The mother of murder victim Sophie Elliott is backing the new youth version of the Sensible Sentencing Trust which lobbies for harsher sentences for convicted criminals.
"Hopefully, we can draw their attention to the injustices of the justice system."
The youth trust attracted criticism when it was launched, with the Press reporting justice industry workers were dismayed the trust was using young victims to push the trust's "overly-simple line".
Sara Hutchings (19), of Dunedin, sister of murder victim Michael Hutchings spoke at the launch.
In a statement yesterday, Ms Hutchings said she had approached the trust to become a member and it had helped her "massively".
"Unlike all the opponents of tougher sentencing, I have personal experience of the impact of violent crime and would like to see some genuine consequences."
She was unsure if there were other youth members in Dunedin.
Mrs Elliott said young victims were the "citizens of the future".
"Why shouldn't they be involved?."
She considered it was wrong to suggest victims of crime were being "sucked into" the trust and that it was "using us".
"They're not using us.
We volunteered to belong and I think these young ones should be [members] also."
She challenged critics of the trust to "come up with an answer that actually works".
