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Children as Victims of Crime |
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| Like anyone else, children can be victims of crime. Like adults, they have both physical and emotional reactions. They can not always express these in words in the way that many adults can. Young children often experience feelings of guilt, and find it difficult to tell anyone about the crime. If they do tell, and are not believed or not supported, they may carry the hurt through to adult life. Young children who suffer trauma may: • have nightmares or problems sleeping • wet the bed • behave badly • eat too much or too little • cling to adults • become withdrawn or fear being alone • suffer headaches • fight with friends • lose concentration • start doing badly in school. |
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| Children often need specialised professional help to recover after a crime. The police can arrange this help when the crime is first reported. There are other places you can go for information on services for children. These include the Child and Youth Health parents helpline, the Department of Families & Communities (including your local Families SA office), the Women's and Children's Hospital (Child Protection Service, phone 8161 7346), Flinders Medical Centre (Child Protection Service, phone 8204 5485), Child & Youth Health, and the Kids Help Line. These are listed in the White Pages of the phone book. | |||
| It may help if you can make an appointment with your child's teacher to ask if the school can provide some extra support. You don't have to tell anyone at school what happened but you might tell the teacher that things have happened which might affect your child's behaviour. The school counsellor may also be a good source of support for you and your child. | |||
| Interviewing children needs special skills. If a child is a victim of crime, police will try to involve one of these specialists. They will also tell parents or carers what help is available. They may mention such services as Family and Youth Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, the Women's and Children's Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre. | |||
| Schools have access to social workers. They can work with teachers to help children through trauma. Some support services for children are listed on pages 29 to 35. Others are listed in the white pages of the phone book. The Director of Public Prosecutions will provide a Child Witness Assistance Officer to inform and support child witnesses. |
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A note for carers |
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| If you are caring for a person with a disability who is a victim of crime, you may feel many of the same emotions. You may feel overwhelmed, out of your depth and unappreciated. It may be useful to check what support the person you care for expects of you at each stage of the process. Let your local carer support service know that you may need some extra help, including respite. | |||
| More information is available through the Carers Association of SA or any of the services listed under "Carers Support" in the White Pages of the phone book.
Office of Juvenile Justice and delinquency Prevention (USA)The following link introduces the concept of a juvenile victim justice system, identifying the major elements of the system by delineating how cases move through it. The Bulletin reviews each step in the case flow process for child protection and criminal justice systems and describes the interaction of the agencies and individuals involved. How the Justice System Responds to Juvenile Victims: A Comprehensive Mode
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