Frequently Asked Questions

The 2024 National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) Resource Guide is not yet available.

Visit the NCVRW section of our website to learn more about NCVRW and sign up for the NCVRW Subscription List to receive to receive information the release of the Guide, along with important updates about future commemorations.

If you have not yet contacted law enforcement officials to report your missing child, please do so immediately. Ask them about the issuing an AMBER Alert.

Through AMBER Alert, law enforcement agencies and broadcasters activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child abduction cases. Request that law enforcement put out a Be On the Look Out (BOLO) bulletin. Ask them about involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the search for your child.

Additional helpful information for families about what to do when a child is missing is available in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention report, When Your Child is Missing: A Family Survival Guide and the Missing and Exploited Children page. Also contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 800-843-5678 and view their Missing-Child, Emergency-Response, Quick-Reference Guide for Families.

Also visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) website. NamUs is a clearinghouse for missing persons and unidentified decedent records. This free online system can be searched by law enforcement officials, other allied professionals, and the general public to solve these cases.

PTSD as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5, is a psychological reaction that occurs after experiencing a highly stressful event outside the range of normal human experience. PTS symptoms can happen without a full diagnosis of PTSD; the disorder is diagnosed when a number of the following PTS symptoms last longer than 1 month following a traumatic event:

• Re-experiencing or spontaneous memories and recurrent dreams of the traumatic event, flashbacks, or other intense or prolonged psychological distress.
• Avoidance of distressing memories, thoughts, feelings, or external reminders of the event.
• Negative cognitions and mood, including myriad feelings such as a persistent and distorted sense of blame of self or others, estrangement from others, markedly diminished interest in activities, and/or an inability to remember key aspects of the event.
• Arousal marked by aggressive, reckless, or self-destructive behavior; sleep disturbances; hypervigilance; and other related problems.

For additional information, visit the Physical and Mental Health section of our site.

The 2024 NCVRW Theme and Awareness Poster Kits are not yet are available to order.

We encourage you to update your preferences or sign up for the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week subscription list to receive important email updates, including the online release of the 2024 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Resource Guide.

The dates for the 2024 NCVRW commemoration have not yet been announced.

Sign up for the NCVRW Subscription List to receive important updates about future NCVRW commemorations.

Visit the NCVRW section of our website to learn more about NCVRW.

A definition of forcible rape used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program is available in the following Department of Justice Press Release. The FBI defines of rape as: "[t]he penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."

The rules on victim impact statements and victims' rights can vary from state to state. Visit the VictimLaw and the National Crime Victim Law Institute websites for information. 

No, individuals cannot apply for AEAP funding. Help in your area is available from your State/Local Victim Compensation and Assistance programs. Assistance may come in the form of financial reimbursement or victim services. Funding support for state assistance and compensation programs comes from the Crime Victims Fund administered by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) as authorized by the Victim of Crime Act (VOCA).

Another source of help is your local victim/witness assistance program. You may contact the VictimConnect helpline by phone or text at 855-484-2846 or online chat for a referral in your area.

Find out more about What You Can Do If You Are a Victim of Crime, an OVC brochure with a brief overview of OVC, your rights, and where you can get help.

Visit our Help for Victims microsite to learn about resources and services for victims of crime.

Another source of help is your local victim/witness assistance program. You may contact the VictimConnect helpline by phone or text at 855-484-2846 or online chat for a referral in your area.

Find out more in this brochure, What You Can Do If You Are a Victim of Crime, which includes a brief overview of OVC, your rights, and where you can get help.

OVC will not host an awards ceremony in 2023. Visit our National Crime Victims' Rights Week Awards & Events page for information about planned events this year.

Sign up for the National Crime Victims' Rights Week Subscription List to receive email updates about future National Crime Victims' Service Awards Ceremonies and other National Crime Victims' Rights Week updates.

Visit the OVC Gallery to view information and watch videos about award recipients from this year and previous years.