Sonipat, Oct 18 (IANS): Victim assistance, a key element in any criminal justice system, will be the focus of discussion at a two-day international conference to be held at the O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) here next week.

Victims of crime may suffer from physical, mental, emotional and financial harm, from which some may never recover. Victim assistance as a field of practice and study directs towards expanding knowledge of criminal victimisation and applying this knowledge to improve the condition of both individuals and society.

The main theme of the conference is "evolving perspective in victimology" and the various sessions will envisage different aspects of victimology by academicians, government officials, lawyers, social workers, policy makers and students from around the world.

The Centre for Victimology & Psychological Studies (CVPS), under the aegis of the Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences (JIBS) will organise the conference on October 21-22.

The seminar is being hosted by JIBS and JGU for the third time in a row.

"The international conference on victim assistance has provided a crucial platform over the years internationally for intellectual and research-based discussion in the field of victimology," Professor Sanjeev P. Sahni, Principal Director, JIBS, said in a statement.

"It is high time that judiciary acknowledges victim assistance its due right and legislature take the onus to enforce a central legislature on victim assistance in India and obligate the legislation to be ratified and replicated in every state of India," Sahni said.

The conference will be inaugurated by Ravi Nair, Executive Director of South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC).

Dignitaries to be present at the conference session include Pankaj Kumar Singh, Additional Director General of Police, Rajasthan Police and G.K. Goswami, Joint Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), New Delhi, according to JGU.