Differential Consequences of Victim Impact Statements on Judicial Decision-making: A Dual-path Model

• In Event: Victim Impact Statements: Considerations and Consequences

Abstract

Victims play an increasingly more prominent role in the criminal justice process. Several laws and regulations underwrite the rights of victims to for instance participation and compensation. Notably, victim impact statements (VIS) have become common practice in several systems of law and have also recently been introduced in the Dutch criminal justice system. The consequences of including VISs in the judicial process have been criticized by researchers and legal officials alike. Most criticism focuses on the possible empathy-evoking and sentence-enhancing effect of emotional victim statements.
However, research within the field of social justice shows that being confronted with a victim can also, paradoxically, enhance derogatory reactions and victim blaming. In the current line of research, I focus on both these possible consequences and propose that there are two paths by which VISs can influence judicial-decision making. That is, VIS may evoke empathy and, as such, increase sentencing. Alternatively, VIS can evoke victim blaming and influence decrease sentencing. The latter path has received only little attention in practice and research on judicial decision-making. Implications of this dual-path model will be discussed.

Author

• Michèlle Bal, Leiden University