Help and support for crime victims have become key components of the British government's criminal justice policy in recent years. The Victim's Charter, published by the Government in 1990, is the first official statement on how crime victims should be treated and what they are entitled to expect from the Government. It focuses on the three issues that have caused most concern during the last decade: the unsympathetic treatment of victims by the police and courts, obtaining financial compensation, and the provision of welfare services. The Victim's Charter gives very little attention to the plight of child victims, however. The way in which the criminal justice system responds to children and young persons under the age of 17 was the subject of research commissioned by the Home Office and implemented at the Centre for Criminological Research at the University of Oxford. Although a number of innovations have emerged that relate specifically to child victims, much remains to be done to ensure that children receive such help as they may need in the aftermath of crime and that they are not further victimized by the criminal justice process. 34 references and 3 notes