The victim in court

This chapter primarily concerns by those who are officially deemed to be victims of crime; that is where the person's victimhood has been accepted by state authorities and this has formed the basis of a prosecution. It discusses the experiences of victims when they are giving evidence in court, concentrating on legislative attempts to overcome, or at least to alleviate, the difficulties that they may experience. The chapter also discusses the attempts by legislators to restrict the ability of the defence to cross-examine sexual offence victims about their sexual history, the routine revelation of which has deterred victims from coming forward and negatively impacted jury perceptions of victim credibility. The failure to recognise victims as parties is particularly problematic in relation to the 'mass production' of guilty pleas, perhaps the most striking characteristic of adversarial systems. In adversarial systems, there are just two parties to criminal disputes: the prosecution and the defence.