Corporate report

Review of support for victims and survivors of terrorism (accessible)

Updated 26 March 2025

Summary

Counter-terrorism is not just about the powers we have to stop those that want to cause harm, it is also about the Government’s duty to support those that are impacted by terrorism. The Government’s CONTEST 2023 Strategy places victims and survivors at its heart. The devastating impact of a terrorist attack is felt by individuals, their families, and their communities. It can manifest itself in different ways and for varying lengths of time. In many cases, the impact can last a lifetime. The effects of terrorism are inextricably linked with victims’ and survivors’ experiences of support received, with impacts being mitigated or inadvertently exacerbated, depending on the type and quality of support. Guaranteeing the best support for victims and survivors of terrorism should enable people to regain their lives and autonomy.

The Home Office Victims of Terrorism Unit (VTU) was created in 2017 to coordinate support in response to any incident declared as terrorism, domestically or overseas, which impacts UK residents and British citizens. The VTU works across central government, and with the emergency services, local government structures and victim support organisations when needed, to ensure that victims and survivors receive effective, timely and comprehensive support. All victims and survivors, regardless of nationality, will be supported after a UK based attack.

Since October 2020, the VTU has funded organisations to provide emotional and practical support to victims and survivors of terrorism:

• Victim Support run a 24/7 national contact centre to provide victims and survivors with immediate, practical, and easily accessible support. Victims and survivors will be first referred to Victim Support for a full, initial Terror Incident Needs Assessment (TINA) at the start of their journey. This will ensure the full range of the individual’s needs are identified and addressed, resulting in better support being provided. TINAs are owned by victims and survivors themselves, and travel with them as they access each support organisation in the pathway, which, negates the need for them to repeat their stories each time.

• South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLAM) provide specialist, clinical mental health support, tailored specifically for victims and survivors of terrorism. This includes proactive outreach, screening and assessment of victims and survivors, and onward referrals to local or specialist interventions, depending on need.

• The Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Foundation facilitates peer-to-peer group events and a long-term peer support network, bringing together victims and survivors of terrorism with shared experiences to support each other.

The UK Government is committed to providing swift and comprehensive support to victims and survivors of terrorism. The VTU has conducted a review of the support package for victims and survivors of terrorism, to comprehensively assess the gaps in support and identify ways to meet the evolving needs of victims and survivors. A summary of the findings is included in this document.

Delivery of the review

The review, delivered by the Home Office Victims of Terrorism Unit (VTU), assessed the current support provided, encompassing central government departments, local government, and third sector providers. The review’s findings are based on information gathered from direct engagement with victims and survivors of domestic and overseas terrorist attacks, an open-source literature review, online questionnaires to stakeholders across government and the third sector and learning from other countries. The review acknowledged that it could not account for the experience of every victim and survivor, although effort was made to gather an extensive evidence base and engage a wide range of contributors.

The Victims of Terrorism Unit (VTU) defines victims and survivors of terrorist attacks as any individual who has been impacted by a terrorist attack. This includes those physically injured, those mentally impacted, those who witnessed or were bereaved by an attack, as well as those who have supported affected individuals in a personal or professional capacity (for example, friends and family, and first responders).

The review could not have taken place without a large number of stakeholders being involved, providing candid reflections, explaining often complex processes and policy, and imparting feedback. Thanks should be given to everyone who took part in the review and special tribute paid to the victims and survivors who shared their experiences and offered their assistance.

Key findings

The review identified eleven themes of issues faced by victims and survivors, related to bespoke support, communications, mental health support, physical health support, financial support, overseas support, children and young people, media interactions, first response and Family Liaison Officers, legal support, and recognition. The review presented a number of recommendations to address these thematic issues, designed to improve the overall support package. The key findings and recommendations are summarised below.

Bespoke support

The review found that a key issue faced by victims and survivors is a lack of assistance navigating what support is available to them, how they can access it, and where they can receive help to do so. More should be done to test and exercise support services for victims and survivors of terrorism, and to ensure that lessons learned are acted on and implemented. To ensure that the needs of victims and survivors are met, public messaging should be simple, consistent, and point towards a single support service as an initial point of contact.

Therefore, the review has recommended that a dedicated support hub, with caseworkers to act as a single point of contact (SPOC), should be created.

Communications

Communication is an overarching theme throughout the review. The review found there is a lack of clear and proactive communications on the support available to victims and survivors, including on mental health support and compensation, and where this support can be found, both in the immediate aftermath of an attack and in the longer term. More regular and co-ordinated communications are required. Victims and survivors who are not assigned a Family Liaison Officer are less likely to receive consistent communications on topics such as the justice process and anniversaries.

The review made a series of recommendations, including introducing an enhanced communication strategy which encompasses bespoke toolkits and refreshing communications to bolster awareness of support and ensure the support package is accessible to victims and survivors.

Mental health support

Many victims and survivors experience psychological impacts of varied nature and severity in the aftermath of an attack, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The review found that victims and survivors struggle to access timely and specialist trauma treatment through the National Health Service (NHS), which can impact their day-to-day roles and has led many to navigate ways to privately fund mental health treatment. The review also indicated that mental health support for children and young people impacted by terrorism must be strengthened.

Therefore, the review included recommendations on:

• issuing guidance in the form of a toolkit to healthcare professionals in the aftermath of an attack, including information on the wider types of support available to patients to be signposted.

• scoping the viability of expanding the current support offer to include mental health treatment, in addition to screening and assessment, for both adults and children and young people.

Physical health support

The review recorded that victims and survivors who have experienced physical injuries generally have a positive experience of the care they receive at the scene of the incident and in hospital. However, there is a need for clear guidance about what to expect post-discharge, better signposting to wider support and greater continuity of care in long-term treatment. A change in the quality and consistency of care post-discharge was experienced largely by victims and survivors located outside of UK metropolitan areas.

The review included recommendations on:

• developing best practice guidance bespoke to hospitals, including information on the wider types of support available to patients, and comprehensive local care plans for patients.

• considering the remit of a dedicated support hub for victims and survivors of terrorism once victims are safely discharged from hospital, and ongoing emotional and practical support as they adjust to home life.

Financial support

A lack of awareness and clarity on where victims and survivors can access financial assistance, especially in the immediate aftermath of an attack, was evidenced by the review. In particular, witnesses of overseas attacks and those who suffered injuries reported being unaware of the financial support available to them. Furthermore, the review found that victims and survivors struggle to access timely and adequate financial support and compensation.

The review recommended:

• clarifying and clearly signposting guidance on financial support and compensation for victims and survivors, as part of the enhanced communication strategy.

• further work with stakeholders across the system to improve the experience of victims and survivors of terrorism when accessing financial support and compensation.

Overseas support

The review revealed several issues that specifically impact victims and survivors of terrorist attacks overseas. The findings included that some witnesses of overseas attacks are more likely to be unaware of the support available to them. Communications to all victims and survivors need to be issued faster and more regularly, and the level of support provided should be consistent regardless of the country in which the attack took place. Guidance issued on specific country’s laws, customs and procedures should be clear and compassionate, and victims and survivors should be proactively provided with information on legal proceedings taking place in the host country, including access to translated documents, insofar as the country allows.

The review made a series of recommendations, including:

• exploring the most effective channels to reach victims and witnesses with relevant information, including those who do not seek consular assistance from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the aftermath of an attack.

• continuing routine assessments of capability and readiness to respond to incidents overseas, including victim and survivors’ support.

• exploring ways to improve guidance on engaging with justice proceedings overseas, including overcoming language barriers.

Children and young people

The review identified a set of issues pertaining particularly to children and young people (CYP) and that support for this cohort needs to be strengthened. CYP experience trouble accessing mental health support which is appropriate for their age group and some sense a power imbalance with adults. Many CYP rely on their personal support networks to aid recovery, with schools playing a large part in this. Victims’ and survivors’ access to specialist support varies, and some ‘fall through the gaps’ when transitioning between child and adult mental health services.

In line with these findings, the review made a series of recommendations, including:

• enhancing the peer-to-peer support offer for CYP, identifying potential ways to access third sector support networks, and improving the visibility of support through creative means, such as social media.

• consideration of the role of a dedicated support hub to help CYP who have long term additional needs to learn new skills and gain new interests outside of the educational environment.

• enabling mental health services for both adults and children to allow for continuity of care when victims and survivors turn 18 years old.

• strengthening guidance for schools through a bespoke toolkit and enhancing engagement with Local Authorities to ensure they are adequately aware of the support available to victims and survivors and can signpost correctly to support services in the immediate aftermath of an incident and in the longer term.

Media interactions

Victims and survivors reported that the conduct of media outlets impact their wellbeing in the aftermath of an attack. The review highlighted that victims and survivors should receive more support in handling interest from the public and the media, and comprehensive guidance in the short and long term. Guidance needs to be readily available at any point following the attack.

The review recommended developing stronger guidance on the practical steps that should be taken to ensure that victims and survivors are supported in in their interactions with the media, both in the aftermath of a terrorist attack and around key milestones such as inquests, inquiries, and anniversaries.

First Responders and Family Liaison Officers

The review reported that the majority of victims and survivors who receive support from first responders are satisfied with this support. Victims and survivors find the support offered by Family Liaison Officers to be particularly positive and helpful. Nevertheless, some victims and survivors experience issues relating to miscommunication around legal processes, and they reported difficulties adjusting when the time came for their Family Liaison Officer to step down.

In line with these findings, the review included recommendations to:

• strengthen training for those who support victims and survivors, including the development of a bespoke toolkit to improve the consistency of information sharing.

• incorporate the lived experiences of victims and survivors in Counter Terrorism Family Liaison Officer training; something that is now in place.

Legal support

The opportunity to participate in legal proceedings is hugely important to many victims and survivors. The review found that those who attended legal proceedings generally felt well supported by the police and court staff. However, the review indicated a need to provide sufficient and consistent messaging across government agencies regarding legal proceedings and court attendance, and to consider further support and legal representation overseas.

The review made a series of recommendations relating to legal support, including:

• ensuring that all criminal justice agencies providing support to victims and survivors have a consistent understanding of respective roles and legal processes.

• refreshing guidance to ensure clarity on the support available to victims and survivors, both legal and psychological.

Recognition

The review identified that recognition of the experiences of victims and survivors is of great significance. While anniversaries are a recurring source of difficulty for many victims and survivors, marking these dates is also a way of recognising their experiences and paying tribute to those sadly lost to terrorism. The review found that there could be greater consistency in how victims and survivors are communicated with in the lead up to anniversaries.

The review recommended a consultation on implementing a national day for victims and survivors of overseas and domestic terrorist attacks in the UK. During this consultation, victims’ and survivors’ preference of a name, date, terminology and ways to commemorate should be explored.

Conclusion

The UK Government is deeply committed to providing support to victims and survivors of terrorism and there have been significant improvements in recent years. Nonetheless, the review found that the current support needs to go further; to better communicate the support available to victims and survivors, help navigate them through it, and to ensure that the support available addresses the varying needs and unique experiences.

The review identified several ways to improve the support package for victims and survivors of terrorism. This includes streamlining the support journey, reducing the need for victims and survivors to coordinate their own support, and providing clarity on the support they are eligible for, at a time when they are processing trauma.

The UK Government will take forward recommendations from the review to build on the current support offer. The first step will be to implement a dedicated support hub for victims and survivors of terrorism. This recommendation underpins many of the proposed areas for improvement found in the review and will establish a single source for all communications to victims and survivors in the immediate and long term.

The second step, in acknowledgment of the review’s findings on the importance of paying tribute to those impacted by terrorism, will be to launch a public consultation on a national day for victims and survivors of terrorist attacks.

The breadth of the review was comprehensive and some of the findings are complex. The review has produced a wide range of recommendations across the themes identified and the Home Office Victims of Terrorism Unit will continue to engage with key stakeholders to support this work.

Once again, sincere thanks go to the people who supported the review, including the victims and survivors who bravely shared their experiences.