Sarah Lavis

And the other thing I think about that worries me about being victim-centered is that they're not all remorseful.

So some of them, especially in domestic abuse cases, they feel like it's deserved.

Yeah.

So that's really hard because I know the families want to put forward like how much they miss their person and they want that person to be really remorseful.

But they're not always remorseful and that's harder then on the families too.

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

Because that's when they start picking things apart.

Like as a victim, I think, why should I be cross-examined?

Yeah.

I put my evidence in my statement in the beginning.

And that's what it is.

But then now we have laws.

We're starting to bring in laws against coercive control.

And then you go to court and you've got a defender doing the same thing.

They're gaslighting you.

They're trying to coerce you into saying language that will then go with what they're saying.

They manipulate.

your statement to meet what they want it to meet.

And that's not fair either.