AEDC advocates ‘Serving Victims, Building Trust, Restoring Hope’

  • Published
  • By Leslie McGowan
  • AEDC Judge Advocate Legal Office
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  April 10 begins National Crime Victims' Rights Week, a time to honor crime victims and our nation's progress in advancing their rights.

Every year in April, Office of Justice Programs (OVC) helps lead communities throughout the country in their annual observances of National Crime Victims' Rights Week.  NCVRW is an opportunity to highlight challenges faced by crime victims and emphasize the ongoing struggle to establish victims' rights. 

This year's theme -Serving Victims, Building Trust, Restoring Hope -underscores the importance of early intervention and victim services in establishing trust with victims, which in turn begins to restore their hope for healing and recovery. Meeting with victims where they are takes resources, dedication and persistence to establish a welcoming, compassionate and supportive environment for all victims to share their stores.     

"If victims are to trust that the criminal justice system will work for them, we must meet them where they are physically, culturally and emotionally," said Joye Frost, director of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), U.S. Department of Justice. "When we take the time to focus on the victim in the aftermath of crime to address their needs for safety and justice, we can begin to build trust and restore the hope of those victims and their communities. We all play a role in helping victims as they rebuild their lives."

National Crime Victims' Rights Week honors and celebrates the achievements of the past 30 years in securing rights, protections and services for victims. The bipartisan Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), passed by Congress in 1984, created a national fund to ease victims' suffering. Financed by fines and penalties paid by offenders, the Crime Victims Fund supports services for victims of all types of crime, including assistance for homicide survivors, survivors of child sexual abuse and victims of human trafficking, as well as rape crisis centers and domestic violence programs among others. VOCA also finds victim compensation programs that pay victims' out-of-pocket expenses such as counseling, funeral expenses and lost wages.

The Tennessee Department of Treasury, Division of Claims Administration, administers the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. The purpose of this program is to assist victims of crimes or in the case of victims' death, their dependent relatives up to $30,000. Payments made under the this program are intended to defray the costs of medical services, loss of earnings, burial costs and other financial losses incurred as a direct result of personal injuries sustained by a criminal offense. Eligible crimes generally include, but are not limited to, homicide, aggravated assault, sexual assault, robbery by force and drunk driving. In 2007, the General Assembly amended the Act to provide payment for services related to sexual assault forensic examinations. 

April 10-16 is National Crime Victims' Rights Week. Let's commemorate this important week by getting to know our neighbors. Take the time to listen, explore and value differences. We must work together to end violence by confronting and refusing to tolerate or engage in activities that single out certain populations as "less than." Let's empower our community by reaching out and creating relationships, recognizing that we all have a role to play. The community cannot heal until we begin building trust and restoring hope to those devastated by crime. Together we can stop the violence.

OVC encourages widespread participation in the week's events and in other victim-related observances through the year. The U.S. Department of Justice will host OVC's annual Service Awards Ceremony on April 12, in Washington, D.C., to honor outstanding individuals and programs that serve victims of crime. For additional information about this year's National Crime Victims' Rights Week and how to assist in your community, please contact the Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) Coordinator at 454-4657.  For additional ideas on how to support victims of crime, visit the Office for Victims of Crime website, www.ovc.gov.

-AEDC-