Assisting Victims of Terrorism: Towards a European Standard of Justice

The large-scale terrorist attacks on 9/11 resulted in more attention being devoted to victims of terrorist acts. Discussions took place on how their needs could be best accommodated. The Madrid bombings in March 2004 gave further impetus to this process. This development is also part of a recent trend towards general victim of crime policies that branch out into specialized policies devised to meet the needs of particular groups of victims such as victims of trafficking, victims of sexual violence and abuse or victims of traffic accidents. However, although a movement of national and international solidarity relating to addressing the needs of victims of terrorism has developed, political consensus is still fragile.

This book provides a thorough analysis of the specific needs of victims of terrorism (using both legal and psycho-social studies), compared to victims of other forms of crime. The study combines different disciplines, enabling to combine the different perspectives leading to synergy in the analysis of the legal and psycho-social needs of victims of terrorism. Furthermore the appropriateness of restorative justice practices in the context of terrorism is included and provides challenging new insights.