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Serving Adolescent Victims
Building Collaborations
To address sexual violence among adolescents, consider collaborating with community organizations that work with adolescents. Additionally, consider—
Victim-Oriented Multidisciplinary Responses to Statutory Rape Contains practical suggestions to increase the reporting of statutory rapes, improve investigations and prosecutions, improve treatment of statutory rape victims and offenders, and develop sound sentencing practices to guide judges in statutory rape cases. The guide is based firmly on a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach that involves victim advocates, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, judges, mental health providers, health workers, and school officials and other teen program professionals.
- Creating victim-centered vertical sexual violence units within criminal justice agencies so that victims can keep the same legal professionals throughout a case.
- Involving systems- and community-based service providers who understand the local languages and dialects of adolescents.
- Collaborating with neighborhood watch groups, faith-based providers, community youth organizations, ethnically based organizations, and local businesses.
- Coordinating focus groups where teens can discuss their concerns, needs, and perceptions about sexual violence.
- Partnering with community educators and youth organizations to train students, parents, teachers, and community leaders in how to respond to adolescents who disclose sexual assault.
- Giving presentations on prevention education and risk reduction.
