In some circumstances, the conduct of the victim may affect their award of compensation.

Victim contributing to the offence or injury

If the victim’s own actions contributed to the offence or to the injury, the claim will be reduced or may be rejected [Victims of Crime Act 2001 (SA) s 20(4)]. For example, if the victim provoked the offender into assaulting them by taunting or challenging the offender to fight, or by verbally abusing them, the claim may be reduced to reflect this.

However, lawful and reasonable conduct, such as visiting a place that has a high crime rate, going out alone at night, or wearing a particular style of clothing, is unlikely to lead to a reduction in compensation.

Failure to co-operate with police without good reason

The court cannot award compensation if the victim, without good reason, failed to co-operate with the police investigation of the offence [s 20(7)]. This includes reporting the offence within a reasonable time, providing any information the victim has about the offender’s identity or whereabouts, and giving evidence in court if required.

However, compensation may still be paid if the victim has a good reason for not co-operating. This might happen, for example, if the victim and the offender are family members, and the victim fears further violence. A person in this situation should seek legal advice urgently so that they can be referred to sources of help and protection.

Claimant committing an indictable offence

If the claimant was committing an indictable offence at the time of the injury, compensation may be refused if the victim's offending conduct contributed to the risk of injury [s 20(5)].

Failure to reduce harm

In claims arising from offences on and after 1 January 2003, compensation can also be reduced if the victim fails to take up appropriate medical and rehabilitative therapy, or to take other reasonable steps to reduce the harm resulting from the offence [s 20(8)].