Experiencing crime, whether as a victim, a witness, or a family member of someone affected, is traumatic. However, what happens next is often as bad if not worse.

The criminal justice system is a maze of complexity and opacity. I regularly speak to people affected by crime whose experience of the system is a substantial contributor to the trauma they experience. This is a massive problem when you consider that 60 per cent of crime in Scotland is not reported.

Courtrooms are intimidating places for the accused as well as victims, and people are often unaware of their rights. A large part of our work at Victim Support Scotland is to shine a light in the dark corridors of the justice halls, helping people navigate the complexities and supporting them through their emotional, mental, physical, and even financial journeys.

Scotland has always had a distinct justice system, and for a long time led the way on victims’ rights but we have been lagging behind more recently. Scotland was one of the first countries to have a distinct Victims’ Code thanks to the 2012 EU Victims’ Rights Directive, but has made little headway in ensuring these enshrined rights are fully implemented.

Thanks to tireless years of campaigning by people affected by crime, some of that is changing. This is exemplified by Scotland’s Victims Taskforce, which links victims’ experiences directly with the Lord Advocate and Minister for Justice.

The Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill currently making its way through Holyrood contains several measures that should radically improve victims’ experiences. This includes the establishment of a Victims’ Commissioner, who would scrutinise the system and our agencies to make sure they honour the standards of service related to the Victims’ Code for Scotland and uphold victims’ rights. The latter will be strengthened by the bill, which aims to embed trauma-informed practice in criminal and civil courts.

Further along in the legislative process is the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, which includes a blanket lifetime ban on naming an individual who committed a crime when they were under the age of 18. However, victims, their families, and the organisations that support them have also been campaigning hard for reforms which would also protect the anonymity of children who die as a result of crime.

The argument is clear: why should a perpetrator of a crime have a greater right to anonymity than the victim? The emotional argument is even more compelling. I have heard too many families discuss the continued damage that is done to the siblings and wider family when a child’s murder or death by crime becomes a matter of public scrutiny.

There is no doubt there are complexities around how we legislate this change, but our Parliament is and should be up for the task.

Both bills present a critical opportunity to embed a victim-centred approach at the heart of our justice system and pass legislation informed by the voices and experiences of people affected by crime.

Kate Wallace is CEO of Victim Support Scotland