NCVLI’s Safeguarding Child-Victims’ Rights Initiative was busy this summer writing legal bulletins and facilitating trainings to educate the field on the unique hurdles facing child-victims. 

Most recent Child-Victims’ Rights Bulletin: Child-Victims’ Independent Participation in the Criminal Justice System. Nearly every state has a statute that establishes who may assert child-victims’ rights in criminal proceedings. These provisions can be categorized as either codifying procedures that enhance a child-victim’s ability to independently participate, or as including language that may pose problems for child-victims’ independent participation.  This Bulletin examines the structure of these statutes and provides tips to assist practitioners representing child-victims.  

To read additional Child-Victims’ Rights Bulletins on NCVLI's website, click here. Stay tuned for two upcoming Bulletins: one will address child-victims’ right to protection as it relates to release conditions and protective orders, and the other will discuss the concept of “trauma” and what practitioners need to know to best serve the victims with whom they work. Check out NCVLI's law library for other important victims’ rights publications!