Advocating for Victims: the Challenges of Being Insiders and Outsiders

• In Event: Policy Panel: Challenges and Workarounds in Testing, Investigating, and Prosecuting ‘Backlogged’ Sexual Assault Kits: Findings from the BJA’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative

Abstract

Sexual assault victim advocates often face challenges in being both “insiders” and “outsiders” in the criminal justice’s response to sexual assault. The main purpose of victim advocates in the criminal justice process is to provide assistance and best meet the needs of victims. The main goal for the other entities in the criminal justice process is to criminally hold offenders accountable for their actions. While in most cases these two goals do not conflict, when they do, victim advocates can find themselves being both “insiders” and “outsiders” in the process. Additionally, the composition of the Cuyahoga County SAK Task Force is such that victim advocates are both embedded within the Task Force as employees (“insiders”) and collaborators (“outsiders”). This presentation will discuss the challenges faced by having these dual roles and in meeting the needs of thousands of victims who’s SAKs were not previously tested. Additionally, the presentation will focus on how these challenges were addressed and what other jurisdictions might learn from our process.

Authors

• Teresa Stafford, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center

• Marya Simmons, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office