Last month, Janice Bunting MBE, CEO of Victim Support NI, provided oral evidence to the Justice Committee at Stormont alongside Geraldine Hanna, the Commissioner Designate for Victims and Witnesses of Crime, on the Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc.) Bill (2027). The Sentencing Bill aims to reform sentencing procedures, ensuring they are more victim-focused, and increase the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system.
During the session, Janice spoke on the aggravation by hostility offence included in the Bill and our work supporting hate crime victims through the Hate Crime Advocacy Service. She supported the inclusion of a hostility aggravator given the sharp rise in hate crime offences in recent years and hopes that an intersectional lens will be considered in further stages of the Bill to acknowledge victims with multiple protected characteristics. She also spoke on the aggravation by reason of vulnerability offence. Janice welcomed the Department of Justice’s acknowledgement that certain groups can be more vulnerable to victimisation but highlighted the narrow definition of vulnerability currently offered in the Bill.
We are grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to this important discussion and we look forward to working closely with the Department of Justice to ensure that the voices, rights, and experiences of victims remain at the heart of sentencing policy and justice reform.
