Windsor Great Park charity wants better support for victims of past harms

A new report launched in Westminster on Tuesday by a Windsor Great Park educational charity has called on authorities to ‘take a more joined-up approach’ when responding to victims of past harms and abuse survivors.

Cumberland Lodge has devised a document called Towards Justice: Law Enforcement & Reconciliation, which supports calls for the introduction of an independent public advocate, acting as a single port of call for those affected by harm.

It acknowledges ‘the complexity’ that victims can experience when engaging with multiple agencies.

The document is being submitted to the Ministry of Justice and urges authorities to recognise that non-recent harms ‘resonate in the present’.

Dr Edmund Newell, chief executive of Cumberland Lodge, said: “Towards Justice adds momentum to the growing calls for improvement in the approach to responding to past harms.

"Underlying our report is the recognition that the passing of time is not healing for victims if injustice persists, and risks making issues more contentious, problematic – and costly – for all concerned.

"We hope that its publication will be an important step towards improving policy and practice.”

A copy of the report can be downloaded at www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk/read-watch-listen/towards-justice-law-enforcement-reconciliation-cumberland-lodge-report