When someone becomes a victim of crime, the impact lasts long after the sentence is passed.

Victim Impact Statements (VIS) were created so victims could express the human cost of what happened to them. But in Northern Ireland, victims are not automatically allowed to read their statements to the perpetrator in court. This has only changed recently, and even now, it is solely at the judge’s discretion.

For many people and families, that opportunity never came. Their words — written straight from the heart — have never been spoken or heard.

For those who now wish to read their statements directly to the offenders already in prison, the same barrier remains. They are told it can only happen if the offender agrees — giving the very person who caused them harm the power to decide whether or not they face the impact of what they’ve done.

That silence is not justice!

 

My name is Coleen McGleenon.

In 2019, my family lost my 11-month-old nephew, Hunter, in horrific circumstances.

When his killer was sentenced, our Victim Impact Statements were not allowed to be read in court.

Now, years later, as we continue to seek answers, we’ve been told that if we ever want to speak those words directly to him in prison, it can only happen with his permission — because of his human rights.

This isn’t just about my family. It affects every victim who was never allowed to speak in court and who now wants the chance to be heard face-to-face, only to be told the offender has a choice.

In court, offenders must listen if a judge allows a Victim Impact Statement to be read.

Why is it suddenly considered a breach of human rights once they are in prison?

That contradiction makes no sense  and it leaves victims silenced once again.

All victims deserve the right to be heard, to speak the truth of their pain, and to have that truth acknowledged.

This petition calls for change — for a system that recognises victims’ justice as equal to offenders’ rights.

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Why This Matters

This is not about revenge or punishment. It is about truth, accountability, and basic fairness.

Offenders should not be allowed to hide from the human consequences of their actions.

Victims should not need permission to speak their truth.

When the system protects the offender’s right to silence over the victim’s right to be heard, it sends a message that their suffering is secondary — that their pain is inconvenient.

That silence deepens trauma. It denies recognition, humanity, and closure.

Human rights were created to protect dignity, not to silence those already harmed.

True justice must protect both sides — offender and victim — with equal weight.

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What Needs to Change

We are calling on the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the Department of Justice, and the Minister for Justice to:

1. Create a formal process that allows victims to read their Victim Impact Statements directly to offenders already in custody.

2. Ensure this right cannot be blocked by offender refusal.

3. Guarantee that participation is recorded as neutral for parole, not as credit for engagement.

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A Call for Balance

Victims are not asking for special treatment, only equality, dignity, and the right to be heard.

Please add your name if you believe victims deserve that right — not to be silenced by bureaucracy or by the choices of those who caused them harm.

It’s time to restore balance.

It’s time for victims’ justice to matter as much as offenders’ rights.

It’s time to be heard!  🌿