OVC News & Program Updates, November 2013

• NCJ Number: 244468
• Author(s): Anne Hamilton; Erin Helfert; Irvin Waller; Barbara Robertson; Chandria Slaughter
• Date Published: November 2013
• Length: 9 pages
• Corporate Author: Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document (Online); Journal/Magazine
• Publication Type: Newsletter
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Feature articles in this newsletter of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) address issues in providing services to American citizens who are victims of sexual assault while overseas, and information is provided on activities and events related to OVC's mission of serving crime victims.

Abstract

At a forum sponsored by OVC in May 2013, a dialog was initiated among representatives of Federal agencies and stakeholders regarding how to best serve American citizens who have been victims of sexual assault while abroad and on cruise ships. These stakeholders listened to victim recommendations, issues, and challenges. OVC recognizes that this is a complex area of victim services. The forum was a first step in understanding its scope, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. In the future, OVC anticipates that it will focus on fostering better communication and innovative partnerships that strengthen responses to victims of sexual assault while traveling abroad. The newsletter includes an account of the experience of an American woman who was sexually assaulted while living and working in the Kingdom of Morocco. It reveals the challenges facing U.S. victims of sexual assault overseas. Recent developments are also reported on victims' rights outside the United States. Information is provided on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Overall, VAWA 2013 strengthens several Federal laws and establishes new programs to assist victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, as well as victims' families. It also reauthorizes many critical grant programs that allow States, local governments, and organizations to provide services for victims, train allied professionals, and prosecute crimes. Other news from OVC pertains to a Web site that improves assistance to victims of terrorism and mass violence; interaction with OVC through social media; and information on the 2014 National Crime Victims' Rights Week theme poster.