The closest people (relatives or friends, for example) of someone who was a victim of murder also suffer the consequences of that crime:

• losing someone because of murder may be an intense and traumatic experience that affects physical and mental well-being;
  
  
• when a relative or a friend of ours is the victim of murder, several negative reactions may arise (e.g., fear, anger, guilt, anxiety);
  
  
• as well as having to deal with these negative feelings, the victim’s relatives or friends have to face the loss of a person who was close and accept that what happened cannot be undone. This is a complicated process called BEREAVEMENT. To learn more about bereavement, go to How does it affect the victim’s relatives and friends?

BEREAVEMENT is a process where our body seeks to manage and overcome the death of someone.
BEREAVEMENT is associated with a set of very intense emotional and physical reactions that are difficult to control and can affect our normal functioning and well-being.

Losing someone close (either a relative or friend) because of murder makes the experience of grief even harder.

Each person reacts differently to the loss of someone close. So, don’t compare what you are feeling or how you are reacting to what other people are feeling or how they are reacting. At this point you have no "obligation" to feel, think or react in a certain way.

There is no right or wrong reactions...THERE ARE JUST REACTIONS. These are natural reactions, which many people have when experiencing a difficult, painful and demanding situation.

Although it is difficult to accept that someone's death cannot be undone, grieving is temporary...even if it takes some time.

There is no fixed time for overcoming someone's death. The time of the grieving process depends on:

• the personality of the person who is grieving;
• how close we were with the person who died;
• the event that led to his/her death.

Do not try to rush things and don’t expect that what you are feeling will vanish all of a sudden.

When someone close dies because of murder we can feel:

• shocked;
• confused and difficulty believing what happened (almost does not seem real or it seems like a nightmare);
• empty, as if they were not able to feel anything or react;
• angry, with others, with those responsible for what happened and with the victim who died;
• desire for revenge (against the perpetrator of the crime);
• guilty:
• for what happened, as if we were somehow responsible for the murder or could somehow have prevented what happened;
• for something that happened before the death of the person (for example, because of something we discussed a few days before, or because  we didn’t have the opportunity to say or do something with the person who died);
• for being alive;
• embarrassed:
• for having shown emotions in the presence of others;
• for not having reacted the way we thought was "normal" to react;
• sad, with constant desire to cry or with frustration because we are deeply saddened, but can’t cry;
• depressed, feeling that life has lost meaning, importance or purpose;
• lacking interest in activities once appreciated;
• alone, because we think nobody will be able to understand what we are feeling;
• longing for the person who died;
• fear of being alone;
• afraid of the perpetrator, especially in cases where he/she was not arrested;
• fear and anxiety because of the investigation and the possibility of going to Court to give evidence. Search on Going to Court for more information about this.
• anxious about the future and family functioning (when the victim was a family member).

Some physical and mental symptoms may also appear:

These are reactions that many people have when dealing with grief... but there may be many others. You can feel other things and have many other reactions.

It is important to remember that most of these reactions are natural and you will not feel them forever. Whilst some of the behavioural changes mentioned are very serious as they can result in you and other people being harmed. It is important to get help to deal with the issues and put a stop to these harmful behaviours.  Search Strategies to protect yourself for more information.

When the pain starts to fade away that does not mean you have forgotten the person who died. It means that you've already been able to accept the experience you went through as a part of your life story.

Even after all these reactions pass and you've accepted that a certain person is gone forever, there can be times when you feel more fragile ... often on the most significant days (such as the anniversary of the death) or seasons that are associated with family celebrations (like Christmas for example).

There are things you can do and that will help you cope and overcome the death of someone close:

• If there’s a psychologist/ counselor available in your school, you can talk to him/her about what happened. He/She can advise and support you and may even recommend a specialist who can help you.
  
  
• If you are having physical symptoms that start to interfere with your normal functioning you should go to your family doctor (e.g., sleeping poorly or not sleeping at all). He/she can help take care of those symptoms with the most appropriate treatment according to your problem and age.
  
  
• You can also contact Victim Support Scotland. Victim Support Scotland provides support, free of charge and confidential, to all victims of crime, their families and friends.
  
  
• Accept your feelings. Do not rush or try to pretend that you are ok. Each person deals with the death of someone close in their own way, and the reactions can be very different. All reactions are natural.  Search on How does it affect the victim’s relatives and friends? for more information.
  
  
• Remember the good moments that you shared with the person who died. Attending his/her funeral is a way of celebrating his/her life, a chance to comfort those closest and start the process of letting go. Visiting the place where the victim is buried is also a way to remember his/her life.
  
  
• Take care of yourself. Try to rest, sleep and eat well. Do some sport or exercise.  These little things are a starting point for you to feel a little better.
  
  
• Find ways of thinking about other stuff. Do not be ashamed to ask for help from your friends to distract you. Most likely want to help (sometimes friends avoid talking to you about what happened because they don’t know what to say or they are afraid of hurting you even more). Arrange an activity to do together (or ask them to think of something to do together).
  
  

Victim Support Scotland

• Victim Support Scotland can help you and your family. Victim Support Scotland offers information, support and advice to help you deal with  what has happened. They also offer support if you have to attend Court to give evidence.
  
  
• You can contact Victim Support Scotland by looking in the phonebook or searching the website for your nearest office. Or you can phone their helpline.
  
  
• Helpline: 0845 603 9213
  
  
• Website: www.victimsupportsco.org.uk
  
  

Victims of Crime in Scotland

• This website provides information about the criminal justice system as well as how to get help and advice.
  
  
• Website: www.victimsofcrimeinscotland.org.uk
  
  

Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland

• Support to anyone who has been bereaved.
  
  
• Website: www.crusescotland.org.uk
  
  
• Telephone: 01738 444178
  
  

PETAL (People Experiencing Trauma and Loss)

• Support for families and friends of murder or suicide victims
  
  
• Telephone: 01698 324 502
  
  
• Website: www.petalsupport.com
  
  

PETAL (People Experiencing Trauma and Loss)

• Support for families and friends of murder or suicide victims.
  
  
• Telephone: 01698 324 502
  
  
• Website: www.petalsupport.com
  
  

Winston’s Wish

• Helps young people re-adjust to life after the death of a parent or sibling. By providing professional assistance they help them to better understand the nature of loss and offer the practical support and guidance that many need in order to cope throughout the grieving process.
  
  
• Helpline: 08452 03 04 05 
  
  
• Website: www.winstonswish.org.uk 
  
  

Winston’s Wish for YOUNG PEOPLE

• Information, interactive activities and online support for young people in grief.
  
  
• Section: www.winstonswish.org.uk/foryoungpeople
  
  

Childline

• Childline is a free and confidential 24 hour helpline for young people. Childline’s trained counsellors provide help, support and advice on a wide range of issues, including bullying, sexual abuse and domestic violence.
  
  
• There are a number of ways you can contact Childline: by phone, email, 1-2-1 chat online. You can also take part in online discussionboards and get support from others who have been through similar experiences.
  
  
• Tel: 0800 11 11
  
  
• Website: www.childline.org.uk
  
  

ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN A VICTIM OF CRIME OR WHO HAS WITNESSED A CRIME HAS THE RIGHT TO REPORT IT.

If you have been a victim of crime, it is strongly recommended that you report it to the police. 

Once reported, the likelihood of catching the person who committed the crime against you and stopping him/her from doing the same to others is much higher.

If you want to report a crime in confidence, without identifying yourself, it is possible to report crime anonymously. See WHERE CAN I REPORT? (below) for more information on how you can report crime. You can also get support and advice on reporting crime from organisations such as Victim Support Scotland.

 WHERE CAN I REPORT?

WHAT IS INVOLVED IN REPORTING A CRIME?

Reporting a crime is free of charge.
In any of the places where you can report a crime you will have to provide some information about what happened, what you have seen or heard:

• the time and date of the crime;
  
  
• the location of the event;
  
  
• the description of what happened;
  
  
• the description of the people involved (offender, if possible; victims; witnesses).
  
  

The police will use this information to help them solve the crime and bring the perpetrator to justice.

The person identified as the perpetrator of the crime may be notified and informed about the report made against them.

 WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A CRIME IS REPORTED?

After the crime is reported an INVESTIGATION stage starts, during which the police will seek to gather all available evidence. This might require gathering more information from any victims and witnesses.

• Victims and witnesses of crime will normally be asked to give the police a STATEMENT. This involves telling the police officer everything that happened or everything that was seen. This is important as it forms part of the  evidence the police are collecting and helps them to decide whether a crime has been committed. The statement is a legal document, and may also be used during later stages of the investigation and prosecution (put an accused on trial) of the crime. For example, it may be used by the Crown Office and Procurators Fiscal Service (COPFS), (see information about this figures on About going to court who can use it to decide whether it is likely the accused will be found guilty (convicted) of the crime. The statement can also be used as evidence in Court. For these reasons, it is important to make a statement only when you are ready and clear about what you want to say. After giving the statement, the police usually read it back to make sure it matches what the victim has said. If the victim agrees with the statement, they then have to sign it. Once this is done, the victim is given a crime reference number, which they can use later to get information from the police about the same case.
  
  
• If the crime is of a sensitive nature, such as a sexual crime, the victim can ask to be interviewed by an officer of the same sex. For example, if a female victim can ask to speak to a female police officer.
  
  

After a victim or witness has been interviewed (that is, the police have taken the statement) they may not to hear from the police again for some time. If the victim or witness wants to know how their case is progressing, they can do so by contacting the police, quoting the crime reference number the police gave, which helps the police find the information more easily.

If the police identify a person or people they think are responsible for the crime there are several things they can do. For example, they might decide to take no further action, give the offender a warning, order the offender to pay a fine, etc.

In Scotland there are different ways of dealing with an accused person, depending on their age:

If the accused person is a young person (under 16), and if there is enough evidence, they will usually be referred to the CHILDREN’S REPORTER who considers what action to take.

• The Children’s Reporter investigates the case to decide whether or not compulsory measures of intervention are needed to deal with the accused person. If compulsory intervention is required a Children’s Hearing will be held. A Children’s Hearing makes decisions on the issues and needs of the accused young person and how these issues can be addressed to
  prevent them offending again.
  
  
• Some cases may need to be considered by both the Children’s Reporter and the Procurator Fiscal together, to decide whether the case should be dealt with by a CHILDREN’S HEARING or by the formal criminal justice system. Usually, it is only the most serious crimes committed by young people that are dealt with by the formal criminal justice system and
  taken to Court.
  
  
• In many cases the accused young person will be referred to the Children’s Reporter, who decides whether or not a Children’s Hearing is needed. A Children’s Hearing makes decisions on the issues and needs of the accused young person and how the issues can be addressed to prevent them offending again.
  
  
• Victims do not attend Children’s Hearings.
  
  

PLEASE NOTE:
The Children’s Hearings System deals with children and young people in Scotland under the age of eighteen who are in need of help. There are two main reasons why the Children’s Hearings System will help a child or young person:

• Because they are in need of care and protection.
  
  
• Because they have got into trouble with the police (e.g. they committed a crime).
  
  

You can learn more about this here.
For more information you can also search on: Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration

• Provides information about the Children’s Hearing.
  
  
• Website: www.scra.gov.uk
  
  

If the accused person is an adult (over 16) and there is enough evidence, the police will report the crime to the Procurator Fiscal, who is responsible for the prosecution of crime in Scotland.

• They decide what should happen with each report received from the police.
  
  
• The Procurator Fiscal will review the case and, if there is enough evidence, they will put the accused on trial in Court.
  
  
• The Procurator Fiscal may, however, decide there is not enough evidence, and take no further action (drop the case).
  
  
• In certain cases, the Procurator Fiscal may decide action is required, but that a trial is not appropriate. In these cases alternative actions can be taken: the offender may be given a warning, ordered to pay a fine, ordered to do unpaid work.
  
  
• If the Procurator Fiscal does decide put the accused on trial in Court, the victim may be interviewed by the Procurator Fiscal or the DEFENCE TEAM (the defence team is the team of people who represent and defend the accused person).
  
  
• Following this a date will be set for a TRIAL to take place. The trial takes place in a COURT. During the trial, the people present include: the accused, the Judge (known as a Sheriff in Scotland), the Procurator Fiscal (who presents the evidence against the accused and tries to prove that the accused is guilty of committing the crime), the Defence Lawyer (a lawyer who represents the accused and defends the accused in Court), as well as witnesses, which can include the victim.
  
  
• In the most serious cases, there will also be a JURY in the Court. The jury is a group of 15 men and women (jurors) who listen to the evidence and decide if the accused is guilty or not.
  
  

PLEASE NOTE:

The Criminal Justice System takes legal action on matters involving crimes committed by someone over 16. However if a person under 16 is suspected of committing a very serious crime (such as murder or serious assault) they may be dealt with by the criminal justice system. The age of criminal responsibility in Scotland is eight years old. Children under eight cannot be referred to the Reporter or the Procurator Fiscal for offending.
You can read more about here.

There are SPECIAL MEASURES available for young people who have to give evidence in Court. Special measures are different ways to help you give your evidence. These can include: giving evidence from another room through a television link; giving evidence from behind a screen in the Courtroom; having a support person with you when you; etc. Take a look here What support can I get? for more details.

After the trial the Judge or the Jury (depending on the case), takes a decision: either the person is convicted (found guilty) or acquitted (found not guilty, or not proven) of the crimes.

 If the accused person is found guilty, the Judge will then decide on a suitable punishment for the offender. This might be a prison sentence (the Judge will decide on the length the offender must serve in prison). In other cases the offender may be given a community sentence (made to do unpaid work in the community) or they may be made to pay a fine or pay compensation (money) to the victim.

 WILL I HAVE TO GO TO COURT?

• If the criminal case is taken to a Court with a Judge, you may be asked to attend and tell them everything you know. This is called giving your evidence.
  
  
• Victims and witnesses do not attend Children’s Hearings. Sometimes the people making decisions at Children’s Hearings do not agree, or it might not be clear what happened. In these cases the case may need to go to a Court for another Hearing. If this happens, you might be asked to go to Court to tell them everything you know. This is called giving your evidence.
  
  
• If you are to give evidence in Court, you will receive a letter (known as a citation). The letter will tell you the date, time and location you need to attend Court.
  
  
• It is natural to feel very worried or afraid about going to Court. But there is lots of support available to help you through it. Victim Support Scotland have a Witness Service dedicated to giving help and support to people going to Court. They are part of Victim Support Scotland and are based in every Sheriff and High Court in Scotland. The Witness Service can answer general questions about what happens at Court and can also arrange a visit to the Court before the day of the trial, to get you familiar with the Courtroom setting so that you will know what to expect (See What support can I get? for more information).
  
  

Regardless of what you decided to do, you always have the right to be supported. Even if you decide to not report the crime, it is very important to talk to someone about what happened, how you are feeling and the help and support available. If you want to talk to someone before you make a decision to report, there are professionals and organisations who can inform, advise and support you. Search on How and where can I get support? for more information.