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Master List of
New Directions Recommendations
Chapter 18
New
Directions from the Field:
Victims'
Rights and Services for the 21st Century
| Recommendations
for International Victim Assistance |
The recommendations below, which
appear in the May 1998 New Directions Report, have been reformatted
for replication and distribution.
| The United States is visited by millions of foreign nationals each year, and citizens of the United States travel and live in virtually every part of the world. Yet there is no where in the world that is immune from crime and victimization. According to recent international crime surveys, it is estimated that no more than 10 percent of crime victims worldwide receive assistance from a specialized victim service agency. Crime and victimization have become transnational, and countries must look beyond their national boundaries to share information, technology, and resources to assist victims. To address this critical need, the following recommendations to establish or enhance international victim services are set forth by the field: |
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- The United States should continue
to play a leadership role in the area of international victim assistance.
- International standards of victim
assistance and victim rights should be established, including standards
for criminal justice and allied professionals who work with crime victims.
- An international network of
information, dissemination, training, and technical assistance on victim
rights and assistance should be established.
- Cross-cultural and multinational
research on victimization, violence, and victim assistance should be
promoted.
- International reciprocity in
the provision of victim compensation, restitution, and other assistance
in cases involving foreign nationals should be promoted.
- Standards and procedures should
be developed to address criminal cases involving foreign crime victims.
- Communities with large numbers
of tourists should establish special programs to assist international
tourists who are victims of crime.
- An international victim care
corps under the auspices of the United Nations or an alternative body
should be established.
- The Federal Government should
develop a coordinated plan of action to respond to the needs of U.S.
citizens who are victimized abroad. The State and Justice Departments
should examine whether an ombudsman is needed to ensure effective information
and services for these victims.
- The Federal Government should
create a support group for victims of terrorism abroad.
- The Federal Government should
make every effort to fully implement the Federal Protection for Battered
Immigrant Women and Child provision of the Violence Against Women Act,
including mandatory training for all Immigration and Naturalization
Service and asylum officers and others who work with immigrant populations.
| New Directions from the
Field:
Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century |
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