Studies have shown that victimization results in considerable emotional and psychological stress and have indicated that the impact is greatest among the poor, the less educated, and sexual assault victims. These findings led to a proliferation of victim-witness programs, including crisis intervention programs and victim compensation. Additional research has shown that the criminal justice system's response to the victim affects not only victims' psychological reactions, but also their willingness and ability to cooperate with the system. Such research has contributed to the development of programs to provide witness information and assistance and has improved criminal justice system response to victims, especially victims of rape and domestic violence and child victims. Research underway is giving attention to the effectiveness of victim's services and reforms designed to make the criminal justice system more responsive to victims' needs. 2 photographs and 26 references.