You could be sitting at work, picking the kids up from school, enjoying a glass of wine with friends, being told over dinner, finding out through social media or getting a call from either a police officer or your loved one from the police station. But when you get the news that your loved one has been accused of an offence, prepare yourself for the life you know to be very different from now on…
I call it a “knock” but what it actually should be called is a sledge hammer blow to both your head and your heart. How can the person who you know and love be accused of anything that has placed them under police scrutiny?
Drugs
Assault
Muder
Rape
Child porograhy
Drink driving
Theft
Burglary….
The list is endless but for you the Unseen Victim in these experiences in this intrusion into your life is, in some cases, worse than for the true victims of crime.
No one wakes up one morning wishing to become embroiled in the aftermath of another’s criminality. No one wishes to have their household income halved but then have to find funds to support their loved one through a rehabilitation program which heavily depends on “strong family bonds”. No one wishes to take their children into a prison visit hall to visit their parents and no one wishes the heart ache associated with supporting a person through prison custody, upon themselves. The stigma is as real today as it has ever been.