Landmarks in Victims' Rights and Services

Paving the Path to Justice

This historical document – created specifically for the Silver Anniversary of NCVRW – offers an excellent “then and now” perspective of the scope of victims' rights and services in 1981 when the first NCVRW was declared by President Reagan, and describes key changes that have been made since then. Our field's progress is documented through the establishment of new laws, policies, fair treatment standards, and programs, the creation of new funding sources for victim services, and the identification of and outreach to new victim populations that were previously underserved or unserved.

Crime Victims' Rights in America: A Historical Overview

Over the past 40 years, there have been many significant accomplishments of our nation's victims' rights movement that have had a powerful impact on victims' rights and services. This important Historical Overview offers insights into the progress that has resulted in the passage of landmark federal and state laws; the development of innovative promising practices that improve the delivery and scope of victim services; and the creation of new victim assistance strategies that expand outreach efforts to victims and survivors of crime.

The Historical Overview – which documents progress from 1965 to the present – can be utilized in efforts to maximize communications and awareness, and to enhance media outreach during NCVRW and throughout the year. States can also consider developing their own historical overview that describes state-specific achievements that have expanded and promoted victims' rights and services.

The highlights of this document can be utilized in virtually all media relations, public and victim outreach, and community education efforts sponsored in conjunction with NCVRW to emphasize the tremendous progress of our field over the past quarter century.

The History of the Crime Victims' Movement in the United States

This comprehensive overview is published by the Office for Victims of Crime as a component of its Oral History Project, which is co-sponsored by Justice Solutions, the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards, the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, and the National Organization for Victim Assistance. It offers a detailed overview of the key trends and issues that have promulgated the victim assistance field in America and beyond since its inception in 1972, and includes insights from many of the “pioneers” of the field.

A Retrospective of the 1982 President's Task Force on Victims of Crime

Also a component of the OVC Oral History Project, this Retrospective summarizes the insights that resulted from a group interview conducted in 2003 of the surviving members of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime established by President Ronald Reagan. The Task Force members discuss the powerful impact of their Final Report, published in 1982, on the overall field of victims' rights and services, the development of new victim assistance programs and services, and the establishment of a wide range of victims' rights. Task Force members also discuss what they view to be the challenges that the field of victim assistance faces in the future.