Project One:

Role of Victim Advocate

in Criminal Justice
June 5, 2021
Introduction

Crime victim advocates are essential to the criminal justice field,

especially with working with children and domestic violence
victims. There will be situations that arise when you are working
with either a child or domestic violence victim, this will inform
you on the experiences they may encounter within the criminal
justice system and how criminal justice professionals interact
with them.
Child
Victim
Situation:
You are a guidance counselor working at a midsized suburban elementary school in New
Hampshire. Seven-year-old Sarah was sent to your office after her teacher overheard Sarah
telling one of her classmates that her mother’s boyfriend, Steve, always gives her kisses on the
lips and other places. Sarah lives at home with her mother, Susan, and her siblings, Samantha
(age 2), Sophia (age 9), and Seth (6 months). The biological father of all the girls is incarcerated.
Steve is the biological father of Seth. Steve does not work and is the caregiver for the children
when Susan is working. Sarah tells you that Steve touches her private parts when her mother is
at work. Sarah tells you that Steve told her it was a secret and that if she were to tell anyone, he
would hurt her mommy. Sarah does not know if Steve touches anyone else, but her sister Sophia
told her that Steve is a bad man.
 In this situation, Sarah will be scared and be
reluctant to talk to anyone as her mother
has been threatened. You will need to:

Interactions  Build rapport with Sarah, talk about her

interests
between a  Be calm when talking
Child Victim  Be patient

and Criminal  Maintain the same tone throughout the

interview
Justice  Let her name how brave she is for
Professionals coming forward, that she is not alone,
they will never hurt her or her family
again, and that you will be there every
step of the process
 A child victim will go through three
main stages within the criminal
justice system:
1. Reporting and working with police

Experienc 2. Interviews with victim advocates

3. Court processes

e of a A lot will go on during each of these

stages; discussing the incident

Child
multiple times, possibly having to get
a medical examination, having to be
taken to a safe environment, and
going to court to talk about

Victim everything. All of this can be very

stressful, emotional, mentally, and
physically tiring. Sarah may also need
to see a therapist to help with proper
coping skills and start the healing
process (Finkelhor, Cross, & Cantor,
2005).
Domestic
Violence
Victim
Situation:
You are a patrol officer in a midsized, diverse city in New Hampshire with a population of nearly
250,000. You are dispatched to a domestic disturbance call located at 87 North Main Street,
apartment 22, in your city. The location is a multifamily apartment building. When you arrive at
the location, a female who identifies herself as the caller meets you on the street. The female
identifies herself as Regina Cooper, the neighbor of Mary and Mark Malone. Regina tells you that
Mark is intoxicated and is fighting with Mary and that, because of all the screaming she heard,
she thinks he is hitting Mary again. While proceeding to apartment 22, you observe several holes
in the wall in the stairwell as well as at the top of the stairs that appear to have been made by
some type of force rather than being cleanly cut. Upon arriving at the door, you hear crying and
yelling coming from inside the apartment. When you knock on the door, a woman identifying
herself as Mary opens the door. She has a fresh bruise on her right eye, and you observe red
marks on her neck. When you inquire about the location of Mark, Mary reports that he ran into
the bedroom and locked the door when he saw the police. Mary is hysterical and tells you that
this is not the first time Mark has become violent when intoxicated. Mary tells you that she loves
her husband. She tells you that she tries hard not to make Mark angry, because he was recently
placed on probation after he was convicted for beating a man with a bat in a bar fight. Mary tells
you that Mark cannot go to jail, because he pays all the bills and will kill her if she is the reason
why he goes back to jail. Mary does not wish to pursue charges against her husband. You secure
the scene and remove Mary from the property. Because of Mary’s observed injuries, you place
Mark under arrest for domestic assault.
In this situation with Mary, she already stated
she did not want to report her husband,
however, the officer arrested him as Mary had
bruising on her right eye and neck. She will be
going through a range of emotions; scared of
her husband, angry with the officer and Interactions
neighbor, and guilt because her husband will
most likely go back to jail. As a victim between a
advocate you will need to:
Domestic
 Be calm with speaking with Mary
Violence
Advise her that the officer is doing his job,
Victim and

which is to keep her safe
 Advise her that it is best to go get checked Criminal
out by a doctor for her injuries and that
you will go with her for support
Justice
 Ask her if she has family or friends to stay
Professional
with for support s
 Let her know that she is not alone, 1 in 4
women and 1 in 9 men have experienced
intimate partner abuse (NCADV, 2021).
As this is not the first domestic violence situation for
Mary, she may already know what is going to happen
and will need more support in order to work with law
enforcement. Mary will experience:
Experienc
 Talking with police officers about the abuse
e of a
 Going to the hospital for her injuries
 Victim Advocate will need to make sure she stays in Domestic
a safe and stable environment, advise her of her
rights as a victim, and that there are programs that
can help her (financially, living arrangements,
Violence
therapy)
 Mary will need to talk with the prosecutor to find out
Victim
information about the case against her husband and
if she will need to go to court (NCADV, 2021).
Comparing and
Contrasting
Situations
 Similarities
 Both advocates need to be patient and calm with the
victims
 Make sure they are in safe, stable, and supportive
Similarities environments

and  Let them know that you will be with them through the
entire process and let them know what to expect
Differences
in Criminal Differences
Justice  Talking to a child is different than an adult, they do not
understand the severity of the situation, and
Professional everything must be explained differently to them

s’ Roles  Dealing with juveniles is different in many aspects;

medical exams, guardians, legal
 Support is different from a child to an adult, as their
needs and understanding of everything is vastly
different
 Similarities
 Both will go through interviews with police, advocates,
medical professionals, and attorneys
 Both will go through a full range of emotions; fear,
guilt, shame, anger

Similarities  The will both know that the situation is wrong and
needs to be addressed
and
Differences
Differences  Children are not fully aware of what to do, so reporting
in Victims’ the situation will be scary for them. Mary being an
adult is aware, especially since her husband was in the
Experiences system previously.
 The rights for the victims are different, child vs. adult.
Child may need to be placed in a different
environment, which may be scary.
 Children will be addressed and catered to differently
than adults, especially in interviews and court
processes.
Conclusion
Whether you are working with a child or domestic violence victim,
you will need to always remain calm, be patient, and support them
through the entire criminal justice processes as you are the
advocate for their rights as a victim.
References
FINKELHOR, D., CROSS, T., & CANTOR, E. (2005). THE JUSTICE SYSTEM FOR JUVENILE VICTIMS: A
Comprehensive Model of Case Flow. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 6(2), 83-102. Retrieved June 6, 2021,
from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26638265

NCADV. (2021). NCADV: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The Nation's Leading Grassroots
Voice on Domestic Violence. https://ncadv.org/STATISTICS.