First witness/victim programs were created in the 1960s and 1970s in order to alleviate suffering of victims and witnesses and thus help them to bridge over the immediate time period after crime and recovery. With the first implementations of victim compensations in the 1960s and creation of specific legislation that compensated victims for federal crimes, also the organizations of civic society started to take interest in the recognition of the acute needs of witnesses and victims, which included agencies or rape centers formed to take care of issues related to child abuse or raped women. The evolution of these Continue reading...