t gathered momentum in the 1960s, began as a women's rights movement toward fairer treatment of rape victims and eventually encompassed a broad range of legal rights, programs and protections (712). Acker said that "little more than a decade ago, it was not uncommon for victims of crime to be ignored, mistreated, and even 'revictimized' during their interactions with the criminal justice system" (76).
Examples of victims' rights organizations include the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Victims' Assistance Legal Organization (VALOR) and Parents of Murdered Children (POMC).
Acker said that public opinion polls in the 1980s showed that as rates of violent crime sharply rose, 80 percent of the general public said they believed that the courts did not deal harshly enough with criminals while at the same time neglecting the rights of victims (72). Roland said that surveys in the 1980s showed that "victims are extremely dissatisfied with their level of participation in the criminal justice system" (53). In the 1960s, states such as California and New York passed legislation under which victims of violent crimes received public compensation. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan referred to victims as "the forgotten persons of our criminal justice system" (Roland 58). The Victims of Crime Act of 1984, 42 U.S.C. secs. 10601-10604 (VOCA), provided federal funds to compensate victims of federal and state crimes. In the 1980s, 20 states passed ballot propositions and other measures which granted victims constitutional and statutory rights. Shapiro said that during the past 25 years, "compassion and political calculation have combined to transform crime victims and their advocates into a potent lobbying force" (61).
Victim Impact Statements. By 1988, VISs formed a part of federal criminal sentencing proceedings and their equivalent in 38 states (Talbert 200). Under the Victim and Witne...