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All US states and localities, the District of Columbia, and the federal government should use the Basic Principles for Victims to inform their laws and policies protecting the rights of crime victims. In particular, all jurisdictions should:
Ensure that the definition of “victim” in state and federal laws embraces all victims of crime, and does not arbitrarily limit the category in any way.
Ensure that victim status is accorded to all victims of crime and their family members, irrespective of the degree to which the victim cooperates with the prosecution’s pursuit of a particular punishment in the case.
Commence victims’ services once a crime victim has been identified, without regard to whether an individual is arrested or tried for the crime.
Ensure that the special needs of women and children who are victims of crime are given adequate attention in definitions of victims and in victims’ services.
Give victims adequate notice of their right to receive information about all stages in criminal proceedings and the right to opt out of that information. Ensure that such decisions are not required to be made during periods of trauma for the victim, and that victims may change their minds at any time.
Compensate victims for the medical and mental health care costs associated with the criminal offense that they or their family members have experienced.
Lift statutes of limitations on compensation when victims can show new harms arising from their victimization (for example, mental health problems that may surface years after the crime).
Maintain and enforce standards for the collection and preservation of evidence, particularly rape kit evidence.
Use the vast array of handbooks and training materials produced by the United Nations and related agencies to inform policies toward crime victims.
Educate law enforcement personnel and state agencies on the rights of crime victims and their role in ensuring that these rights are respected.
The President of the United States should:
With the consent of the US Senate, ratify the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
September 2008
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