Victims Taskforce papers: May 2022
Papers from the meeting of the Victims Taskforce on 26 May 2022
Engagement discussion paper (for 18 May)
The purpose of this paper is to provide some background on how the Victims Taskforce (“the Taskforce”) has engaged with victims/survivors to date and suggest possible discussion points for the session on 18 May.
The session on 18 May provides an opportunity for the Taskforce co-chairs, support organisations and people with lived experience to begin to co-design how the Taskforce engages with victims/survivors in a meaningful and outcome-focussed way.
This will help us to plan future engagement to ensure it:
- informs the work of the Taskforce;
- allows us to understand and measure whether or not the activities being undertaken are resulting in tangible improvements for victims/survivors; and
- provides victims/survivors with feedback on the difference their contribution has made.
Background
Ensuring the voices of victims/survivors are at the heart of the Taskforce’s work has been a priority since its inception at the end of 2018. It has formed the basis for numerous papers and discussions at Taskforce meetings, and the approach taken to engagement has evolved as the Taskforce has developed and refined its work plan over subsequent years.
For the second meeting of the Taskforce in March 2019, Victim Support Scotland (VSS), Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) and Scottish Women’s Aid (SWA) developed proposals on how the Taskforce might practically approach engagement with victims and their families in order to hear their voices, capture their experiences, and inform its work. The paper presented a multi-tiered approach to engagement, with support organisations developing their own reference groups and there being an overarching sounding board with representatives from these groups meeting regularly with the Taskforce co-chairs. Although there was subsequently significant work on engagement, led by the support organisations, the sounding board itself did not come to fruition.
The fourth meeting of the Taskforce, in September 2019, saw the introduction of Victims’ Voices item at the start of each Taskforce meeting. This took the form of a presentation and/or paper put together by support organisations including direct quotes from victims/survivors. The Victims’ Voices item helped to identify common issues across the justice sector, inform the discussion and work planning at Taskforce meetings and ensure the voices of victims and survivors were heard by senior leaders across Government and the justice system.
The previous Taskforce co-chairs also met with the Survivor Reference Group run by RCS, in July 2019, and with the Victims Reference Group run by VSS, in February 2020. They were also due to meet with domestic abuse survivors, facilitated by SWA, but this had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
At the first meeting of the Taskforce in the new parliamentary session, in November 2021, members reflected on how the Taskforce engages with people with lived experience. They agreed that engagement should reflect the progression of the Taskforce from a phase of discussion and planning to one of action. This included taking account of the need to minimise the potential for re-traumatisation and contributor fatigue and to ensure that future engagement was more focussed and outcome orientated, so that those involved can see more clearly the difference their input makes.
At the most recent meeting of the Taskforce, in January 2022, members agreed a proposed plan for engagement with victims/survivors comprising of three parts:
- Six-monthly engagement with the Taskforce Chairs. The method for this is open for discussion - it could follow the Sounding Board model previously proposed by support organisations.
- Ad hoc engagement on specific projects – this may be on system-wide issues or on a specific area.
- Identifying and engaging on key issues that are significant to victims and witnesses and cut across the criminal justice agencies.
The meeting on 18 May is the first of the six-monthly sessions with the Taskforce co-chairs and provides an opportunity to begin to co-design and plan future engagement.
Discussion
A discussion guide has been provided in the table to guide the discussion at the meeting and ensure the desired outcome, of co-designing future engagement, is achieved.
It should be noted that discussion is not limited to the topics set out in the table and all contributions to the discussion are welcome.
Conclusion
Attendees are asked to consider the topics and related question in the table in advance of the meeting, with a view to discussing them – and any other comments or thoughts - at the session on 18 May.
Victims Taskforce Secretariat
May 2022
Discussion guide
|
Topic |
Background |
Possible discussion questions |
|
What form should engagement take? |
- in a paper to the Taskforce in March 2019, VSS, RCS and SWA proposed the creation of a sounding board, which would be comprised of representatives from the support organisations’ respective reference groups and would meet regularly with the co-chairs of the Victims Taskforce
- we are keen to explore whether this idea should be progressed and what that would entail
- previous discussion has also highlighted the importance of identifying the purpose of any engagement
- in terms of purpose for engagement, possibilities include, but are not limited to:
|
Is the sounding board model a good approach?
If not, what other models could we explore?
What should be the main purpose of engagement?
Does a six-monthly cycle make sense? This could be aligned with meetings of the main Taskforce.
|
|
Who should be involved? |
- as noted above, the sounding board model proposed by VSS, RCS and SWA involved representatives from the support organisations’ reference groups meeting with the Taskforce co-chairs
- there could be the option of bringing in other Taskforce members, such as senior leaders from the criminal justice agencies, dependent on the topic under discussion at a particular session
|
Should we keep the current set-up for engagement – e.g. Taskforce Chairs, support organisations and victims/survivors?
Should we include other Taskforce members (i.e. leaders from the criminal justice agencies) dependent on the theme for discussion?
|
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How do we ensure a trauma-informed approach is taken? |
- work is underway to develop a knowledge and skills framework specifically to support a trauma informed workforce in the justice sector
- we recognise the need to ensure any engagement is not re-traumatising and that victims/survivors do not feel they are constantly being asked to retell their story
- We are keen to explore whether there is a preference for in-person engagement, versus via MS Teams, and what the pros and cons of these options are - particularly in relation to a trauma-informed approach
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What support should be in place for victims/survivors involved in engagement with the Taskforce?
Are there steps we could take to reduce the risk of re-traumatisation?
Is it preferable to have meetings in person, rather than on MS Teams?
|
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How do we provide feedback to victims/survivors on the impact of their contribution? |
- a criticism of previous engagement has been that those involved receive no feedback as to the impact of their contribution and that they see no evidence of change as a result
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What is the best mechanism for providing feedback and updates to victims/survivors:
|
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How do we measure the impact of actions taken to improve the justice system for victims/survivors, in terms of how victims/survivors experience that system? |
- it can be challenging to measure whether current actions are making a difference to the experience of victims/survivors as some of the feedback received, whilst absolutely relevant, reflects the justice system prior to those improvements having been made
- we need to consider mechanisms to measure the current position and ensure that the evaluation is not restricted to quantitative data i.e. doesn’t just look at numbers but also records the experiences of people
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What is the best way to capture feedback from victims/survivors on the impact that ongoing improvements to the justice system are making?
How do we ensure that this does not cause further trauma to victims/survivors?
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Are there particular themes on which future engagement should focus? |
- themes need to be relevant to both the needs/priorities of victims/survivors and the work being undertaken across the justice sector
- should engagement consider a combination of these, looking at themes relevant to ongoing work but also provide a forum for new issues to be raised?
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Who should decide on the themes for engagement – victims/survivors, support organisations, Taskforce members, criminal justice agencies?
How do we ensure these themes align with the priorities/needs of victims/survivors, the work of the Taskforce and wider work ongoing across the justice system?
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