OVC's International Leadership Role

Terrorism

Oklahoma City Bombing

Embassy Bombings

Khobar Towers

Pan Am Flight 103

International Trafficking of Women and Children

Direct Services for Trafficked Victims

Focus Group on Assisting Trafficked Victims

Assisting the Reunification of Abducted Children

Conclusion

As countries and their citizens become connected through tourism, Internet usage, and international trade, issues of violent crime and victimization become more visible and raise an international concern and focus. The United States is one of the leaders in the emerging international victims field. The publication of the 1982 Final Report of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime was a landmark document not only in the U.S., but internationally as well. A number of other countries created their own task forces based on the American model, and victims' rights gained visibility in international forums such as the United Nations. In 1985, the United Nations implemented a Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, and governments and organizations around the world have responded to the challenge of implementing the Declaration.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is responding to crime victims on an international level. Many victimization issues that OVC is responding to include the plight of victims of terrorism, commercial exploitation and international trafficking of women and children, and international child abduction. OVC has expanded the original scope of its leadership role by working to improve coordination between government and nongovernment agencies involved with international victimization cases and to improve information sharing and victim assistance worldwide.

OVC's International Leadership Role

Over the last several years, OVC has promoted effective and sensitive victim rights and services around the world under the authority provided by VOCA and the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (the Anti-Terrorism Act), which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. The Anti-Terrorism Act provided a new VOCA eligibility requirement that each State provide compensation for any resident who is injured or for survivors of any resident killed in a terrorist attack in a foreign country. OVC continues to coordinate and work in cooperation with DOJ components, the State Department, the United Nations, and other international organizations to enhance the integration of crime victim issues into all international discussions of crime. Several examples of OVC's efforts in this area include the following:

• United Nations Initiative. Since 1996, OVC staff have participated in the annual United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna, Austria. For the past 3 years, the United States has cosponsored resolutions to foster implementation of the 1985 United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. OVC has taken the lead in coordinating the development of a United Nations Handbook on Justice for Victims and an accompanying Guide for Policymakers on implementing the principles set forth in the Declaration in countries around the world.

• Tourist Initiative. International tourists who become victims often face isolation, culture shock, lack of familiar social supports, travel stress, and language barriers. In FY 1998, OVC awarded a grant to NOVA, along with an international advisory committee of representatives from tourist victim programs throughout the world, to study how communities can improve services to foreign travelers. To accomplish this goal, NOVA conducted an international search for promising practices, policies, and procedures for assisting international tourist victims. Resulting information will be made available to the international field of victim advocates and allied professionals through a NOVA database, an OVC bulletin, tourist brochures, and a companion handbook. This project grew out of the recommendations in New Directions that the United States help establish "an international network of information dissemination, training, and technical assistance on victim rights and assistance."

• International Directories. An increasing number of countries provide victim compensation to foreign nationals; however, international victimization poses administrative obstacles both for victims seeking compensation and for programs providing financial assistance. To inform travelers from all Nations about benefits that exist in the country they are visiting and how to apply for them, OVC coordinated with the U.S. Department of State to determine which countries have crime victim compensation programs and to develop an International Victim Compensation Program Resource Directory, which is updated annually. Of the 115 countries that responded to the survey in 1998, 23 countries and the United States reported that they have established crime victim compensation programs. These programs are listed in the directory, along with basic eligibility and application information.

• Development of Federal Protocol for Responding to Victims of Terrorism Abroad. Recent international terrorist attacks against the United States have illuminated many of the unique and complex problems in coordinating an appropriate short- and long-term response to victims of terrorism abroad and the need to develop a Federal protocol for responding to future international terrorist incidents. Terrorism crimes tend to involve large numbers of victims and may include employees of various Federal agencies as well as tourists, business representatives, and foreign nationals. Obtaining critical information about victims and providing emergency relief and ongoing services is complicated and difficult. Access to compensation, benefits, and services can depend on which agencies victims work and their residency status. OVC has taken a leadership role in coordinating the development of a high-level working group comprised of representatives from all Cabinet agencies and other agencies with significant overseas presence or operational responsibilities to crime victims. This working group is developing a Federal protocol to ensure a more seamless response to victims in the future.

Terrorism

International crises such as terrorist attacks involve victims and survivors from many different countries, and local caregivers are sometimes unable to intervene usefully due to a lack of education, resources, and language and cultural barriers. Moreover, because of complicated international investigations which frequently involve multiple jurisdictions, the rights, needs, and services available to victims of terrorism may be overlooked.

Surviving family members whose loved ones were killed abroad by terrorists in various countries have voiced several concerns about the lack of appropriate services for victims and victims' families in the aftermath of the incident. Specifically, they have expressed dissatisfaction with notification procedures after the death of their loved ones, red tape that made finding out information about their cases difficult and more painful, lack of regular updates about the status of their cases from responsible government officials, and the poor coordination between governmental agencies involved in these cases. Many of these victim issues are not unique to terrorism abroad but extend to victims of terrorism within the United States. The following are various incidents of terrorism and the victim services provided in response to each of these cases during FYs 1997–1998.

Oklahoma City Bombing
In FYs 1997 and 1998, OVC tapped its Reserve Fund to help victims attend the Oklahoma City bombing trials in Denver, Colorado, and to facilitate courtroom participation by victims who could not attend the trials, providing them with closed circuit broadcast of the trial proceedings. OVC also provided ongoing counseling services for victims in Oklahoma City and Denver and funded temporary staff to handle the additional workload involved with the two trials in Denver. Other efforts on behalf of Oklahoma City bombing victims are described below:

• Colorado/Oklahoma Resource Council (CORC). Antiterrorism funding from OVC enabled CORC—a conglomeration of private organizations in the Denver area—to directly assist the victims and survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing traveling to Denver to participate in the Federal criminal trials and sentencing of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. During the two trials and other hearings in Denver, CORC provided direct services to 437 victims, including lodging, local transportation, the conduct of "Safe Havens" near the Federal courthouse to insulate victims attending the trials, and a process for handling emergency medical and mental health incidents and other victim services. With funding from OVC, CORC has documented the model it developed for potential application by other jurisdictions where there is a change of venue and/or a high-profile case necessitating a coordinated community response.

• Project Heartland. According to research findings of the Oklahoma Departments of Health and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, there is substantial evidence that family members and victims are at the highest risk for long-term psychological distress after an incident like the Oklahoma City bombing. Created in May 1995 by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services with funding support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Project Heartland has served as the principal mental health service provider for victims and survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing. Project Heartland, through the VOCA victim assistance program, also provided support for crisis counseling activities at the "Safe Havens" in Oklahoma City and in Denver during the trial.

• Critical Incident Working Group, Inc. Because of the unusual combination of duration, horror, danger, and frustration resulting from the high fatality rate in the Oklahoma City bombing, all survivors, rescue workers, and victims' family members required careful monitoring in anticipation of any treatment needs. Critical Incident Workshop Group, Inc., was created to provide and coordinate victim services that include workshops, stress management and suicide intervention workshops, and marriage counseling retreats for the individuals involved in the rescue effort who may need counseling or related services 2 to 5 years following the event.

Surviving family members whose loved ones were killed abroad by terrorists in various countries have voiced several concerns about the lack of appropriate services for victims and victims' families in the aftermath of the incident.

Embassy Bombings
In the aftermath of the simultaneous bombings of two U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998, OVC worked with many different Federal agencies, including the Departments of State, Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Justice; the Office of Personnel Management; the Agency for International Development; and the Central Intelligence Agency, to ensure that information, benefits, and services were available to the victims of those attacks. In FYs 1997–1998, OVC also funded a victim specialist position at the U.S. Department of State to serve as liaison to the victims and surviving family members of the Americans killed in the bombings.

Khobar Towers
Following the bombing of Khobar Towers in Dharain, Saudi Arabia, OVC used its authority under the Anti-Terrorism Act to ensure that the survivors of the 19 military service members killed were aware of compensation and assistance benefits. In December 1997, OVC established a 1–800 line for families and other victims in the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Columbia to provide current information about the case investigation and the status of the alleged terrorists.

OVC is working with the State Department and other Federal agencies: representatives of State compensation programs, and victims of terrorism to develop a strategy for providing more timely and effective assistance to victims of terrorism abroad.

Pan Am Flight 103
At the end of FY 98, OVC began working with Scottish officials, State Department representatives, DOJ officials, and others to secure services for the families of victims of Pan Am Flight 103 as they prepare for the upcoming trial in the Netherlands. The greatest concern at this point following the tragedy, which occurred on December 21, 1988, is providing the victims the opportunity to fully participate in the trial in accordance with the Attorney General's Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance. In addition, OVC is using its Anti-Terrorism Act authority and resources to support needed services such as mental health counseling for the surviving family members.

With the recent experience of Khobar Towers, accommodating Pan Am Flight 103 families of victims for the trial, and the Embassy bombings, current Federal and State legislation does not adequately address the needs of Americans who are victims of terrorism and mass violence crimes that occur outside the borders of the United States. Victims of these crimes come from many different States, and victims of the same crime may receive disparate treatment depending on their State of residence. To more effectively meet the needs of these victims, a centralized coordination of information and resources on the Federal level is needed. OVC is working with the State Department and other Federal agencies, representatives of State compensation programs, and victims of terrorism to develop a strategy for providing more timely and effective assistance to victims of terrorism abroad. This proposed strategy includes creating an international terrorism victims division within OVC and a special compensation program for victims of terrorism abroad.

International Trafficking of Women and Children

OVC is working in a number of areas to address the needs of victims who are trafficked across U.S. borders for exploitative purposes. OVC staff are working on issues related to the international trafficking of women and children. In addition, OVC has undertaken the following projects.

Direct Services for Trafficked Victims
In FY 1997, OVC funded the Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI) to provide direct services to Asian women and children trafficked and held as garment or sex industry workers. FASGI worked to assist women in re-establishing healthy and normal lives and ensure their availability as effective material witnesses while reducing the costs to taxpayers and providing a model that can be used in other regions of the country. The project developed guidelines for use by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the U.S. Courts in releasing trafficked women to community care and developed a preliminary curriculum for a continuum of care, called "Southeast Asia Women in Transition."

Focus Group on Assisting Trafficked Victims
In June 1998, OVC convened a focus group on assistance and outreach to victims of international trafficking. The victimization that flows from such trafficking is significant, yet for many reasons, these victims are largely without services. The purpose of the focus group was to gather views about how best to meet the myriad needs of victims of international trafficking, including those who have been trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, slave labor, and other unlawful purposes. Victim service providers, immigrant rights advocates, and others who come directly in contact with trafficked victims attended the meeting. In addition, representatives from the INS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Departments of State and Labor attended the meeting. Recommendations were made which OVC has incorporated in program development.

Assisting the Reunification of Abducted Children

In October 1996, OVC entered into an agreement with the International Division of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to make funding available, along with guidelines for its use, for the cost of reunification of the victim parent with the family-abducted children in the foreign country and return to the United States. Under OVC's reunification program, 14 children have been reunited with their families in the United States. In one case, an American child was returned home after being abandoned in a Middle East refugee camp. In another recovery, a child missing for 3 years was located in the foster care system of an African Nation. OVC funding is provided to those American parents who could not otherwise afford the expenses of recovering their children overseas. In FY 1999, OVC and NCMEC expanded the guidelines to allow for parents to travel abroad to attend custodial hearings in The Hague Convention countries.

In the search for their missing children, many parents exhaust their life savings on telephone calls, attorneys, and private investigators. It is estimated that 19 children are abducted from the United States or illegally retained in foreign countries each week. The International Child Abduction and Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11601) implemented the United States' ratification of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The Hague Convention provides for the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children to the country of habitual residence but governs only those cases involving countries that have become partners in The Hague Convention. However, funding was not provided to pay for the reunification process.

Conclusion

OVC continues to work toward improving services for crime victims and raising public awareness of crime victim issues internationally. Each year, OVC hosts dozens of visitors from around the world who are interested in victim assistance efforts in the United States. Visits have included officials from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Nigeria, South Africa, and Turkey. OVC also updates victim assistance advocates worldwide through its National Victim Assistance Academy, which has trained students from Australia, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa. As OVC moved into FY 1999, it conducted a focus group with the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) to explore ways that OVC can work with CVT to educate victim service providers about the unique needs of vulnerable immigrant victims of politically motivated torture. CVT has conducted several training workshops for Federal law enforcement personnel and is exploring avenues to train victim service providers around the country. Also, OVC cosponsored with four other DOJ agencies, a series of five regional symposia on restorative justice. One was held in November 1998, and additional conferences are scheduled through 2002. The conference series grew out of a United Nations working group on restorative justice. Also in FY 1999, OVC worked with the U.S. Department of Justice Worker Exploitation Task Force, various service providers throughout the country, and numerous nongovernmental organizations to develop a training video for Federal law enforcement personnel on the issues facing victims of trafficking. These are only some of the efforts extending beyond FY 1998 that OVC is making in the international arena. Crime victim issues are not confined to political boundaries, and therefore OVC will continue to work within the international community to improve awareness of and responsiveness to victims' rights and needs and to further the integration of crime victim issues into all international discussions of crime.