Sounds of Silence: A Thematic Analysis of Victim Impact Statements

The Victim Impact Statement (VIS) is a legal document that crime victims submit to the court as part of the sentencing stage, informing the court about the harms they have suffered. The VIS enhances victims’ sense of procedural justice, voice, and inclusion in the process, as well as their overall wellbeing. At the same time, their use raises concern about defendants’ due process rights. The Article argues that VISs make a novel contribution to the criminal proceeding, beyond their formal goals of providing information to the court about the impact of the crime on its victims.

Using a thematic analysis of 25 VISs that were submitted to Israeli criminal courts by victims of sexual, physical, and property offenses, as well as by relatives of homicide victims, the Article identifies four types of functions that VISs play for the victims who submit them. The VISs we analyzed were used to portray the offense as a life-changing event; to describe the hardships of the criminal justice process; to transform the victim into “more than just a name”; and to deliver a message or request. By bringing this content to the courtroom, the statements expanded the legal discourse and created an integrated therapeutic‒legal discourse, which was accepted and formally acknowledged by the justice system. The openness of the legal system to accept and acknowledge exogenous content that is not required by law, even if indirectly, suggests a need to rethink the social function of the court for victims and communities.

It is possible that the courts may be more inclusive of and more attentive to non-legal narratives, emotional expression, and interpersonal connectedness than is generally believed.