The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the virtual training, “Privacy, Protection, and Fairness: Why Crime Victims’ Rights Matter to Victims of Violence”. In observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, DCJS is honored to host presenters from the National Crime Victims Law Institute for a free, virtual training on victims’ rights.
Every jurisdiction in this country (state and federal) affords victims of crime legal rights. These rights include the rights to privacy, protection, and fairness. Sadly, when these rights are not protected, the result is re-victimization of the victim. This re-victimization has been shown to have tremendous negative impacts on the victim’s mental and physical health and on the functioning of our justice systems. On the flip side, it is clear that when victims’ rights are protected so that their voices are heard, victims move toward becoming survivors who are re-empowered and our justice system operates more effectively and benefits communities. Each of us that interacts with victims – whether we are advocates, law enforcement, prosecution, medical or mental health providers, defense counsel, or the victim’s own attorney – has an impact on the victim and plays a role in either empowering the victim or re-victimizing them. This presentation will discuss the what, why, and how of re-integrating victims’ voices so that each of us can help ensure that victims are empowered rather than re-victimized by their interaction with legal systems.
Location : Virtual
Date & Time: April 20, 2021 – 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Participant Registration and Cost: This training is free. Participants need to register in advance for the training. Please click here to register.