Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 1:02 am
Time: 1:02 am
Results for violence against women (california)
1 results foundAuthor: Warnken, Heather Title: Violence Against Women Needs Assessment Program Summary: Under California law, victims and witnesses of crime are granted certain statutory and constitutional rights, including that they be treated with dignity and respect. In 1982, California established itself as a national leader in the rights of crime victims in passing the Victim’s Bill of Rights. As a key component of these protections, Victim/Witness Assistance Centers (VWACs) arose in 1983 in an effort by the Legislature to reduce the trauma and insensitive treatment that victims and witnesses experienced in the criminal justice system. Today, state and federally funded VWACs operate in each of the 58 counties and in the City of Los Angeles and play a vital role in California’s criminal justice system. Despite the large numbers VWACs, however, very little research has been done to date on the work of California’s VWACs or of government provided victim/witness advocates in general. In particular, very little has been done on their work with one of the most vulnerable populations of crime victims: women victims of violence. Reports about government-based and community-provided Violence Against Women (VAW) victim services tend to fall into two general categories: reports that describe government provided services to all crime victims, with VAW victims as just one category of victim; and reports that focus on combating VAW with services mentioned only as one step to be taken by government. The California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) funded a needs-assessment study of VWACs to be carried out by the California Crime Victims Assistance Association (CCVAA), in partnership with the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA). As part of this assessment, in 2011, the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, conducted a two-part survey including follow-up interviews with all 59 of the VWACs. The following questions formed the basis to this assessment: 1. Numbers of VAW victims served by VWACs for the past three to five years; 2. Demographics of VAW victims served by VWACs; 3. Types and numbers of services provided to VAW victims by VWACs; 4. Identification of VWAC prevention-related services provided to VAW victims; 5. Marsy’s Rights information and procedures provided to VAW victims; 6. Collaborations and referrals between VWACs and rape crisis centers and women shelters; 7. Descriptions of “best practices” with VAW victims used by VWACs; 8. Description of the current organizational capacity of the CCVAA (representing the statewide network of VWACs) to adequately meet the gaps in service needs of VAW victims served by VWAC; 9. Identification of other resources (potential funding sources) that would be necessary to build the capacity of the CCVAA to meet the needs of VAW victims served by VWAC. This report, based on the Warren Institute’s data collection, is the first comprehensive study ever done in California of the work and services that VWACs provide to women victims of violence. It represents VWACs’ perceptions of the importance of their work with VAW victims, the gaps in this work, and their needs for further expanding their services to victims of VAW crimes. It addresses all questions above for which VWACs had data. With these findings, Cal EMA, CCVAA, allied victim service organizations, and policy makers will be better equipped to make informed decisions regarding VWAC program development, resource allocation, advocate training, and organizational capacity-building benefitting VAW victims. Details: Berkeley, CA: California Crime Victims Association; California District Attorneys Association; University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, 2012. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 24, 2013 at: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/bccj/VAW_Study-FINAL.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/bccj/VAW_Study-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 127381 Keywords: Abused WivesCrime VictimsDomestic ViolenceVictim ServicesVictims of Domestic ViolenceViolence Against Women (California)Witnesses |