Former court advocate pens book on working with violent crime victims

Working with victims of violent crime leaves a person scarred, says Beata Bagi, who spent 20 year working as a victim advocate in the United States.

Bagi graduated from law school in Croatia but moved to the United States in the 1980s. She worked with victims of violent crime at the New Haven Superior Court in Connecticut.

“I would explain to victims what their rights were in the state of Connecticut and help them to exercise those rights. If their case ended up in court, I would explain court procedure and prepare them to testify about what happened to them,” Bagi said, appearing in an interview on Croatian Television.

She worked on cases involving murder, assault, and rape. The most difficult cases, she says, were cases involving child abuse.

“At first you feel that your work is exciting and dynamic but later you realize that all these cases leave scars on your soul,” Bagi said, adding that she had to leave before those scars started “bleeding”.

She decided to write a book to help her come to terms with her experiences and heal. It has been published in the Croatian language under the title Ožiljci: Priče is američke sudnice (Scars: Stories from the American Courtroom).

“Very often memories of cases I worked on come to mind. I remember a family that was burned alive in their home. Every time I see I fire on TV, I think of them,” she said.

Bagi says society glamorizes criminals and marginalizes victims, partly because it is too frightening to believe that something terrible can happen to any of us.

“If we accept the truth that anyone can be a victim, then we must accept the possibility that I can happen to us. In order to be afraid, it is easier to blame the victim and feel like we capable of controlling the situation and would never allow such a thing to happen,” she says.

Bagi believes society should advocate more for victims. Being a victim is nothing to be ashamed of and that is something that needs more public awareness. Victims deserve our help, she says.