Did you know that victims of hate crime may withdraw from public space out of fear? That children living in violent households have coping strategies which mean Gardaí are less likely to recognise them as victims? That prejudice against Irish Travellers extends to how they are treated as victims of crime, that women in active addiction struggle to access domestic violence services and that there are evidence-based methods to identify and treat secondary trauma stress among professionals who work with victims?

These are among the findings of recent research from Ireland and around the world which we included in a booklet of research briefings for people who support victims of crime in Ireland. From Gardaí, prosecutors and victim liaison officers in the public sector to general and specialist victim support services of various kinds in the community sector, thousands of professionals and volunteers work across dozens of organisations to help victims and survivors. This booklet seeks to identify and communicate the findings of important studies on topics which the victim support sector identified as having the potential to inform their practices, services and advocacy. 

Academic research as an untapped resource

The idea to develop this booklet emerged from a year of collaborative work in 2024 as part of the Criminal justice Open Research Dialogue (CORD) Partnership. CORD is a new partnership, involving people from around 60 organisations, which aims to embed a culture of interdisciplinary open research in criminal justice. It brings together research, policy and practice to consider how to make the most of our different types of knowledge and expertise to achieve shared goals.

We know that practitioners have a deep understanding of the challenges in their work, but do not always have time to engage directly with new research, especially when it’s lengthy, jargon-filled, behind a paywall, and doesn’t foreground practical implications. The Agenda for the CORD Partnership 2025-26, published in January, identified the sharing of research findings as an action area, proposing to write, circulate and evaluate a booklet of briefings that brings research findings alive and makes them accessible to, and usable by, practitioners.

CORD’s workshops in 2024 identified victim services as a priority group for support. Given our existing work in this area, we decided to pilot the briefings booklet on victimological research. We believe there are many studies which can help public and community sector professionals to develop their thinking and practices around victim support, but have not all been communicated to practitioners. The first step was to explore whether the victim support sector agreed and, if so, what topics or areas of research would be of most value to them.

Consulting the victim support sector

Using the Victims’ Charter and other sources, we identified as many organisations which supported victims as possible and invited them to attend a short online workshop in February. 32 persons from 26 organisations attended a 90-minute discussion about the research areas which they wished to explore further.

The topics raised included providing support for special populations, the development of victim support policies, training and support for those who work with victims and evidence-based interventions, among others. With some funding from the Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology Research Incentivisation Fund 2024-25, we shortlisted studies based on the sector’s expressed needs before selecting several articles and reports for inclusion in this booklet.

The value and challenge of research briefings

The booklet does more than summarise the 11 studies on a single page each. It also identifies specific practical implications of each study, proposing how those working with victims could use the findings to inform their thinking and work.

We admit that we found this challenging. As we tried to identify the practical implications of each study, we were humbled by the realisation that we didn’t always know what was important for practice, or how practitioners and services could use the findings. This is why we also sent the booklet to several colleagues who were kind enough to contribute some short observations about the studies’ practical implications, published below. We ask anyone who works in an organisation that supports victims in Ireland: please help us to distribute this booklet, and practitioners’ below observations, to as many relevant colleagues as possible.

The future of research communication

Part of why academics don’t always write accessible versions of their findings and identify practical implications is because this is difficult and time consuming. Indeed, pulling this booklet together was a lengthy, resource-intensive process.

We are evaluating the booklet by asking those who read it to complete a short survey after they finish reading it, to which we link on each page. But we also hope researchers will work with us to find new ways to communicate the implications of their research to practitioners (either verbally or in writing) and write practice-oriented briefings which discuss entire bodies of research, as well as individual studies.

In the meantime, please enjoy reading these research briefings and let us know if you have any questions, feedback or views regarding what types of research should be communicated and how best the CORD Partnership can support this.
    
Dr Ian Marder, associate professor in criminology, Maynooth University; Dr Susan Leahy, associate professor in law, University of Limerick; and Stephanie Vento, research assistant in open criminology, Maynooth University

Responses from the victim support sector – the practical implications of these studies

As a manager of volunteers working with victims in the criminal courts, the briefing which really stood out to me was the one about secondary traumatic stress (STS) among people who work with victims. It is vital for any organisation working with crime victims and survivors to ensure that appropriate supports are in place for staff and volunteers. Things we do as an organisation to avoid STS include providing regular supervision (group and one-to-one), ongoing training and development including on trauma-informed care, work-life balance and the importance of clear boundaries. This research highlighted to me that it is important to keep reviewing policies and procedures in relation to staff and volunteer wellbeing, ensuring that we are doing everything we can to prevent STS and to appreciate and acknowledge the importance of our work. 

Sara Murphy, Criminal Courts of Justice manager, Victim Support at Court

Each piece of research in this booklet highlights both the diversity of needs of different groups of victims but also the often-overlooked needs of support workers and practitioners. One particular article which stood out is ‘From Cinderella to consumer: How crime victims can go to the ball’ by Erez et al. The criminal justice system, while having the purpose of seeking justice, can have a deterrent effect for many survivors. This research highlights these barriers and the victim-blaming myths from which they stem. In line with this article, we would advocate that for a system to have legitimacy and be considered effective, it requires survivor co-design and participation.

All research is immensely valuable to us at Rape Crisis Ireland in that it informs our approaches to advocacy for an improved response to survivors and on prevention. Understanding these lived experiences ensures any planning and development can stem from both evidence-based and survivor-led perspectives. It also highlights not only the need for supportive structures but also how essential further research continues to be. In line with this, we at RCI are open to researchers’ proposals using our primary data from our data collection system.* Any interested academic should look at previous statistical outputs on our website to understand what we hold and we welcome further engagement in constructing a proposal.  

*To protect survivors, access can only be facilitated to bona fide researchers under strict conditions of access and use. Due to limited resources, we may have to cap access at any given time. 

Donna von Allemann, legal director, Rape Crisis Ireland

As the manager in the Irish Prison Service (IPS) responsible for communicating with victims post-trial where the perpetrator is in custody of IPS, the briefing which really stood out to me was the one in which the researcher looked at best practices for victim interactions with criminal justice. They found that fair, supportive, and respectful treatment from criminal justice professionals was more influential on victim satisfaction than case outcomes, highlighting the need for procedural justice. It is clear from this that it is vital for us and other organisations working with crime victims to ensure that proper training and support is provided our staff who interact with victims of crime to ensure that we as an organisation are able to successfully deliver on this. As a manager, I have been involved in ongoing training and development in trauma-informed practices. This research highlighted to me the importance of proper training for staff to ensure that victims’ needs are met, their voices are heard and they are always treated with respect and dignity. 

Marie Foley, victim liaison officer, Irish Prison Service

• Previous articles from this series can be found here.