No abstract

Rape victims often face secondary victimization by the criminal justice system, prompting their advocates to promote a variety of procedural changes, including the provision of an independent legal counsel for victims. Sweden implemented a legal counsel for victims of sexual assault and rape in the late 1980s, yet research about their role remains limited. This article draws upon interviews with victim-lawyers in Sweden and suggests that having access to an independent legal counsel can mitigate the risks for secondary victimization by empowering victims to access their rights and providing emotional support and connectedness in the criminal justice system.

The high rate of attrition in the processing of sexual violence cases within the criminal justice system has been framed as a “justice gap,” an institutional failure to get justice for victim-survivors. In this article, I analyze the processing of rape cases in the Swedish criminal justice system, one with a particularly high attrition rate. Drawing upon interviews with criminal justice professionals, I illuminate the inadequacy of the justice gap as a measure of victim-centered justice. Through policy reforms, the Swedish criminal justice system has instituted victim-centered practices that offer victim-survivors alternative forms of justice without increasing the prosecution rate.

Research has established the possibility for rape victim-survivors to experience secondary victimization as a result of encounters with the criminal justice system. However, most of this work is based in Anglo-American countries, with less attention to the issue in the Nordic context. In this article, I report on in-depth interviews with Swedish criminal justice professionals and their perspective on investigating and processing sexual violence cases, as well as interviews with professionals who work directly with rape victimsurvivors and their external evaluations of the criminal justice system. While there is a general awareness of the need for an empathetic and sensitive response from police officers and support from the victim's legal counsel, in practice, the process can be a 'lottery' for victim-survivors: while some individual police officers and lawyers are dedicated to victim-centred encounters, others are dismissive or hostile. I discuss policy initiatives, including training, specialization, and required competencies, that institutionalize and standardize victim-centred practices to promote a supportive environment for all sexual violence victim-survivors in the Swedish criminal justice system.

No abstract