Victim Support is launching a series of guidance documents to help young victims of crime. It has produced a support pack in three versions, for young children, older children and teenagers, to help them express their feelings, as well as a training module for volunteers, a service model outlining standards, and a child-protection policy developed with the NSPCC for victims of abuse.
Peter Dunn, head of research and development at the charity, said: "We were aware that support services for young crime victims are inadequate. We have produced a number of support facilities for our 14,000 volunteers in the UK and for outside services."
He also highlighted the recent Edinburgh study of youth transitions and crime, which showed that young victims often resort to crime to defend themselves.
