A new Victims’ Code: consultation document – Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has launched a public consultation on a new Victims’ Code, seeking to strengthen victims’ rights, enhance agency accountability, and ensure clearer, more consistent minimum service standards across the criminal justice system. The proposals include substantial reforms to engagement with child victims, information sharing duties, and participation rights issues central to youth justice practice.
Details
The consultation builds on stakeholder engagement and identifies several priority areas for reform. First, the MOJ proposes new principles and training to ensure that agencies properly assess victims’ needs and deliver appropriate support throughout the criminal justice process. Second, it introduces a new framework for engaging directly with child victims, emphasising clarity, accessibility, and the need for tailored communication strategies that account for children’s developmental stages. Third, the draft Code seeks to clarify the points in the process when victims must be informed of key case developments, aiming to improve the timeliness and consistency of information provision. Finally, the consultation examines how victims, including children, can be given meaningful opportunities to participate, including in decisions affecting their interests.
The draft new Code also reflects broader changes contained in the Victims and Prisoners Bill, including clarification of who is defined as a victim. The Code now adopts a broader definition of “victim” to include individuals who suffer harm as a direct result of criminal “conduct”, not only offences. This amendment would extend support to a wider cohort of children exposed to harmful situations that may not neatly fit within existing offence categories.
Commentary
The new child-specific engagement framework would require professionals - including youth offending teams, police and the CPS - to communicate with children in clearer, developmentally appropriate ways. This is particularly important for Black, Brown and racialised children, who often face additional barriers when navigating justice processes. Practitioners may therefore have greater responsibilities to explain decisions, check understanding, and actively facilitate children’s participation.
The expanded definition of “victim” may also allow more children affected by criminal conduct around them to access rights and support that were previously unavailable. This is especially significant given that many children in the youth justice system are both victims and offenders; positively, it could enable earlier identification and support for justice-involved children who have experienced exploitation, abuse, or violence.