The essay argues that the ICVS has had a marked influence on the development of various projects of SHN, and its results are used to influence victim policy at the national level, as well as at the level of the European Union through the umbrella organization of victim assistance organizations Victim Support Europe (VSE), formerly the European Forum for Victim Services. The ICVS has informed the development of policy relating to victims who have not reported crime to the police and the establishment of a pilot service that focuses on preventing repeat victimization. At the international level, the ICVS can inform an evaluation of the implementation of the European Union Framework Decision on the position of the victim in criminal proceedings. In addition, the ICVS provides data that show crime victims are less punitive and that crime levels are declining. Thus, victims' preferences and crime levels cannot be used to support increasingly punitive criminal justice measures. SHN's perspectives on victims and research are similar to those of the ICVS. This perspective on crime victims and research, however, is not unconditionally shared by other organizations that claim to serve crime victims. Rights-based advocacy groups, groups that focus on violence against women, and proponents of restorative justice have other perspectives on victims and victim research. This is evidence of the variety of perspectives within the so-called victims' movement. 61 references