Reconsidering the Role of the Victim in Criminal Injuries Compensation

Many jurisdictions have statutory compensation schemes designed to provide support to victims of crimes. Curiously, some schemes require decision-makers to take aspects of the victim’s conduct into account when deciding whether to compensate them. For example, the Western Australian scheme allows decision-makers to refuse or reduce compensation if the victim ‘contributed’ to the crime perpetrated against them. In this chapter, drawing upon feminist legal theory, we argue for reforms to this provision. We make the case that the current provision creates and/or exacerbates a culture of victim-blaming, is counter-therapeutic for victims of crime, disproportionately affects women and undermines the criminal law.