National Crime Victims' Rights Week celebrates progress, works toward future goals

  • Published
  • By Capt. Sarah Kress, AEDC Contributing Writer
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  April 6 marked the beginning of National Crime Victims' Rights Week and commemorates our nation's progress in advancing victims' rights.

This year's theme - 30 Years: Restoring the Balance of Justice - presents a perfect opportunity to reflect upon how far we've come and to recognize there is still more ground to cover.

Only 30 years ago, crime victims had virtually no rights and no assistance. The criminal justice system often seemed indifferent to their needs. Victims were commonly excluded from courtrooms and denied the chance to speak at sentencing. They had no access to victim compensation or services to help rebuild their lives. There were few avenues to deal with their emotional and physical wounds. Arguably, victims were on their own to recover their health, security and dignity.

Today, the nation has made dramatic progress in securing rights, protections and services for victims. Every state has enacted victims' rights laws and all have victim compensation programs. More than 10,000 victim service agencies now help people throughout the country. However, states are not alone in this trend.

Taking the lead for the Department of Defense, the Air Force launched a pilot project last year to provide legal counsel directly to victims of sexual assault through the Special Victims' Counsel (SVC) Program. As of Sept. 6, 2013, 458 victims requested SVC representation and have been detailed in SVC.

Most recently, the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) incorporated several crime victims' rights into Article 6b, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). This included the right to be reasonably protected from the accused and the right to be treated with fairness and respect for the dignity and privacy of the victim. Despite these remarkable victories, we recognize there is still a lot of work to be done.

National Crime Victims' Rights Week will continue through April 12 in communities throughout the nation. For additional information about the 2014 National Crime Victims' Rights Week and how to help victims in your community, please contact Leslie McGowan, Arnold Engineering Development Complex's (AEDC) Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) Coordinator at 454-7814 or visit the AEDC Legal Office.