Page 14 - KDU INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

KDU International Journal of Criminal Justice (KDUIJCJ)
Volume I | Issue II| July 2024

presented through song or dance or in a hurting or hopeful way when
preparing for a new lease of life after emerging from prison or from a site

of cruelty and neglect such as an orphanage. For reasons of anonymity the

names used in the case studies are fictitious.
3

The format this paper adopts is to first consider the purpose of enacting

such legislation and also to examine and critique the scope and the
functions of the National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime

and Witnesses in the light of the experiences of women and child

survivors of violence who have suffered multiple victimization at the
hands of public and private entities. A brief examination of some selected

legal systems of the world will be carried out to learn about success
stories that reflect the efficacy of victims’ protection in the said

jurisdictions.

The paper does not attempt to be exhaustive or to cover every detail but

to survey some of the mechanisms, case and statute law in relation to

International Standards on the protection of victims and will argue a
particular avenue of reform in the implementation of the law in an

attempt to enhance the efficiency of the protection afforded to victims and
witnesses of crime in Sri Lanka. At the very outset it is interesting to

determine why Sri Lanka was in need a robust Victims of crimes and

Witnesses Protection Act. The reasons for such an enactment has been
graphically articulated by Justice Yasantha Kodagoda who while

functioning as a Prosecutor conducteda pilot reasearch conducted by

3 The seven principles of Ethical Story Telling were followed by the Author when they
were narrating their experiences
3