Citation

Huang L. PLoS One 2018; 13(2): e0192905.

Affiliation

Graduate School of Criminology, National Taipei University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0192905

PMID

29466463

Abstract

Victim support services, in mature societies, aim to help victims recover after suffering a traumatic event. The effectiveness of victim support has traditionally been evaluated through rates of service utilization and incidence of psychopathology such as posttraumatic stress disorder. The current study, instead, inquires into service users' unmet needs and satisfaction, and identifies factors that mediate such subjective measures, using data from a national cross-sectional survey on victims and surviving families of violent crime in Taiwan in 2011. The results reveal: 1) a gap between available and expected services, and 2) a correlation between service utilization and satisfaction, both consistent with previous studies. In addition, the current study identifies unsatisfied service users: They are homicidally bereaved, live with their spouse, suffer from post-crime financial distress and are still waiting for a court verdict on the incident. Victim support that helps victims heal through tailored services incorporating relationship counseling is proposed.

Language: en