During national Crime Victims Rights week, the National Criminal Justice Association launched a new podcast series, "Crime Survivors, the Power of the Personal Story." The podcasts provide a platform for those who have been affected by crime to tell their story and connect their experience to issues affecting administrators of Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance and state compensation programs. The podcasts will highlight promising practices and areas for improvement and complement victims’ stories with subject matter experts to help advance policies and practices in the victim services field.
The series is designed to allow listeners the opportunity to learn from crime survivors about how to make the theme of the 2022 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week – rights, access, and equity for all victims – a reality in their lives, and about the challenges they face. Among the lessons: each survivor is unique, with needs that are specific not only to the crime but also to their extensive life experiences; how victim service professionals and concerned community members can do better to identify and meet the needs of crime survivors, and what leads many survivors into a life of advocacy and activism to improve the treatment of crime survivors that follows them on their painful journey to help, hope, and healing. The podcasts are produced with support from the Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime.