Background: Forensic science has traditionally been defined by the reconstruction of facts, the preservation of evidence and the production of expert knowledge for legal decision-making. Yet forensic encounters also occur in the human aftermath of crime, violence, sudden death, abuse, coercion and loss. Victims, witnesses, families, professionals and communities may experience forensic procedures as protective and dignifying, or as confusing, intrusive and retraumatizing.
Objective: This article proposes Forensic Well-Being as an integrative, trauma-informed and victimological framework that preserves evidentiary integrity while reducing preventable institutional harm. Methods: An integrative conceptual review was conducted across trauma studies, victimology, forensic interviewing, legal medicine, forensic education, meaning-making research, art therapy and expressive arts, restorative justice and organizational ethics.
Results: The article develops the FWB-ART framework, which connects trauma-informed practice, relational safety, narrative and symbolic meaning reconstruction, art-based learning, professional resilience and institutional accountability. The framework is not a substitute for forensic neutrality, clinical treatment or judicial procedure. Rather, it is an ethical and educational layer designed to improve how forensic systems meet people affected by harm.
Conclusion: Forensic science can remain rigorous while becoming more human. A trauma-informed, meaning-sensitive and art based approach can help victims be heard without being reduced to evidence, can prepare professionals for the emotional realities of forensic work, and can support justice systems that seek truth without abandoning dignity.