Are You Ready for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week?
Since 1981, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) has celebrated the extraordinary work of those individuals and organizations that confront and remove barriers to achieving justice for all victims of crime.
In 2022, NCVRW will be commemorated April 24–30, 2022, with the theme Rights, access, equity, for all victims. The theme underscores the importance of helping crime survivors find their justice by—
- enforcing victims' rights,
- expanding access to services, and
- ensuring equity and inclusion for all.
2022 NCVRW Resource Guide
Use the 2022 NCVRW Resource Guide to help educate the public about victims’ rights, protections, and services leading up to NCVRW, during NCVRW, and throughout the year.
Materials are available in English and Spanish to help you plan and implement your online campaign, events, and other efforts to raise public awareness. The NCVRW Resource Guide contains—
- guidance on developing your campaign;
- tips and tools to communicate your message;
- web and social media artwork, theme artwork, and awareness posters;
- and more!
View the Resource Guide to get started
NCVRW Events
OVC’s events page allows users to promote and locate NCVRW community engagement events, candlelight vigils, and other in-person or virtual awareness activities.
Visit our events page to find NCVRW activities from across the Nation hosted by local service providers and allied professionals.
Add your event details to our site and, once vetted, let us help promote your event.
Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials on Human Trafficking
A set of graphic novels are now available to help young trafficking survivors, aged 12–18, navigate the justice system as a victim or witness.
These resources help youth understand the justice system, their rights, and roles of different practitioners.
Based on the input of national experts, the graphic novels include excerpts of support from individuals with lived experience and information for a reader who might find themselves in a similar situation.
Guides for Practitioners and Parents and Caregivers provide information on how to use the materials with youth.
In recognition of April’s observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, join OVC Director Kristina Rose for a webinar with the developers of the Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials.
Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Time: 3:00–4:30 p.m., eastern time
Register for the webinar
Standards of Care for Human Trafficking Survivors
Listen to a conversation between Office for Victims of Crime Director Kristina Rose and the Office on Trafficking in Persons Director Katherine Chon about programs managed by both offices that support survivors and their perspectives on how the anti-trafficking field has evolved since the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was signed into law.
Learn about a new joint effort to develop standards of care for service providers supporting human trafficking survivors. These standards will be based on the latest evidence-based practices and informed by experts with lived experience.
This joint effort will begin with a competitive funding opportunity that will be announced in the coming months. Subscribe to News From OVC to receive emails as funding opportunities are released and to receive other important news about OVC programs and initiatives.
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
Use the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities’ campaign materials to raise awareness during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. This campaign seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all aspects of community life, and awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting with their communities.
Please visit our Victims with Disabilities topic page to view publications, training and technical assistance opportunities, and more information about helping victims with developmental disabilities. Resources include—
- Just Ask: A Toolkit to Help Advocates, Attorneys, and Law Enforcement Meet the Needs of Crime Victims with Disabilities
This OVC-funded online training toolkit produced by the Vera Institute of Justice was created in response to conversations with professionals working with survivors, many of whom are open to asking about accommodations, but don’t know how and are worried about saying the wrong thing. The toolkit lays out four simple steps for providing accommodations to survivors with disabilities, and includes sample language that can be used when talking to survivors.
- Supporting Crime Victims with Disabilities
This OVC-funded online training toolkit produced by the Vera Institute of Justice provides comprehensive and culturally responsive informational and educational resources, tools, videos, and examples of best practices for law enforcement, forensic interviewers, victim advocates, and others to prepare them to effectively respond to victims of crime with disabilities, including individuals with development disabilities, across the lifespan.
- Multidisciplinary Response to Crime Victims with Disabilities
This product includes a state-level and community-level replication guide to adapt multidisciplinary responses models that serve crime victims with disabilities, including individuals with developmental disabilities.