Understanding trauma and its effects

You are going to watch a short video, explaining the experience of trauma and the impact of the traumatic experience, from a unique perspective. We call it the ‘Sunburns approach’.

Here are some of the things victims say when they are asked how they feel:

Victim-centered approach

The victim-centered approach is defined as the systematic focus on the needs and concerns of a victim to ensure the compassionate and sensitive delivery of services.

A victim-centered approach seeks to minimize re-traumatisation associated with the criminal justice process by providing the support of victim advocates and service providers, empowering survivors as engaged participants in the process, and providing survivors an opportunity to play a role in seeing their offenders brought to justice.

Too often, victims are required to wait for long periods of time for critically needed services. Service providers assist large numbers of victims with limited resources to address all their needs. Heavy caseloads can often take the focus off the victim’s need for sensitive treatment. When law enforcement, prosecution, service providers, or other professionals are involved in a case, the needs of victims must remain central in the process.

In a victim-centered approach, the victim’s wishes, safety, and well-being take priority in all matters and procedures.

Victim-centered approach – Core values and beliefs:

Benefits of victim-centric approach:

Final words

Trauma informed approach

A trauma-informed approach strives to provide programs and services which avoid retraumatizing people, while supporting their movement towards resilience, recovery and wellness.

Being a victim of crime might leave the person feeling anxious, angry, depressed and in some cases the person may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders.

Experience has shown that victims are more likely to cope effectively with the emotional consequences of crime and make a good recovery if they are provided with an early opportunity to talk openly and in confidence about their reactions.

It is crucial to demonstrate empathy and be able to communicate effectively with victims – in order to encourage victims to open up, share their experience and information which will promote providing the support they need.