MEG GARVIN: Fairness is a fundamental concept in our criminal justice system. Fairness for victims means that they get a voice through the entire process.
MIKE JOHNSON: We have a responsibility to champion victims, to be with them through every phase of their experience.
LAURIE ROBINSON: It means being treated with dignity being treated as a human being.
MIKE JOHNSON: It's making sure that victim has an opportunity to begin that path toward healing.
LAURIE ROBINSON: Respect really means being brought into the process and not being treated as an afterthought.
WILLIAM KELLIBREW: My mother and my brother were murdered in front of me. I was ten. I'd just turned ten. He put the gun to my head and he had me beg for my life.
MIKE JOHNSON: We in law enforcement, we're many times the first responders. We have not traditionally been adequately trained on victims' issues how to deal with shock and numbness and surprise.
WILLIAM KELLIBREW: I felt isolated. I lost my self-worth. Nobody knew what I was going through. To go three years without talking about it I imploded. I mean, everything inside of me came out at 13 and I wanted to die.
MIKE JOHNSON: We know in the field now that the single area that probably causes the most problematic behavior in both boys and girls and specifically violent behavior in the future, are children that witness violence.
WILLIAM KELLIBREW: A social worker got me a therapist. She sat with me and listened to me. And that was my first time anybody ever wanted to listen to me that way.
ANNE REAM: Crime itself robs you of a terrific amount of dignity. But when you report a crime, like rape, your body literally becomes a crime scene. You become evidence. And you become a witness. It's rare to meet a survivor of sexual violence who has not encountered some form of indignity throughout the process.
MEG GARVIN: The dignity component of victims' rights is really about treating people humanely recognizing the human side of crime and the very individual hurt that happens to someone.
ANNE REAM: It means listening. It means not being afraid to go to very dark places with people who have suffered greatly.
JAMES MEADOURS: I met a guy at the church, and he wanted to be my friend, and I thought it would be great. Instead he assaulted me and I felt very scared. Oftentimes, people with disabilities who are victims, sometimes people do not believe them. It's so important as volunteers to be sensitive when the person calls on the hotline number.
LAURIE ROBINSON: When the criminal justice system really embraces the notion of victim rights and of treating the victim with respect that means that every part of the system really responds.
JAMES MEADOURS: Lucky for me, the SANE nurse understood when I said, "I need a detective who has a good, caring heart." And the guy really took the time to talk to me. I decided to prosecute this person. And the D.A. really took the time and explained things about the court procedure and how that is affecting my life.
WOMAN: I felt like the detective really treated me with fairness, dignity, and respect.
LAURIE ROBINSON: One of the things that has been wonderful about the crime victims movement I think there is a resurgence of energy. There's now a growing movement of younger pioneers who are coming forward with new ideas.
WOMAN: I love this one!
ANNE REAM: Testimony around the issue of sexual violence takes a huge amount of courage. But I would argue that without it, the movement will stall.
ANNE REAM: She looks strong.
WOMAN: She is strong!
ANNE REAM: We founded the Voices and Faces Project with a really clear mission to create a space for healing for survivors while knowing that with the right support, they have the capacity to rebuild their lives.
MEG GARVIN: We passed laws affording victims rights, and those laws have been on the books for thirty-plus years in most jurisdictions. But we have to take the next step, which is rights enforcement.
MAN: She was heard and she did have her day in court, and I think that really made a difference to her and other victims.
MEG GARVIN: That really does mean holding courts' feet to the fire to treat victims' rights as legal rights.
WILLIAM KELLIBREW: ♪ When I am down ♪♪ and, oh, my soul, so weary... ♪ Even though I've been through what I've been through, to be able to help somebody else, to be able to affect somebody else's life in a positive way there is fairness. You can restore your dignity. And respect starts with yourself. But if we can't get to people, to help them, then it's a difficult road.
MIKE JOHNSON: The bar has been raised for us professionals as to how we're supposed to respond.
LAURIE ROBINSON: This is about justice, after all! It's ensuring that, when people have suffered we reach out to them and we say to them, "We want to bring you back and help make you whole."
