The Magical Illusion of Christmas

By Susan Murphy Milano

(originally posted December, 2010)

Every year my mother made a big deal about Christmas from planning out what color to make the eyes on the gingerbread cookies, to the day she, my brother, and myself would go downtown to Marshall Fields department store for our annual Santa visit and photo. The bright lights and holiday decorations lining downtown store windows and street lamps always made me forget, if only for a moment, our lives were anything but bright and hopeful.

I have to give my mother credit, as difficult as our daily fight for survival was, she did the best she could to create happy memories for us. Sometimes, the holiday did not turn out as planned and we ended up on Christmas morning in the emergency room as she received medical attention from injuries caused by my father. My little brother and I viewed stuffing every pocket in our coat and pants with candy canes while at the hospital as a cool thing. Instead of opening presents, like we watched in movies, we went back to the house with a cup of hot chocolate and whip cream prepared with love.

Hope was always a magical illusion, it did not matter if it was Christmas or not. The days and months always felt as if they were all lumped in to a never ending road of unpredictable behavior by a man authorized with a gun and a badge to protect the streets of Chicago, while hiding behind the closed door of our home like a coward, only to terrorize and harm his own family. In our house you told time by the changing of seasons and what you needed to wear before heading out the door. During the holidays it was the one time of year that I didn't wish anything from the Sears catalog that would arrive sometime after Thanksgiving. If Santa was real, then just maybe he would find us a nice safe place like I remembered watching in the movie Miracle on 34th Street, where we could hang our stockings and live happily, with my brother and mom, far away from my father, forever.

Growing up, my brother and I never really counted on much and making plans for anything was wishful thinking. More than fifty years later, I have no closure, just an acceptance of the violent events that would eventually hijack my mothers life. The last memory of her is 10 feet away from the oven where we baked Christmas cookies, throughout the kitchen her blood spilled over onto the once bright yellow pattern on the floor tiles where my brother and I once sat anxiously waiting for the Christmas cookies to finish baking. In the bedroom a couple hundred feet away, dead from a self inflicted gun shot, my father, who had taken from me the only love I knew, my mother. Although not visible to the human eye, there is a tattoo etched deep inside of me, a permanent scar from a battle I would rather forget.

The effects of the violence would follow me into my own world as an adult, a secret I kept hidden from friends, colleagues and relationships. Suddenly, my secret was out, unwillingly I was a victim and a survivor of a life I did not ask for nor chose as my life's journey. In 1988, my parents divorced and the holidays were around the corner. My mother and I spent the Christmas holidays together, the first without my father and the last one without my mother. I rang in the new year with a feeling of hope that we could finally move forward with our lives.

Abruptly, in 1989, after their deaths, I left a successful business career for a world that provided little, if any, hope and assistance to abuse victims and their children.

I did not realize when I began working with victims of intimate partner abuse, my world would be an important life raft for safety in keeping others alive. Over a decade of running a national agency and providing direct services, I began to incorporate strategies like no other in the country, as the agencies were not familiar with the battleground I knew intimately. Service providers and agencies were layered by politics and paperwork with government forms and numbers instead of thinking outside the box, a box that never belonged there in the first place if lives were to be saved.

This rigid box of "rules and restrictions" are what often kicks the safety and services of a victim to the streets and back to the violence. Yes, a woman returns to the abuser numerous times before she leaves but its also because the family courts and services are either limited or dysfunctional. And all too often it is based on income she makes too much, too little or there is not enough funding available for what is required. Ironically, the funding issues in my world were never an obstacle in keeping victims alive. With little or no resources, each person I assisted did not die. Instead, they moved forward with their lives, most went back to school to obtain degrees others found paying jobs as the sole support of the household turning their lives around minus the threat of violence. I think it was because I took the time with them, something I noticed from the begining that was not happening when a victim reached out for help.

I learned from being in the trenches and providing hands on services combined with making time to explain to victims-- meant the difference between life and death. I would go beyond the sterile basic information and red tape of guidlelines set by funders and various government agencies, people who were and continue to do so today, more concerned with tabulating stats of human lives that amounted to nothing more then entering useless garbage into a data base that had nothing to do with safety or leaving and never returning to the abuse or the system for help. One cannot effectively assist a victim of intimate partner by sitting behind a desk when they have never left the comfort of their offices, when they have never been inside the real world of sheer terror and violence that victims endure daily. Often placing victims in something labeled a shelter, government funded that does not in many ways meet the needs of victims. As I have always said like our own DNA no two cases of abuse are alike.

The days of placing a bandage on intimate partner violence, as though it were a boo-boo, are over. When a system does what it has always done, the results will be the same. It did not work out for women like my mother, unable to speak today, because they were silenced in the prime of their lives, murdered in cold blood.

As we enter the year 2011, know that the death toll across the country for those who lose their lives because of intimate partner violence does not have to be a predictable outcome in some hardwired data base, ultimately marked by a cemetary headstone as in years past. A child no longer has to acompany their mother to the emergency room on Christmas morning filling their pockets with candy canes in a cold waiting room as the doctors stich their mothers head or set a broken limb and sent back out into uncertainty and fear that the next time they might not be so lucky.

In the new year I would like everyone who reads this to join me in ending the abuse. How, you ask? Each time a news story about a victim who was killed comes across your facebook page or you read about a case in the Huffington post, AOL News, Google, Newsvine, USA Today, the Examiner, The Washington Post, New York Times or see it on Nancy Grace, Fox News, Good Morning America, MSNBC, the Oprah Show, Dr. Phil, NPR Radio or any number of news programs send them a brief paragraph about the book Time's Up and that these cases no longer have to be tragic. That women such as Susan Powell, Stacy Peterson, Vensus Stewart, Angel Downs, Renee' Pernice, Kathleen Savio and others if killed their words will speak from the grave in a court a court of law. The person responsible will be arrested.

The upside is that this book saves lives. The mothers, sisters, girlfriends and children currently living in fear who live in harms way each and every day need this book the most. It is up to us to see that the information and knowledge is in their hands.

And to ensure every domestic violence agency, court building, library, church, community center, hospital, business and school has a copy of the book Time's Up: A Guide on How to leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships. And for a domestic violence provider, social worker, first responder, government agency, school, business or individual who says that cannot afford it? You can not afford not too!

Time's UP !!!

From the site www.victimadvocates.blogspot.com:

Susan’s writing is based on doing. It is based on the irrefutable credential of experience, both as a residual victim of interpersonal violence and a tireless advocate for others who suffer. This book is born from working in the trenches for twenty years and the necessity of crafting working solutions to help ensure individual safety from batters and stalkers.

TIMES UP is a comprehensive guide for women in danger. Every advocate owes it to those they work to assist to obtain this book.The contents provide specific steps towards safety and addresses issues that a person who is stressed and in fear may not think of. This guide can provide structure in the midst of chaos.

Among the tools and forms is the original idea of an “Abuse Affidavit”, a sworn statement detailing the facts of an individual’s victimization, preserving the specifics so they are not lost even if the victim is. It is difficult to think about speaking from the grave but no different than any life insurance policy obtained in consideration for those left behind.

An “Abuse Affidavit” has the additional psychological benefit of being forced face reality and admit that the potential for the ultimate kind of violence exists…and that if it occurs the perpetrator will be held accountable.

Purchase and read TIMES UP as an advocate to continue to learn and practice informed advocacy. Give TIMES UP to concerned friends or family members looking for solutions for a loved one who is in danger. Most of all, find a way to share this valuable guide with the domestic violence and stalking victims you know and work with. It has all the information and tools to empower a crime victim to save her own life.......Diane Fanning, Author

Susan Murphy Milano is with the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education. She is an expert on intimate partner violence and homicide crimes. For more information visithttp://www.saferelationshipsmagazine.com/ She is the author of "Time's Up A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships," available for purchase at the Institute, Amazon.com and wherever books are sold.

Susan is the host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time's Up!" on Here Women Talk http://www.herewomentalk.com/ and is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated The Roth Show with Dr. Laurie Roth http://www.therothshow.com/

How to Prepare and Plan to Leave the Abusive Relationship

 By Susan Murphy Milano

With so many high-profile cases of missing women in thenews, unsolved, suspicious deaths and cold cases wherevictims seeking a divorce have vanished without a trace or found murdered, I am urging everyone to speak out by spreading the word that a prescription for safety is now available. The video below is one key ingredient to a victim's safety.

I often hear women involved in domestic violence say, “I cannot leave or I'm unable to even pack a bag and sneak it to the car.” Another common problem is when a woman says, “He is constantly watching me, stalking me or he has a tracker on my computer, cell phone or vehicle.”

For most victims the fear of getting beat up or even killed by their significant other if they are caught trying to leave can be paralyzing. Most victims of domestic violence and or stalking do not realize that the person in the relationship is committing a crime. Domestic violence and stalking is against the law.

But for those fearful or unable to seek service from a domestic violence shelter provider, there is a book available that will take a victim from living in fear to a plan, with a roadmap to safety.

The abuser has a plan to control, manipulate and harm. A victim must have a plan that involves being ten steps ahead of their husband or boyfriend when they cannot call police or seek services outside the home because it could be too dangerous for the victim and her children.

Remember, the most important step a victim must do is prepare before they announce the relationship is ending. If something does happen, if you or a loved one suddenly goes missing like Stacy Peterson, Vensus Stewart, Rachel Anderson, Susan Powell, Lisa Stebic, or are found murdered like Monica Beresford-Redmond, Franki Jacobson, Renee Pagel and others, where the person responsible has gotten away with murder, the victim's voice and record of the abuse will be captured and recorded (see below). Do it for your community, friends, family and loved ones.

Do it for the children.

If you are a victim do it for you!

Susan Murphy Milano is with the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education. She is an expert on intimate partner violence and homicide crimes. For more information visit http://www.saferelationshipsmagazine.com/  She is the author of "Time's Up A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships," available for purchase at the Institute, Amazon.com and wherever books are sold.  Susan is the host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time's Up!" on Here Women Talk http://www.herewomentalk.com/ and is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated The Roth Show with Dr. Laurie Roth  http://www.therothshow.com/ ]

"My Cry For Help"

By Susan Murphy-Milano

I am posting this in hopes you will take a moment to help me.

I can jump up and down all day long and never drive the point across enough that violence in the home is the slaughter of innocent victims and their children dying at the hands of men who believe they hold the ultimate power to play God, killing and erasing human lives.

I am embarrassed to this day, although more than 20 years have passed to say how I became an expert in the issue of abuse, stalking and intimate partner homicide and officer related domestic violence. I am ashamed to have grown up in a home where the man who gave me life, a law enforcement officer, my father, regularly terrorized and beat my mother.

As a small child the only aide I could offer my mom was to pull the chair from the kitchen table up to the telephone so I could call someone for help while my father was beating my mother bloody. The moment I found my mom’s body lying in her own pool of blood dead of a single gunshot wound to the head I lost my entire world.

After my parents died I would create a world like no other, a world I knew all too well. A world under my watch a woman and her child would no longer be terrorized, beaten or living in constant fear. A world where prosecutors and law enforcement did their jobs when I took a victim's case of stalking or domestic violence. A world where when a woman was murdered I stood with the family demanding answers and justice. A world where thousands of victim’s calls for help regardless of the hour were answered and directed to services 24/7 and are thriving because of it today. A world created because I refused to allow another woman like my mother to die on my watch.

Fast forward to my life today, twenty years later working towards the same goals with a mad scientist like fever to come up with the cure. A cure created to protect victims of domestic violence and stalking alive away from dangerous controlling and potentially lethal abusers. A cure, that if I cannot prevent a tragedy because I am unable to be there personally directing the victim to safety, at least when they are found murdered, or they are reporte d missing by the loving husband or concerned boyfriend, justice will prevail even from the grave.

Yes, the cure is here and now available.
Spread the word about the prescription. I need your help to accomplish this important milestone. Without you the victims will continue filling the cemetaries.

I could ask you to do a shout-out to Oprah, Gayle King, Jane Velez- Mitchell, Anderson Cooper, Bill O’Reilly, Lis Wheil or Nancy Grace that may be effective if your email can get past the spam filter, providing its read, and a live person responds, but that is not as powerful as your voice.

Each time you read a story on the Internet of another stalking or domestic violence related death post a comment with the link to the “Time’s Up” book and Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit and Video which has step-by-step instructions in Chapter 4 for a victim to create (example of the video is below). Let others know the prescription is now available for world-wide use to every victim of stalking and domestic violence. Send an email each time to a reporter after you see a story on domestic violence and tell them about the prescription. Write the producers of news and crime shows so they mention it each time they discuss a tragic case where another woman has been murdered and the person of interest has yet to be arrested. Ask bloggers, Internet sites the drudge report, huffington post, smoking gun, mom logic or reporters, radio show personalities to consider writing a review on the information and strategies in the book. Also, if you would, leave a comment on Amazon.com.

Time’s Up' is more than a manual, a handbook, it’s more than just another book, it’s a ‘Lifesaver,’ a surefire roadmap chocked full of ways to document evidence and protect yourself; in protecting yourself, you are also protecting your children from a life with an abuser. With your help we will eventually see a copy of ‘Time’s Up’ in every library, every police department, every school, every church and every shelter where those who need help can utilize it and protect themselves from an abuser.

"Times Up" needs national exposure. It wasn't written to impress the professionals. It was written to save lives.” Peter Hyatt, Investigator, State of Maine Statement Analysis Labratory for Scientific Interrogation.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this was written in 2010 there is a new website available where victims and advocates alike can get information about the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit: Document The Abuse.Com





Been there, done that…” Susan Murphy- Milano has turned a tired phrase into demonstrable realism through the gift of her newly published book, "TIME'S UP: A GUIDE ON HOW TO LEAVE AND SURVIVE ABUSIVE AND STALKING RELATIONSHIPS

Fair and Balanced News Coverage? I Don't Think So!

By Susan Murphy Milano

Last weekend Oscar winners Halle Berry and Jamie Foxx attended the Jenesse Center’s Silver Rose Gala in Beverly Hills, which works to help families who suffer from domestic violence. Unless you watched TMZ or access Hollywood on television you likely missed the fact that star power was working towards brining awareness to this national epidemic. The event did not appear on CNN , Fox News or any mainstream media.

As we know Intimate partner violence knows no bounds, and this includes those from the gay and lesbian community and men who are also victims. But the hard reality is that 98% of women in a stalking or domestic violence related relationship are the ones who are not only affected, but they are the gender with more headstones in grave yards than those that lost their lives during the Vietnam War.

“It’s important for everyone who has a voice, who has a chance to have global or national spotlight to use that voice for good,” said Halle Berry.

But I liked what Jamie Foxx said as he spoke on what he feels is a double standard in the way some men approach the issue, saying “A lot of times you see the split. You see people try to make excuses for guys’ behavior. And it’s not fair and it’s not right.” The actor nailed it.





We are seeing a double standard in the way the “country” approaches the issue from first responders, judges, the courts turning a deaf ear to the media who often writes what I term the “glorified killer” obituary. That’s when a media related article on the tragedy appears mentioning the person who was killed and goes on to write “what a great person or family man” this bozo was to slaughtered their loved ones. Or if the person suspected of the crime does not commit suicide remaining alive, the media often writes about the alleged killer’s mental state, frame of mind or quotes a family member saying “they are innocent” because the person would do nothing to harm anyone.


Those family members need to wake up and get their head from out of their respective behinds.


A classic example is the case of Sandra Viramontes, 30, of Chicago, who was beaten and bruised covering 90 percent of her body. No one could say for sure how many hours she was unconscious before her mother received a call from her son-in-law saying her daughter needed medical attention back in January of 2010.

When the mother walked in to her daughter’s home Luis Viramontes, the son-in-law was gone in his place a relative who stood by and did nothing until the mother shouted to call 911. But it was too late.

At the hospital a trauma doctor informed the family “they had never seen anybody get a beating like that before.” Sandra’s had been beaten and bruised over 90 percent of her body. After the doctors ran tests the family was told her injuries were not survivable and two weeks later while in her mother’s she was taken off life support.

My question is how the hell was this bozo allowed bail in the first place? Her condition was critical and she was not going to survive her injuries. Maybe the judge who set his bond did not consider Luis, "oh so gentle" as dangerous.

This is a classic case of senseless and ignorant denial. It makes my skin crawl when I read comments made by members or friends of a killer’s family, “he always been real gentle.” Another comment as if to set the tone when this case goes to trial, “Luis couldn’t sleep or he cried nonstop.” Was this before during and after the beating? Or was it only when this cowardly individual realized he’d better have a few witnesses to testify as to his acting out the part of showing remorse for murdering his wife and the mother of his two young children? He probably thought it all out and carefully deciding what he would tell the person who will represent him that he lost control or it was an accident he had no intention of hurting her. The defense attorney will respond something like “I’ll talk to the State and see if we can get the charges reduced to manslaughter or second degree murder. Or maybe he’ll get his client a deal. You know so he will not have to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Part of the solution is for families, even those of the person committing the violence to speak up and step to the plate when they sense or know a family member is hurting a loved one. Another important component to this epidemic is for the mainstream media to report these incidents of violence and bloodshed with the same fire power they cover politics issues that affect everyday Americans’.

It is then, that we will have a level playing field for everyone affected by intimate partner violence to understand the cause, the solution and possibly the ability to prevent the bloodshed because the issue is out in the forefront. Instead of hiding this epidemic behind closed doors swept under the rug no different than those whom are suffering and entering cemeteries in silence.


"Been there, done that…” Susan Murphy- Milano has turned a tired phrase into demonstrable realism through the gift of her newly published book, "TIME'S UP: A GUIDE ON HOW TO LEAVE AND SURVIVE ABUSIVE AND STALKING RELATIONSHIPS"

Breaking Through: Why is there still resistance to victim rights in the justice system?

Since so many countries have granted rights to crime victims, guaranteed in legislation, surely this means that each and every victim will receive the full benefit of these rights?

Unfortunately, no.

Rights for victims of crime and abuse of power has been a popular political issue for some time; after all, what office-holder would want to be seen as being against helping the injured and weak?

While the actions of politicians and governments have been welcomed, we need to recognize that simply enacting a law -- or legislating a right -- into existence does not mean it will be willingly accepted, completely embraced, actively promoted and fully funded by all the individuals, agencies and services it will affect.

While victims of crime receive sterling service from the vast majority of criminal justice system, there are constant reports from victims of both individuals and (at times) entire offices offering poor service or showing a lack of empathy. This resistance to supplying the information, services and support which law or policy requires that victims be given becomes the source of a form of re-victimization. The crime victim loses all sense of control and worth to officials of a seemingly uncaring criminal justice system, and certainly loses any sense of satisfaction with the justice system.

Resistance to fully accepting and implementing these relatively new rights is normally seen through several different behaviours. Each of these three commonly seen behaviours also has a different potential remedy (or set of remedies).

• Individual attitudes
  
• Political inertia
• Systemic resistance

We'll take a look at these one at a time.


Individual attitudes
When it comes to applying basic victim rights, such as the right to be informed of available social services, or the right to be kept informed of case development, much is left to up the individual police officer, detective, or prosecuting attorney. Their personal views on the importance of victim rights, and the impact workplace issues such as case load and funding, can greatly influence the manner in they comply with regional law or agency policy on the application of victim rights.

Let's face it, the criminal justice system is a high-pressure environment. A busy police officer may forget to inform crime victims of the availability of victim services. Harried detectives can overlook giving victims case updates. An underfunded prosecutor with a heavy case load may cut corners. These are situations which, while deplorable, are understandable. Yet, time and time again, victims of crime report that individuals within these agencies show not only occasional forgetfulness, but a shocking lack of understanding -- if not actual disregard -- for the rights granted victims by law and demanded by policy.

Victim Participation and Therapeutic Jurisprudence
"In a recent study on victims' experiences in the Quebec criminal courts, Wemmers and Cyr (2006) found that victims were not systematically informed about the services available to them. Most victims were not asked by police if they wanted information about victim support and most did not know where to go for help or information. This might not be an issue if the victims in this study were not affected by their victimization, but almost three-quarters of respondents were victims of violent crime and most victims said that they were affected by the crime. In all, 45% of the victims who participated in the study showed symptoms of PTSD."

In individuals, this disregard may be rooted in a lack of empathy (simply not understanding what victims are going through, and why these rights are important), a simple resistance to change ("we've never had to do this before"), or the individual may be suffering from professional burnout (they have seen so much pain they no longer wish to deal with it; this is a form of caregiver stress).

No victim should accept less than reasonable service and their full rights under the law. Don't be afraid to speak to a superior at the agency in question; they may be able to supply a reasonable answer as to why the incident in question occurred. Alternatively, they may not be aware of the behavior of the person in question. Often sensitivity training on victimization (its effects and why providing victim rights and services provide tangible results) can help overcome individual issues for staff finding it difficult to see why providing the services are important.

As mentioned, such behavior in a representative of the justice system can also be caused by burnout. If a staff person shows evidence of psychological stress or burnout, supervisors need to know; victims may not realize the seriousness of the traits being exhibited. The concern is for the mental health for the employee, as employees in this field can develop their own form of PTSD from their constant exposure to horrendous cases of victimization.

Never be afraid to speak up if you suffer poor treatment. You will be helping the agency in question learn to deliver better service to future victims, and you may well be helping agency staff.

However, where a number of individuals within an agency or service display the same traits, we are likely looking at an issue of systemic resistance, which we will cover shortly.


Political inertia
As I mentioned earlier, few politicians want to be seen as being hard on victims, or soft on crime. The granting of theoretical victim rights via legislation generates strong political capital for those involved, which is one reason it is so popular. The hard work comes in creating effective programs which ensure authentic and needed services to victims.

A major component in this is providing sufficient funding. This is where the next level of resistance comes into play.

In the world of government funding, with a finite amount of resources, there is always fierce competition for money, whether between government offices, the funded agencies, or simply different levels of government (local, regional, national)

It is not unusual to see politicians pass bills which, while sounding wonderful, do not provide access to the funds needed for the legislation to actual work.

Adding Insult to Injury: Investigation into the treatment of victims by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (Ontario, Canada)
"The primary reason for the Board’s colossal failure is that successive Ontario governments have been unprepared to fund the promises they have made to crime victims. The Province has proclaimed a grandiose program of support through the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, but then imposed fiscal control so tightly that it has choked off not only the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board’s effectiveness, but its compassion as well. Today, the primary responsibility for this lies with the present government, and urgent action is needed."

Victims not informed they are eligible for compensation (UK)
"Two-thirds of UK crime victims are not informed that they are eligible for crime victim compensation. Even those who are informed often decide not to apply because the the bureaucratic application process…"

The remedy to this form of resistance can only be political action and lobbying by advocacy groups and the general public. Join a victim rights organization, take part in advocacy programs, write to your government representatives. If you see a problem in services, get active!


Systemic resistance
The final form of resistance to victim rights comes from groups or classes of people who, by training or by occupation, view the application of victim rights as threatening, or simply outside the scope of their work. Most often these are found in the court system.

By long tradition and training, members of the legal profession often view the criminal justice system as a dialog between two parties: the prosecution and the defense. The introduction of rights for a third party, in the form of the victim of crime with rights equal to the offender, is creating serious tension in today's court system.

Giving Crime Victims More of Their Say: A federal law has created tensions in the legal system (USA)
"But defense attorneys say that changing the adversarial system further would have dangerous consequences. Most problematic, they say, would be allowing victims more control over prosecutorial decisions. Victims can be biased, attorneys say, and they sometimes fail to understand how their case fits into the system as a whole.

...Defense attorneys are also wary of the influence that victims may have on plea agreements. And they point out that a victim's testimony, in bail or sentencing hearings, is not subject to the same cross-examination as is the testimony of other witnesses. Overall, they worry that inserting victims more broadly into the process pits the defendant against not one, but two, adversaries."

Judge: Defendant’s rights trump those of victims (USA)
"Attorney Herbert S. Moncier, who represents Sudderth’s mother in a wrongful death lawsuit against Whiteside, alleged Sudderth’s survivors’ rights were violated when prosecutors and Whiteside attorney Gregory P. Isaacs struck a deal that allowed Whiteside to be arraigned a day early and his bond cut without a hearing.

But (Judge) Leibowitz opined that while prosecutors are required under the victims’ rights law to notify victims of any changes in hearing dates, they are immune from penalty if they fail to do so. She also opined that a defendant’s rights trump victims’ rights."

If you have a few minutes, you can view an impassioned plea for the rights of crime victims in an uncaring justice system from Dr. Marlene Young and Dr. Irvin Waller, at a WSV press conference given at the 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 2005 (note RealPlayer plugin required).

Some in the legal community take the view that giving rights to victims equals taking away rights from the accused. Others are concerned that overly emotional victim involvement will unduly sway judicial sentencing.

High court cracks down on emotional testimony (USA)
"Three members of the U.S. Supreme Court today expressed concern about the growing use during death penalty trials of elaborate victim impact statements and video presentations."

There is no easy remedy to this form of resistance. Certainly the legal aspects of this debate can only be settled in the manner normal in the courts when dealing with new law; by case-by-case testing and review, until a body of formal and common precedent establishes the precise limits to which they courts will accept victim interaction.

Changing professional attitudes is another matter. Victim advocates and legal educators are coming to believe that attitudes and ways of thought in the justice system can be best influenced by working on the next generation of lawyers and jurists. How? By providing training to law students on victim rights, the effects of crime, and other sensitivity training.

In other words, working to change the criminal justice system from within, by working to change the attitudes of the next generation of jurists. This will take time, but is the most likely way to change the present two-party court model (accused and prosecution) to a three-party model (victim, accused and prosecution).

While highly unlikely to take place in the near future, it is to be hoped victim rights will eventually advance to match those of Japan (and a few other countries), where victims now have rights to directly take part in court proceedings, under specific conditions and limits.