Helping victims of crime
Calm, simple flow through teh process
Our role was to make the court process less daunting and less stressful for victims of sexual violence. We began with close consultation with the audience to become clear about what was needed.
Our audience is under stress; they don’t want the visual equivalent of being yelled at. Less “decoration” and more function was a clear direction we set in. The resulting white space helps introduce calm and allows you to focus on the actual content.
Plain english, minimal text and using video to show
The content is laid out in a step by step process so victims can find where they are now, and what to expect next. Typically they don't want any more than that. Content is self-discoverable, and not overwhelming, with accordion-style pockets of information you can expand and contract according to your interest.
Taking the perspective of the victim
The Ministry of Justice embraced the approach of text that was plain English using a warm and caring tone of voice in all the content.
We’ve used video and visual elements where they really add value. The victim can see on video various parts of a court case, and learn who sits where and what happens in court. The video is all shot from where the victim will be in the courtroom.
Uses smart technology
The site is fully bi-lingual and has a SilverStripe back-end, meeting Government standards and ensuring the Ministry of Justice has total control over managing the content. It was created for mobile first, and offers several ways for user to protect their privacy.
We used common justice terms that a victim-survivor will encounter, and we added a glossary so those terms are translated into plain English. This is a neat new feature that we made available for other Government websites to freely use.
The site was acknowledged by the Ministry of Justice Chief Executive in their annual awards, as the best example of Customer thinking, and as the overall exemplar across the entire Ministry in 2019.
It is AWESOME! Well done… What I love about it is that people can dip in and out of it as they need and the information is so clear. Thank you.
Sexual Violence Victims Advisor