Crime victimization and the Right to Health: Comparative Perspectives from India, UK and USA

Abstract

Crime victimization is conventionally treated as a matter for police, prosecution and courts, yet its most durable consequences are often borne by health systems. This comparative review examines whether and how the legal frameworks of India, England and Wales, and the United States translate victim status into access to emergency treatment, mental-health care, rehabilitation, compensation and supportive services. A structured doctrinal-public-health method was used, combining primary legislation, leading judicial authority, official victim-service instruments and contemporary public-health and victimization data. The analysis finds a convergent recognition that victimization produces physical, psychological and social harm, but substantial divergence in legal architecture. India provides an unusually explicit statutory bridge between criminal procedure and free medical treatment for specified victims, reinforced by constitutional right-to-life jurisprudence and victim compensation. England and Wales use a service-rights model strengthened by the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 and the Victims’ Code, with emphasis on information, specialist support and inter-agency coordination. The United States protects procedural dignity and access to services through the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act and VOCA-funded assistance, but delivery remains fragmented across federal and state systems. Across all three jurisdictions, the principal gap is not recognition of harm but continuity, enforceability and equity of health-supportive care. The paper proposes a trauma-informed victim health continuum linking acute care, psychological support, legal-social navigation, compensation and long-term rehabilitation, and argues that health outcomes should become a measurable component of victim justice policy.