APRI Highlights - Summer 2001

Violence Against Woman Program

Lisa Kreeger, Director and Senior Attorney

Each year in this country, an estimated 1.5 million women are physically assaulted or raped and another half million are stalked by an intimate partner. Compounding this tragedy is the victims' apparent lack of confidence in the justice system's ability to intervene effectively: only one-fifth of rapes, one-fourth of physical assaults and one-half of stalking offenses perpetrated by intimate partners are reported to law enforcement agencies. Restoring faith in the criminal justice system is essential to achieving both offender accountability and victim safety. By providing training and technical assistance to the nation's prosecutors, APRI's Violence Against Women Program is t aking a vital step toward a safer society.

The Violence Against Women Program, supported by the Violence Against Women Office within the Department of Justice, serves as the national resource for prosecutors and other criminal justice professionals working to stop violence against women. The program's goal is to educate prosecutors to manage criminal investigations and prosecutions in a manner that best promotes victim safety, offender accountability and a change in community climate. To meet this goal, program director and senior attorney, Lisa Kreeger, and program staff provide comprehensive training, technical assistance and research. They also develop innovative resource materials on domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault prosecutions.

The program provides training in several cutting-edge areas. Specialized courses, held throughout the country, focus on rural domestic violence, cyberstalking, sexual assault, and cultural and immigration issues. These programs are enriched by ongoing collaboration with some of the nation's leading experts and advocates.

In November, APRI will unveil a new course at NDAA's National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. "Silenced Voices" focuses on the prosecutor's ability to elicit information from and present the victim of domestic violence. Students will interview and examine victims in five different scenarios while being videotaped. Afterward, faculty teams comprised of prosecutors and treatment providers will critique the students. "Silenced Voices" is a unique opportunity for prosecutors to hone their skills in questioning this particularly sensitive type of crime victim.

The Violence Against Women Program continues to provide specific legal assistance to prosecutors nationwide, responding to numerous requests received by telephone, mail and e-mail. One especially popular publication, Prosecution of Rohypnol and GHB-Related Sexual Assaults (video and accompanying manual), has been sent to more than 400 individuals since its release in 1999.

For more information about APRI's Violence Against Women Program, please contact vawa@ndaa-apri.org.