Non-governmental organizations, the voice of vulnerable victims; with emphasis on the approach of the code of criminal procedure in 2013

In line with the ideas of participatory criminal policy, the Iranian legislature has accepted the support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for vulnerable victims in Article 66 of the Criminal Procedure Code of 2013 and allowed the NGOs to protect these victims in criminal proceedings by declaring a crime and participating in the trial. The present article also aims to investigate the function of NGOs by answering the question of whether NGOs have the necessary efficiency in supporting vulnerable victims. Findings show that these support measures face challenges; the lack of criteria for evaluating the cases, the limitation of their intervention, and the ignorance of the judges cause them not to be used well. In addition, the NGOs have a weak legal nature and often operate independently, do not cooperate with the mass media, and often lack expertise. They also lack the trust of the government and the people and the good financial situation. From this day on, it is necessary to think of measures both in the legislation and to give the necessary training to the judges in this regard. Efforts should also be made to ensure that NGOs have a good social status in society, reduce their dependence by generating income, and be better able to support vulnerable people.