Secundaire victimisatie als probleem : Herstelrecht als oplossing?

Background: This research focuses on the scope of secondary victimization as a problem, and restorative justice as a solution, in a criminal law, civil law and administrative law setting. Secondary victimization means victims of an accident or crime being victimized for a second time by a stressful or burdensome legal procedure and/or the attitude of others, particularly professional parties. The first part of this report examines the definition of secondary victimization, its types of victims and the causes, consequences and solutions in the above areas of law. The second part of the report considers restorative justice as a possible solution for secondary victimization. The aim of this restorative justice is for the victim(s) and perpetrator(s) of a crime to meet each other - preferably in the presence of one or more representatives of the community - in order to, as much as possible, repair the damage caused by the crime or accident. Our research investigates both the extent to which restorative justice contributes to victims' recovery in criminal justice and the extent to which restorative justice principles are also applied in civil and administrative law. The third part of the report discusses the European network set up to prevent secondary victimization among a specific group - victims of sexual violence - often associated with such victimization. Victims of sexual violence are at greater risk of secondary victimization, given that a fear of shame and of not being believed means that only 14 per cent of them report the crime to the police. On top of that, only 1 in every 10 cases followed up in the criminal justice system results in an offender actually being convicted. In addition, indications suggest that, in some European member states, victims of sexual violence do not receive fair compensation. The aim of the network is to improve access to compensation and hence to encourage victims' recovery. The research has an innovative character as