Working Together to Improve Services for Crime Victims

Today, in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, RAINN, together with more than 20 national victim and survivor organizations, will announce shared policy priorities for the next decade. A breakfast event, where the priorities will be announced, will be livestreamed on Twitter. Follow RAINN on Twitter (@RAINN) to receive additional details and instructions for watching live.

The National Center for Victims of Crime last fall convened leaders in the field to discuss and develop the priorities. Participants in the discussion included advocates for survivors of sexual and domestic violence (including that which occurs on college campuses), homicide, human trafficking victims, elder abuse, and drunk driving, as well as victims of color or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.

The report is available at www.victimsofcrime.org/oneday. “We invite national, state, tribal, and local organizations to sign onto the agenda by visiting NCVC's site,” says Rebecca O’Connor, RAINN’s vice president for public policy.

The collaborating organizations committed to using their combined energies over the next decade to:

  • Ensure that amounts collected for the Crime Victims Fund are released for their intended purpose, at levels necessary to meet the needs of victims of crime and reduce the impact of victimization on individuals and society.
  • Reform crime victim compensation to increase benefits, improve access, reduce barriers, and promote standardization across jurisdictions.
  • Protect the physical safety, emotional well-being, and financial security of all victims of and witnesses to crime.
  • Pursue justice for all victims of crime by continuing to reform our justice system to increase transparency, ensure that victims’ voices are heard, and provide meaningful accountability.

A recording of the announcement will be available to RAINN Twitter followers, through the National Center for Victims of Crime, for 24 hours immediately following the event.