"There is almost nothing in it which will advance the place of the victim in the criminal justice system. Instead, it is vindictive, punitive, and aimed at making things tougher on offenders.

"Calls for justice from recent victims may in fact be calls for vengeance or punishment. Such feelings are indeed legitimate, but giving them immediate satisfaction will not further the healing process. Read more...

"When politicians reinforce that agenda by attending victims' rallies, promising to get tough on criminals, they contribute to victim ill-health. Instead, they should encourage and support victims to move beyond those original responses, to deal with the immediate impacts of violence and help them move to a place of emotional safety.

"Recently traumatised victims are being used as chattels by Sensible Sentencing, to further a retributive reform agenda. There is no benefit in it for victims.

"Third parties who assist victims of crime need to allow those they help to move beyond their initial responses if the victims are to find healing. Sometimes victims or their supporters can find it hard to let go of the status of victim, which may carry a sense of entitlement to criticise, retaliate or hold a moral advantage over their offender," said Mr Workman.

He said the United States Catholic Bishops in a year 2000 statement warned against allowing concern for victims to be misused.

Some tactics can fuel hatred, not healing, for example, maximizing punishment for its own sake and advancing punitive policies that contradict the values we hold... We need to acknowledge the emotional strain felt by victims, to understand that the search for wholeness can take a long time, and to encourage victims to redirect their anger from vengeance to true justice and healing.

visionnetwork's Glyn Carpenter, a member of the Rethinking Crime and Punishment committee, says he is on board with Sensible Sentencing's expressed concern for victims, but says Sensible Sentencing also needs to take on board Kim Workman's warning about fuelling victim hatred.

"Christians and churches need to be agents of change, seeking to replace worldly paradigms with Godly ones," he said.

"This does not deny the importance of justice. Nor does it mean that judges may not get sentencing wrong from time to time. But we do need to help people move beyond attitudes of vindictiveness."

2 Comments

1. Lionel Brown makes this comment

   Monday 19 October, 2009

   Yes, I agree with Kim Workman. Victims need to be able to move beyond being victims and experience a deep healing within. Unfortunately holding on to a 'victim' attitude only hurts the victim.

2. Philip Church makes this comment

   Sunday 18 October, 2009

   I agree with what Kin Workman is saying. For too long the "insensitive sentencing trust" has had far too much publicity. The "lock them away and throw away the key" approach is far too simplistic and falls short. Their approach is more often than not an approach that seeks to get revenge on the criminal, which will never satisfy. The response of "'vengeance is mine, I will repay' says the Lord is a more appropriate response, leaving victims free to attend to their recovery without thinking, "I paid, now the perpetrator must be made to pay."