A new campaign launches today to raise awareness of victims’ rights and peoples’ right to access support and information if they are affected by crime.

As part of Victims Awareness Week, Victim Support Scotland (VSS) is working with Police Scotland and other partner organisations to ensure victims’ rights are upheld and to inform people about the free information and support it provides, helping victims and witnesses of crime navigate the criminal justice system and cope with the trauma and emotional distress of crime.

The latest available data shows that 10,352 people contacted the charity’s free helpline – some of whom will have been provided information by Police Scotland and other partner organisations, and others will have taken their own steps to contact the charity directly – with around 48,600 support sessions and other forms of assistance delivered by VSS in 2022-23. During the same period, the total number of crimes recorded by Police Scotland stood at 289,362.

Following a change in data protection legislation in May 2018, Police Scotland can no longer automatically refer, victims and witnesses to receive the support they are entitled to, without their consent. The unintended consequence of this legislation has resulted in around 90% fewer people affected by crime being referred to VSS. This is equivalent to more than 90,000 people who could be missing out on support.

According to the charity, there is a significant gap between the number of crimes recorded by Police Scotland, and the number of people referred to the charity for support.

Through the Victims’ Code for Scotland, everyone has a legal right to support if they are a victim or witness of crime, as do their family members. To help spread this message and ensure no one who is affected by crime in Scotland falls through the cracks, Victim Support Scotland is raising public awareness of victims’ rights and the services they are entitled to.

When someone is affected by crime, it can have a massive impact on their life, affecting them emotionally, mentally, physically, financially and practically. It can be very traumatic, so having the right information at the right time is critical. In Scotland, anyone affected by crime has a right to support and information, regardless of whether the crime was reported to the police or not. While not everyone affected by crime will want to exercise these rights, there is a gap between the number of crimes recorded and the number of people referred to and seeking support.By working closely with Police Scotland, victim support organisations, and directly with victims, we hope to raise more awareness of victims’ rights and reach more people in the year ahead. We want everyone to know that if they or someone they know is affected by crime, Victim Support Scotland can help.

Kate Wallace,  VSS Chief Executive