About VSS
Victim Support Service (VSS) is a Not-For-Profit organisation that provides
practical and therapeutic support to 40,000 victims and witnesses each year in
South Australia. We have a local presence in every major community throughout
the State. And through our advocacy, we give a voice to victims within the
criminal justice system.
Since 1979 we’ve been helping people affected by crime to face the future with hope. We support them
therapeutically, emotionally and practically, helping them to cope and recover after crime.
This can range from helping to get extra security for a woman who is threatened by her partner, to supporting
families as they cope with the aftermath of a murder of a loved one. We often support people through
challenging and traumatic times, helping them to get their lives back on track.
We are also here to help victims, witnesses and their families in every criminal court in South Australia. Our Court
Companion Service supported 250 people in the run up to a trial and during the court process in
2014-15, helping them to feel informed and supported so that they could give evidence confidently and ensure
that justice was served.
We do not do this alone. We work with many organisations, including police, courts, Office of the Director of
Public Prosecutions, Department for Correctional Services, the Commissioner for Victims Rights and the judiciary
to provide the most effective assistance to victims and to advocate for victims’ rights. Our partnerships over the
past year have supported changes to domestic violence legislation, better support for vulnerable victims and
witnesses in the justice system, and wholesale changes to the victims of crime compensation scheme.
We continue to innovate, and this year secured over $700,000 in State funding to provide legal support to women and children affected by family and domestic violence (see page 11).
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VSS 2014/15 Annual Report