A child or a young person as a victim of crime

You should seek help if you feel or suspect that you have been the victim of a crime. Becoming a victim of crime can be unexpected and shocking. It may also be that the situation does not necessarily feel like anything. Emotions may vary, but all kinds of emotions are normal and allowed.

A person who has been the victim of a crime often needs support from his or her loved ones. For example, parents, friends, and professionals can help you. The important thing is that you should not be left alone. You should not be ashamed of being a victim of a crime. Shame belongs to the perpetrator of the crime.

You and your loved ones should contact Victim Support Finland, RIKU . They specialise in advising and assisting victims of crime and their loved ones immediately after the incident, through the trial. The telephone number of Victim Support Finland is 116 006. All RIKU services are free of charge. You can contact them by phone or online, even anonymously.

For the police to investigate a criminal case, you must file a police report . Based on the report, the police will assess whether there is reason to suspect an offence. If the police consider that there is reason to suspect an offence, the police will take the necessary measures to investigate the offence. The police often interrogate those who have participated in the event or who otherwise know about it. The police usually invite people one by one to the police department or call them by telephone.

Once the police have carried out their own investigations, a criminal investigation report is written on the matter and forwarded to the prosecutor. On the basis of the pre-trial investigation report, the prosecutor assesses whether the matter should be referred to a court for decision. If the prosecutor concludes that the case must be brought before a court, he or she will file a charge, describing what has happened and what, in his or her opinion, is the offence. He then submits that charge to the court and requests that the judge contact the accused and the victim and summonses them to a hearing, a court hearing. Read more about the prosecutor's work on the website of the National Prosecution Authority .

 The victim of an offence often needs to be heard to clarify the matter. Only you can tell us what happened and what happened to you. This is important information for the judge, who is responsible for assessing whether the offence has been committed.

 Remember that you have the right to the support and legal advice you need, which means that it is not necessary to deal with matters alone. Please, also remember that if your mother tongue is Finnish or Swedish, you always have the right to use these languages in contacts with the authorities investigating the matter. If you do not master Finnish or Swedish, you can speak the language you know and it is up to adults to provide an interpreter.

As explained above, it is generally necessary to hear the victim in court proceedings in order to clarify the case. This means that the victim is questioned about what has happened and the victim answers these questions during the trial. The general rule is that even if the matter has been investigated by the police, the same matters must be told to the judge again.

• If the victim is under 15 years of age, he or she does not usually need to appear in court to clarify the matter. It is usually enough for the child to tell the police what has happened and for the story to be videotaped. The judge and other parties to the proceedings may then watch the video recording later in the proceedings.
• If the victim is over 15 years of age, he or she will in due course be summoned to a court hearing to testify if this is necessary to clarify the matter. However, if the matter is perfectly clear and the perpetrator has pleaded guilty to the offence, it may be that the case can be dealt with without having to appear in court. This is up to the judge.

You will receive a letter from the court stating the address of the courthouse and the time of the trial. Your parents will also be summoned to the trial. The number of the courtroom can be found on the information board or by asking the staff. At the courthouse, the judge also announces in which courtroom the trial starts and invites the parties in. After the announcement, the parties may move from the lobby to the courtroom.

Watch the video 'appearing in court' with English subtitles (Youtube)

If you are suspected of having been the victim of a serious crime, the police will already provide you with a legal counsel for police questioning and you will not have to arrange for a legal counsel yourself. The same legal counsel will assist you when the case is heard in court. For example, he or she will advise and see to it that a claim for damages is made for damages caused to you. He can also tell you about the state of the trial.

Children and young people without income or wealth are entitled to free legal assistance. In this case, the assistance of the legal counsel does not cost anything.

You can also always take the person you want with you to support you in court. For example, you can get a support person trained for the task from Victim Support Finland free of charge (riku.fi).

Read more practical instructions on the RIKU website .

The court hearing shall be chaired by the presiding judge. His or her role is to listen to what the parties have to say. The judge is often assisted by a secretary who records the key points of the trial. The secretary may be contacted if there are any questions about the arrangements for the court hearing.

When a criminal matter is considered in a trial, the prosecutor is also present at the hearing. The prosecutor's task is to inform the judge, and other persons present about the offence in question and how, in his or her view, the offence has been committed. The prosecutor also makes a request for a punishment.

If there are witnesses or other knowledgeable witnesses to the events, they may be heard as witnesses in the matter. Witnesses arrive at court hearings at their turn and are present only during their own speech. The chairperson will call the witness in to the courtroom when it is his or her turn to give testimony.

There is also often a variable number of lawyers present at the hearing, i.e. people with legal training. Their job is to assist their own client during the trial. For example, a person accused of a crime and a victim of a crime may have their own legal counsel, both of them their own. A minor may also be accompanied by a guardian if his or her own parents cannot be guardians.

Sometimes an interpreter is also present at the trial if one of the parties does not speak Finnish or Swedish as his or her mother tongue and he or she has difficulty understanding the matters to be dealt with in the trial. In that case, the task for the interpreter is to translate what is said in the proceedings in such a way as to enable the party to understand what is going on in the proceedings. The court shall arrange for any interpreter to be summoned.

Because the trials are public in Finland, journalists or other members of the public may also be present.

At the beginning of criminal proceedings, the prosecutor and the victim make their claims. The defendant is then asked whether he or she accepts or contests the claims made. Then the prosecutor, the victim and the defendant may, in turn, give more detailed reasons for their position and comment on what others have said.

In the trial, documentary evidence is examined together, and, for example, a surveillance recording will be watched, if there is one. Other evidence may include photographs, messages, medical certificates and payment receipts.

Next comes the statement of the victim and the defendant. The reports previously submitted to the police in the case are not, as such, procedural documents; the parties and witnesses are usually heard again at the hearing. Hearing means that a person is free to share his or her memories and may also be asked questions.

At the end of the proceedings, all the parties may still express their views on whether the charge has been proven and how, in their view, the case should be judged. The judgment may be given orally immediately after the trial or later in writing. At the end of the proceedings, the judge shall indicate when and how the judgment will be given.

Learn more about the trial

While the police are still investigating the crime, information on events and individuals is generally not public. Information relating to the offence is usually made public at the beginning of the trial. However, if the police stop investigating the case or the prosecutor decides not to prosecute, the cases will also generally become public at that stage.

Trials in Finland are therefore, as a rule, public. This means that anyone can come to the courtroom and follow the trial in a district court or court of appeal. The public may sit at the back of the courtroom listening and watching, but they shall not disturb or interfere in the trial in any way. However, sometimes a trial can be conducted without the presence of the public, if there are reasonable grounds for doing so. This is up to the judge.

You can also write about trials in the press or other news channels. Exceptionally, there are situations in which no outsiders are allowed to attend a court hearing. This is often the case, for example, when the accused person is under 18 years of age. In the case of a sexual offence or other sensitive matter, the victim may request that his or her identity be kept secret in the court proceedings.

Read more about the publicity of trials

As a rule, the names of the suspect and victim become public at the beginning of the trial.

Journalists’ guidelines (jsn.fi) guide journalists to protect the disclosure of the identity of minors and young people. Thus, for example, the name of the accused may not be published, since in such a situation the identity of the victim could also be revealed.

The victim of a crime may claim compensation from the person suspected of the offence for the damage caused. The claim for compensation is made at the same time as the criminal charge is heard in court. The victim will receive a separate inquiry before the trial. You don't get any compensation unless you ask for it.

Damage to be compensated may include broken or stolen goods, mental injury or pain and suffering. It is not always possible to present a receipt for damaged goods, but the amount of damage can be estimated otherwise. The amount of compensation requested must be precise so that the accused can comment on it.

Read more about compensation in criminal damages on the website of Victim Support Finland .

Compensation for attending trials

It is impossible to say in advance how long it will take to deal with the matter. The investigation of the offence begins with an investigation by the police and the matter is then referred to the prosecutor for consideration. Only after that will it be on the judge's desk. The judge will prepare the case and may request written answers before ordering a hearing. The day of the hearing must fit the schedules of the prosecutor and the lawyers. It is very common that the progress of a criminal case to a court hearing takes several months, sometimes almost a year. That is very unfortunate, because the aim is to deal with matters involving minors as quickly as possible.

Once the case has reached the judge after the initial stages, the hearing must take place as a matter of urgency. The intention is that a case in which a minor is a victim should be dealt with within one month, if this is possible.

In serious cases of harassment, persecution or violence, a district court may order that another person may not approach or contact you. To protect you, a restraining order may also be issued against a member of your own family.

The police are the right bodies to get help whenever the situation is acute, and the restraining order must be enforced as soon as possible. The police can quickly issue a temporary restraining order. The matter will be discussed at a later court hearing.

• More information on restraining orders and contact details of police departments is available on the police website.
• The police advisory service provides general advice and help on matters that are not urgent.
• The general emergency number is 112. The emergency number can be called in urgent emergencies requiring, for example, police or rescue assistance.

• Victim Support Finland will help you make an application. Assistance and advice on applying for a restraining order can also be obtained from a legal counsel.
• More information and application form for a restraining order
• Read more about restraining orders on the RIKU website .