME VICTIM SERVICES
Abstract
It is essential always to unite and come up with solutions to victimized people in our midst. Crime victim service, CVS, targets fatalities from social crimes such as murder, manslaughter, rape, terrorism, kidnapping, arson, and domestic violence. Measures to combat such social crimes to avoid victimization of the affected parties are what I intent to cover herein. In this research, I will be focusing on Rape as a social crime with high victimization rates towards the females and how the society has approached the issue in safeguarding the dignity and well-being of the girl child. Most importantly, I explorer some measures that are law compliant that will ensure rape cases drop and are brought to a halt.
Rape happens to either gender, and it is essential to know the argue that triggers it. In my opinion, I believe a rape victim is anyone who has been abused through it or is vulnerable to it. We can prevent Rape through civic education to our vulnerable members, encouraging them to stay at home with doors locked in case they live in insecure places, avoid lonely places with strangers, flee when in dangerous situations and avoid accepting offers from strangers.
Although the precautions stated may not be sufficient to prevent Rape, the affected victims deserve the best of services from people around them. This is the primary goal of this report. These services are immediate health check-up and support, counseling within 24-hours as per the recommendations, accompaniment to report the culprits, moral support, protection from the accused offenders, and the right to decide on what happens to the perpetrators. These crime victim services are vital because they help in preventing the adverse effects that Rape comes with it, such as difficulty in walking, bleeding, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, post-trauma stress disorders, depression, disassociating with other people and suicidal thoughts. Adapting these recommendations helps grow an upright society with people full of excellent moral standards of condemning and avoiding what is wrong and teaching and encouraging others to do what is right. In this way, we prevent crime cases.
Crime Victim Services
Society must help the victims of crimes. This is because anyone can become a victim and, in one way or another, need help from another person. According to the Crimes against humanity by Schwelb, (1946),[1] Crime victim services help in shaping society and the future generation at large. There are different kinds of crimes under humanity crimes, including Rape, Kidnapping, assault and battery, child abuse, domestic abuse, and so on. My main topic of coverage is Rape, which is one of the sensitive human crimes.
Some of the crime victims’ services associated with Rape are; conducting immediate health check-ups to the victims of Rape, professional counseling, helping in the arrest and reporting of the culprits, moral support, protection from the accused, and love—all these services. Strict laws need to pass against the perpetrators of Rape to aid in reducing related cases. Rocks, [2] In the Helping victims, the crime book says that the formation the criminal injuries compensation is a vital crime victim service because the victims are not fully exploited and left in needy situations. Rock suggested that the victims of Rape need to have a body that will fight for their rights, and since the majority are women, the world should join hands in ensuring that an organization that remedies Rape is formed. Governments should fund such bodies to help in offering such services to the victims of this sickening crime.
Immediate health check-up and health support are crucial and the most urgent service to be given to a rape victim. This is because the victims are at high risk and helpless during this time. At this stage, a rape victim is probably unconscious, bleeding, experiencing difficulty in walking and breathing, or even fainted. This means the victims need our urgent attention to help them out where they cannot by themselves. For example, cleaning up and putting on clothes.[3]. Rape victims need then to see a medical specialist to treat complications that may have occurred as a result of the incidence and such is pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections such as HIV & AIDS, which has no cure and nonstop bleeding. There are benefits of receiving immediate medical attention by rape victims since it is possible for them to be diagnosed with Doxycycline Post-exposure prevention, which may prevent sexually transmitted infections with 72 hours of exposure. Chan et al.,2015)[4] Immediate health check-up will also be useful in pregnancy termination in case the victim conceived.
Rape victims need counseling services within 24-hours of the incident. This is to help in avoiding Post Trauma Stress Disorders that comes; as a result, rape. Such conditions sometimes lead to suicide issues, poor relations with other family members or friends, loss of self-esteem, attempts to use drug and substance abuse to remedy the shame that Rape comes with.[5] Within 24 hours, it is possible to manage the victim’s decisions since they will see the need to live normally again despite the challenges that Rape might have brought in their lives.
Upon receiving health care and proper counseling, it is essential to help the rape victims report the rape cases to the legal authorities[6]. If we don’t report such crime to the police, then the same may happen to our beloved ones or us. Saying such matters opens doors for immediate investigation towards the offenders of human rights. The earlier, the better since evidence sometimes needs proof, which means no washing clothes, no bathing, or doting with our partners until the suspects are apprehended. To help them preserve their self-esteem, it is essential to give them moral support and remind them that they are still worth and loved despite the evil scene. The most important thing to them is to know that they are always treasured and treated the same way without stigmatization.
Rape accusers may use all means to hide proof of their ill manners, and that involves threatening the victims or even hijacking and killing them to avoid the course of the law. That makes the protection of crime victims from the accused and essential service to them. Therefore, we need to immediately identify the suspects and keep them off the victims because they may interfere with the investigations against them or run away. We will also have saved the victims the trouble of developing hatred and shame when they see their defilers. [7]We need to repay the victims of Rape a price that their heart desires, including giving them the right to dictate what happens to their perpetrators. This role may be given to bodies that should be formed to provide rape victim services.
Conclusion
Crime victims’ services relating to Rape as outlined in this report are health check-up to the victims, counseling services, reporting the suspects of Rape, moral support to the victims to avoid stress and protection the victims from suspects. Th importance of these services is to prevent both health and social effects that may occur the victims. These are unplanned pregnancies, stress and depression, sexually transmitted infections, and disassociation peers due to the fear of stigmatization. The legal authorities need to punish anyone who is found guilty of Rape. Also, anyone in jurisdiction trying to protect the suspects accused in rape cases should be held responsible for the crime and be jailed for abuse of office. The findings providing solutions in rape victims’ services are essential since no one will leave with rape memories in their lives. This is because of the procedures undertaken by the people fighting crime. The society will also change their perception towards Rape in a way that instead of stigmatizing the victims, they will condemn it and help those who go through it. Societies need to be educated on the rape victim’s services and take them as their moral duty to honor the dignity of life and the human body. More research needs to be conducted on those found guilty of Rape for the society to be educated on the common characteristics found amongst them. This will help the vulnerabilities of Rape take precautions wherever they find themselves anywhere around such people. Above all, Rape and other crimes should be prosecuted more harshly so that the consequences scare them.
Bibliography
Chan, Philip A., Justine Maher, Danielle Poole, Nicole et al. “Addressing the Increasing Burden of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Rhode Island.” Rhode Island medical journal (2013) 98, no. 1 (2015): 31.
Herman, Judith Lewis. “The mental health of crime victims: Impact of legal intervention.” Journal of traumatic stress 16, no. 2 (2003): 159-166.
Menkes, Allison. “Rape and sexual assault.” Geo. J. Gender & L. 7 (2006): 847.
McDermott, M. Joan. Rape victimization in 26 American cities. Vol. 6. US Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service, 1979.
Rock, Paul. Helping victims of crime: The Home Office and the rise of victim support in England and Wales. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990.
Schwalb, Egon. “Crimes against humanity.” Brit. YB Int’l L. 23 (1946): 178.
Tjaden, Patricia, and Nancy Thoennes. “Extent, nature, and consequences of rape victimization: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey.” (2006).
[1] Schwelb, E. (1946). Crimes against humanity. Brit. YB Int’l L., 23, 178.
Tjaden, P. & Thoennes, N. (2006). Extent, nature, and consequences of rape victimization: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey.
[2] Rock, P. (1990). Helping victims of crime: The Home Office and the rise of victim support in England and Wales (p. 50). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[3] Menkes, A. (2006). Rape and sexual assault. Geo. J. Gender & L., 7, 847.
[4] Chan, A., Maher, J., Poole, D., Alexander-Scott, N., Montague, B. T. (2015). Addressing the Increasing Burden of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Rhode Island. Rhode Island medical journal (2013), 98(1), 31.
[5] Herman, J. (2003). The mental health of crime victims: Impact of legal intervention. Journal of traumatic stress, 16(2), 159-166.
[6] McDermott, M. J. (1979). Rape victimization in 26 American cities (Vol. 6). US Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, National Criminal Justice Information, and Statistics Service.
[7] Rock, P. (1990). Helping victims of crime: The Home Office and the rise of victim support in England and Wales (p. 50). Oxford: Clarendon Press.