This article focuses on self-collected sexual assault kits—sometimes known as “do-it-yourself” or “DIY” kits— that are self-administered post-assault and involve the collection and preservation of evidence from the body in a non-medical setting. It examines the rationale behind self-collected kits for victims of sexual violence who state that they want to address their trauma outside the healthcare and criminal justice systems; the challenges self-collected kits present for prosecutors; and the limitations of self-collected kits to provide critical victim care, treatment, and support traditionally provided through the sexual assault medical forensic exam (SAMFE) process. The authors discuss the available alternatives for those circumstances in which self-collected kits may be perceived to be the best available option. Finally, where self-collected kits have been used, the authors offer strategies to mitigate the evidentiary, advocacy, and legal challenges they present. SIB38_Jan22
Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Technology Changes, Abuse Doesn’t
This webinar is part of a 10-episode podcast-style series focused on the foundational elements of prosecuting intimate partner violence cases (IPV). In each episode, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson engages in conversations with other AEquitas staff, former prosecutors with years of experience prosecuting IPV.
In this episode, Jane and Attorney Advisor Jon Kurland discuss the role of technology in intimate partner violence cases. They explore how offenders misuse technology to perpetrate crimes and assert power and control, and they offer strategies for litigating the admissibility of digital evidence and protecting victim privacy.
At the conclusion of this presentation, viewers will be better able to:
- Keep up to date with technology and trends;
- Litigate admissibility of digital evidence; and
- Protect victim privacy.
Additional resources for this episode:
- #GUILTY: Identifying, Preserving, and Admitting Digital Evidence, a webinar presented by Jane Anderson, AEquitas Attorney Advisor
- The Internet & Intimate Partner Violence: Technology Changes, Abuse Doesn’t by Jane Anderson, AEquitas Attorney Advisor, and Kaofeng Lee
- Safeguarding Victim Privacy in a Digital World: Ethical Considerations for Prosecutors, a webinar presented by Jane Anderson, AEquitas Attorney Advisor, and Meg Garvin, Executive Director & Clinical Professor of Law, National Crime Victim Law Institute
Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Not Just a Box to Check: Building Trust and Rapport
This webinar is part of a 10-episode podcast-style series focused on the foundational elements of prosecuting intimate partner violence cases (IPV). In each episode, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson engages in conversations with other AEquitas staff, former prosecutors with years of experience prosecuting IPV.
In this episode, Jane and Attorney Advisor Patti Powers discuss how to assess victims’ needs and provide meaningful access to appropriate services, communicate effectively with victims at all stages of a case, and improve victim disclosures. They highlight what building trust and rapport with victims may look like, challenges prosecutors may face when establishing relationships with victims, and strategies to overcome these challenges.
At the conclusion of this presentation, viewers will be better able to:
- Build trust and rapport with victims;
- Enhance prosecutions through improved victim disclosures; and
- Demonstrate that the criminal justice system is a safe place for victims
Additional resources related to this episode:
- Integrating a Trauma-Informed Response in Violence Against Women and Human Trafficking Prosecutions by Viktoria Kristiansson, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Emeritus, and Charlene Whitman-Barr, AEquitas Senior Associate Attorney Emeritus
Intimate Partner Violence Foundations: Collaboration is Key: Working with Law Enforcement
This webinar is part of a 10-episode podcast-style series focused on the foundational elements of prosecuting intimate partner violence cases (IPV). In each episode, AEquitas Attorney Advisor Jane Anderson engages in conversations with other AEquitas staff, former prosecutors with years of experience prosecuting IPV.
In this episode, Jane and Attorney Advisor Jon Kurland discuss the importance of working closely with law enforcement to build and successfully prosecute IPV cases. They identify opportunities for enhanced collaboration, discuss methods for building evidence-based investigations and prosecutions, and emphasize how collaboration can help prosecutors comply with discovery and due process requirements.
At the conclusion of this presentation, viewers will be better able to:
- Identify opportunities to enhance collaboration;
- Communicate to build trust between law enforcement and prosecutors; and
- Leverage collaborative relationships to enhance victim safety and participation.
Additional resources related to this episode:
- Model Response to Sexual Violence for Prosecutors (RSVP) Volume I: An Invitation to Lead by AEquitas, Urban Institute, and Justice Management Institute
- To Record or Not To Record: Use of Body-Worn Cameras During Police Response to Crimes of Violence Against Women by John Wilkinson, AEquitas Attorney Advisor
- Body-Worn Cameras and Gender-Based Violence: Practical Considerations from the Prosecution Perspective, a webinar by John Wilkinson, AEquitas Attorney Advisor
Coercive ‘Love’: The Intersection between Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking
Human traffickers control their victims through force, fraud, and coercion. In the case of intimate partner sex trafficking, these methods of control are uniquely manipulative and difficult to identify. Understanding the historical and circumstantial factors that lead to vulnerabilities exploited by traffickers in these relationships allows law enforcement and prosecutors to more successfully address and minimize harm to victims while effectively investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases.
This presentation describes how, in addition to violence and threats, traffickers exploit feelings of love and loyalty to maintain power over their victims and perpetrate sex trafficking and related crimes. The presenters discuss the importance of identifying victims of intimate partner human trafficking to ensure victim safety and provide access to services and support, while at the same time articulating offender conduct to ensure they are held accountable for their actions.
First, Do No Harm: Facilitating a Trauma-Informed Response
Trauma is a direct result of the abuse and exploitation that offenders inflict on victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. This acute trauma, often compounded with historical trauma, impacts survivor’s ability to fully participate in the criminal justice process. As a result, a collaborative, trauma-informed response that takes historical context into consideration is essential to ensuring survivor access to justice while improving community safety.
This presentation describes various forms of trauma that victims may experience throughout their lives and as a result of an offender’s victimization. Presenters define cultural humility as a key element of a successful trauma-informed response that improves our individual, collective, and systematic responses to survivors. Additionally, the presenters provide strategies to identify, document, and introduce evidence of trauma to improve case outcomes and community safety by holding offenders accountable.
At the conclusion of this training, participants will be better able to:
• Identify signs and symptoms of trauma, and implement trauma-informed practices
• Enhance victim safety, privacy, autonomy, and participation through collaboration with allied professionals
• Practice cultural humility while preparing cases to proceed, regardless of a victim’s ability to participate in the process
Writing it Right: Documenting Human Trafficking
One specific responsibility of law enforcement and prosecutors working on human trafficking cases is to write various reports, affidavits, and briefs that effectively document incidents of sex and labor trafficking. It is crucial for these documents to accurately reflect complex trafficking dynamics and case-specific facts to establish probable cause and effectively litigate issues at trial. When law enforcement and prosecutors collaborate with others, including those with lived experience, they are better equipped to successfully articulate how traffickers use a variety of overt and subtle tactics to exploit victims—thus establishing the element(s) of force, fraud, and/or coercion necessary for cases involving adult victims.
This presentation focuses on the core competencies needed by law enforcement and prosecutors to establish the elements of human trafficking. Additionally, facilitators discuss the necessity of protecting victim privacy and ensuring that public records and press releases accurately describe trafficking dynamics. In combination with other external messaging, this documentation can help educate the public—and potential jurors—about the realities of trafficking.
At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be better able to:
• Effectively document traffickers’ actions to establish the elements of force, fraud, or coercion;
• Articulate the realities of human trafficking when communicating with the media and the public; and
• Ethically protect victim and witness safety in the public record.
State, Meet Federal: Prosecuting Law Enforcement Involved Sexual Violence
Those who commit crimes involving sexual violence often exploit the disparate power dynamic between victim and offender — whether the relationship is between teacher and student; producer and actor; coach and athlete; or law enforcement officer and arrestee, probationer, or inmate. By wielding weapons of authority, the perpetrator leaves the victim with little choice but to submit to sexual acts and stay quiet in the aftermath, fearing that they will be disbelieved or blamed if they try to report it. This is especially true in the law enforcement context, where victims are usually in the custody of their offender and have a history of criminal activity, which often has an impact on their credibility in the eyes of untrained professionals, juries, and the public.
This presentation addresses the reaches of federal jurisdiction to prosecute sexual violence by those acting under color of law at all levels of government. It discusses how coordination among federal and state authorities can enhance investigations into reports of sexual violence, and if the evidence permits, help determine in which jurisdiction to bring charges. It further focuses on three critical Federal Rules of Evidence that can be used to corroborate a victim’s account and build a strong case — even where there is no physical evidence or eyewitness testimony.
Confronting Racial Bias Against Black and African American Victims in the Prosecution of Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Human Trafficking
The history of racial discrimination against Black Americans in the United States created structural barriers and inequalities that Black women continue to face as victims of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, and human trafficking.. The article offers examples of how racial bias has shaped the criminal justice response to these crimes and provides prosecutors with tangible tools for eradicating biases against Black victims. Confronting-Racial-Bias-Against-Black-and-African-American-Victims
The Problem-Solving Prosecutor: Modern Variations on the Crime Strategies Unit
This comprehensive document provides guidance on developing or enhancing intelligence-driven prosecution through a Crime Strategies Unit (CSU), or through processes that accomplish goals similar to those of a CSU. Based in part on interviews with prosecutors, crime analysts, and other specialists in the field, the guide discusses building foundational partnerships, methods for gathering data and intelligence, and ways in which data can inform and support investigations and prosecutions.
The Problem-Solving Prosecutor- Modern Variations on the Crime Strategies Unit
