In 1982, Congress passed the first federal legislation to protect victims' rights in the criminal justice system, the Victim and Witness Protection Act (VWPA). The purpose of the VWPA was to improve the treatment of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system by protecting them from harassment and retaliation, keeping them informed about the status of ongoing cases, providing them opportunities for greater participation in the case proceedings, referring them to appropriate resources for financial and emotional assistance, and, in some cases, providing them with restitution. [Source: Encyclopedia of White-Collar and Corporate Crime; Victim and Witness Protection Act]
Victim and Witness Protection Act
victimology
laws
legal response to violent crime