Victims of sex crime face double jeopardy in their ordeal of seeking justice from the courts. The process of getting a conviction can take toll on them and family.
GEORGE TOWN: Many sex crime cases just fade away when victims voluntarily drop out of the court trial due to intimidation by the accused, difficulty of legal process and lack of support for the victims and family members, disclosed a survey done by Penang-based Women Centre for Change (WCC).
Its chairperson for advocacy sub-committee, lawyer Lalitha Menon said the ordeal of going through the legal process, starting from police investigations, medical examinations to trial in seeking justice, would take its toll on the victims, family members and witnesses.
“It has proven to be too taxing and intimidating on them,” Lalitha told during a press conference in the WCC office here today.
She said frequent postponements of court hearing, for instance, would hinder the victims, family members and witnesses to pursue further with the case.
WCC’s survey revealed that frequent postponements would also affect the wages of the victims and witnesses.
The reputation of family, bad media publicity and threats from suspects have also caused victims and witnesses to “go missing” from trials.
In some cases, the accused has also absconded after securing bail.
All these have compelled the prosecution to often seek a court verdict of a discharge not amounting to acquittal order.
The survey also revealed that only 12 cases or four percent of the 439 sex related crime cases in Penang had resulted in guilty verdicts, while in 137 or 31% of cases the accused had pleaded guilty.
It also found 45% cases ended up with a discharge not amounting to acquittal verdicts.
“This means that if the accused choose not to plead guilty, they stand a 96% chance of being either acquitted or discharged or both,” concluded the WCC survey.
The survey was based on sex related crime court cases that took place in the island-state between 2000 and 2004.
Guidebook for victims
Findings of the survey were disclosed during a launching of WCC guidebook for sexual crime victims entitled: “Surviving Court – A Guide to Understanding the Criminal Court Process,” here today.
Also present were WCC executive director Loh Cheng Kooi, programme consultant Prema Devaraj, advocacy officer Melissa Mohd Akhir and watching brief lawyer Karen Lai.
Although the cases studied in the survey occurred early last decade, Melissa told FMT that the trend was still “more alike same” now.
Family members of two sexual-crime victims were also present to narrate their ordeal to the press. Their details and photographs could not be published due to obvious reasons.
Lalitha said most victims and family members lacked knowledge and experience in the criminal court process, leaving them feeling lost, disempowered and anxious.
She said they also lacked support from relatives, friends and lay public.
She revealed many victims were unfamiliar with court process, room setting, staff, officials, and specialized legal terms.
She said they were ill-prepared for trials and felt intimidated especially when facing their assailant and during cross examination by the defence.
She said it was ironic that the court process, which was to provide justice for victims, had often been a painful experience for victims especially when they had to relive and recount the crime during their testimony.
The guidebook was based on an earlier WCC research book “Justice for Victims of Sexual Crimes”, which highlighted the need for support and advocacy for victims during court process.
The 36-page guidebook is to help victims and other witnesses to better understand the police probe and court process in simple terms.
“Victims will be better prepared and empowered when going to court or seeking justice through the criminal court system,” said Lalitha to newsmen.
GEORGE TOWN: Many sex crime cases just fade away when victims voluntarily drop out of the court trial due to intimidation by the accused, difficulty of legal process and lack of support for the victims and family members, disclosed a survey done by Penang-based Women Centre for Change (WCC).Its chairperson for advocacy sub-committee, lawyer Lalitha Menon said the ordeal of going through the legal process, starting from police investigations, medical examinations to trial in seeking justice, would take its toll on the victims, family members and witnesses.
“It has proven to be too taxing and intimidating on them,” Lalitha told during a press conference in the WCC office here today.
She said frequent postponements of court hearing, for instance, would hinder the victims, family members and witnesses to pursue further with the case.
WCC’s survey revealed that frequent postponements would also affect the wages of the victims and witnesses.
The reputation of family, bad media publicity and threats from suspects have also caused victims and witnesses to “go missing” from trials.
In some cases, the accused has also absconded after securing bail.
All these have compelled the prosecution to often seek a court verdict of a discharge not amounting to acquittal order.
The survey also revealed that only 12 cases or four percent of the 439 sex related crime cases in Penang had resulted in guilty verdicts, while in 137 or 31% of cases the accused had pleaded guilty.
It also found 45% cases ended up with a discharge not amounting to acquittal verdicts.
“This means that if the accused choose not to plead guilty, they stand a 96% chance of being either acquitted or discharged or both,” concluded the WCC survey.
The survey was based on sex related crime court cases that took place in the island-state between 2000 and 2004.Guidebook for victims
Findings of the survey were disclosed during a launching of WCC guidebook for sexual crime victims entitled: “Surviving Court – A Guide to Understanding the Criminal Court Process,” here today.
Also present were WCC executive director Loh Cheng Kooi, programme consultant Prema Devaraj, advocacy officer Melissa Mohd Akhir and watching brief lawyer Karen Lai.
Although the cases studied in the survey occurred early last decade, Melissa told FMT that the trend was still “more alike same” now.
Family members of two sexual-crime victims were also present to narrate their ordeal to the press. Their details and photographs could not be published due to obvious reasons.
Lalitha said most victims and family members lacked knowledge and experience in the criminal court process, leaving them feeling lost, disempowered and anxious.
She said they also lacked support from relatives, friends and lay public.
She revealed many victims were unfamiliar with court process, room setting, staff, officials, and specialized legal terms.
She said they were ill-prepared for trials and felt intimidated especially when facing their assailant and during cross examination by the defence.She said it was ironic that the court process, which was to provide justice for victims, had often been a painful experience for victims especially when they had to relive and recount the crime during their testimony.
The guidebook was based on an earlier WCC research book “Justice for Victims of Sexual Crimes”, which highlighted the need for support and advocacy for victims during court process.
The 36-page guidebook is to help victims and other witnesses to better understand the police probe and court process in simple terms.
“Victims will be better prepared and empowered when going to court or seeking justice through the criminal court system,” said Lalitha to newsmen.
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