Following a summary of the legislation and programs stemming from the "victims' movement" that emerged in the 1970's, this paper notes the paucity of research on the effects of criminal victimization and victim services programs. Research suggestions are offered. The first paper in the volume describes criminal-victimization patterns in the United States, followed by a paper that examines the antecedents of psychological distress in crime victims. Two other papers discuss the impact of sexual assault on victims and some of the implications of this research for redressing victims' needs and examine the criminal justice system's response to domestic violence. A paper details how police and the courts have responded to victims of child sexual abuse, and another reviews a number of studies which show that the relatives or intimate partners of crime victims may experience an emotional impact from the crime similar to the victims themselves. Other papers cover victim programs in several Canadian cities, victim services in the United States, reforms designed to increase victim participation in criminal justice processing, restitution, trends in victim policy in Europe, and recent innovations in victim policy. 28 references