A monthly newsletter from OCVJC with the latest information about victims’ rights.

Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center (OCVJC) is committed to ensuring that crime victims can exercise their rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. OCVJC staff stands ready and willing to help protect and enforce crime victims’ rights. If your rights are violated, contact OCVJC at (614)848-8500 or online to request assistance.

Please visit OCVJC’s recommendations for Crime Victims and Courts and Criminal Justice System Officials. For medical information and updates, OCVJC recommends the Ohio Department of Health website and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. For statewide updates from Governor DeWine visit the Ohio Channel.

Child Abuse Prevention

Screen Shot 2020-03-23 at 9.22.18 AM.png

Ohio Child Abuse

Children are significantly more likely to be crime victims than adults. According to the National Children's Alliance, "Nearly 700,000 children are abused in the U.S annually." In Ohio, 41% of the reported victims of violent crime are children.

Defining Child Abuse

“Child abuse can result from physical, verbal, or sexual harm. While child abuse is often considered to take the form of an action, there are also examples of inaction that cause harm, such as neglect.” (Child Abuse, n.d.). Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) child victimization categories include child-specific abuse categories (Crime Victimization Glossary | OVC, n.d.) However, children may also be victims of other categories, such as Stalking/Harassment and Bullying (Verbal, Cyber, or Physical).

Marginalized Youth

Children may face increased risk of abuse such as bullying and physical abuse violence based on their culture, ethnicity, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status. These marginalized children often are not reported because their communities or families may have “experienced hate and bias crime and may have generalized fears and mistrust that extend to others outside their cultural group” (Outreach to Underserved Teen Victims of Crime, 2012, p. 13). The children may also fear that they will risk disapproval from their family and community or be perceived as bringing shame to their family or community. “The criminal justice and victim response systems often are not fully prepared to meet the needs of young marginalized victims. The many reasons for these gaps include the lack of culturally, linguistically, and developmentally inclusive outreach and interventions” (Outreach to Underserved Teen Victims of Crime, 2012, p. 13).

How can you tell & What can you do:

Child abuse is often difficult to recognize and many fear that they may make a false report. Symptoms to look for: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/child-abuse (Child Abuse, n.d.).

The CDC has developed a guide that provides "strategies and approaches... [that] represent different levels of the social ecology with efforts intended to impact individual behaviors as well as the relationship, family, school, community, and societal factors that influence risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect" (Fortson et al., 2016). This guide is available at https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html

Legal responsibilities:

What are your legal responsibilities if you suspect someone is subjected to child abuse? For full details., read the Ohio code on reporting 2151.421 Reporting child abuse or neglect (Lawriter—ORC - 2151.421 Reporting child abuse or neglect., n.d.). However, below is an overview.

According to State Statutes Search—Child Welfare Information Gateway (n.d.) mandatory reporters include the following:

Attorneys unless, in accordance with § 2317.02, the attorney could not testify with respect to that communication in a civil or criminal proceeding.
Physicians, unless in accordance with § 2317.02, the physician could not testify with respect to that communication in a civil or criminal proceeding.
Interns, residents, dentists, podiatrists, nurses, or other health-care professionals
Licensed psychologists, school psychologists, or marriage and family therapists
Speech pathologists or audiologists
Coroners
Administrators or employees of child daycare centers, certified child care agencies, or other public or private children services; residential camps; child day camps; or private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camps agencies
Teachers, school employees, or school authorities
Persons engaged in social work or the practice of professional counseling
Peace officers or agents of county humane societies
Persons, other than clerics, rendering spiritual treatment through prayer in accordance with the tenets of a well-recognized religion
Professional employees of a county Department of Job and Family Services who works with children and families
Superintendents or regional administrators employed by the Department of Youth Services
Superintendents, board members, or employees of county boards of developmental disabilities; investigative agents contracted with by a county board of developmental disabilities; employees of the Department of Developmental Disabilities; employees of a facility or home that provides respite care; employees of a home health agency; or employees of an entity that provides homemaker services
Persons performing the duties of an assessor or third party employed by a public children's services agency to assist in providing child- or family-related services
Court-appointed special advocates or guardians ad litem

The reporter is not required to provide his or her name in the report, but if he or she wants to receive information on the outcome of the investigation, they must provide their name, address, and telephone number to the person who receives the report (State Statutes Search—Child Welfare Information Gateway, n.d.).

References

Child Abuse. (n.d.). Psychology Today. Retrieved March 4, 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/child-abuse

Crime Victimization Glossary | OVC. (n.d.). Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Retrieved March 5, 2020, from https://www.ovc.gov/library/glossary.html

Fortson, B. L., Klevens, J., Merrick, M. T., Gilbert, L. K., & Alexander, S. P. (2016). Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: A Technical Package for Policy, Norm, and Programmatic Activities (p. 52). Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html

Lawriter—ORC - 2151.421 Reporting child abuse or neglect. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2020, from http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2151.421

Outreach to Underserved Teen Victims of Crime: Chart a Course for Expanding Victim Services to Youth: (616442012-001). (2012). [Data set]. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/e616442012-001

State Statutes Search—Child Welfare Information Gateway. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2020, from https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/state/?CWIGFunctionsaction=statestatutes:main.getResults

The Toolkit can provide you with information about the rights of child-abuse victims, as well as the rights of other victims. Below is an image sample from the Victims Rights Toolkit showing part of the results for child-abuse victims - Investigation tab (Click to enlarge image). For more information about the rights of child-abuse and other victims, please view the full Toolkit.

A victim of a sexual offense may request that the defendant be tested for sexually transmitted infections.R.C. 2907.27(A)(1)

Find out more in the Crime Victims Rights Toolkit.

Meet One of Our Volunteers

Farah is currently a graduating senior at Ohio University majoring in Criminology-Sociology and minoring in Screenwriting and Digital Storytelling while pursuing three certificates; Social Media, War and Peace Studies, and Technology and Society. She is extremely passionate about making a difference in the lives of victims of crime by providing them with helpful resources that support them throughout their legal process. As an ambassador, she wants to ensure that victims know someone cares and will fight for their justice. Outside of advocating for victims’ rights, Farah loves to travel, read astrology books, and spend time with my friends and family.

Farah also recently received the Outstanding Senior Leadership Award from Ohio University. With over 970 applications, across 22 award categories for this year’s 38th annual Leadership Awards, OCVJC is incredibly proud that Farah was recognized as one of the four awardees. Farah assisted in making our campus ambassad!or program a success. Without her leadership the ambassador program would not have been such a great success. Thank you Farah for all you do for victims’ rights

Sign up below to receive our newsletter and updates.

Support OCVJC’s Mission

The Owl from Powell Save 5% on Real Ohio Buckeyes! OCVJC has partnered with John Marefka, Columbus artist and the creator of these buckeye characters! Each approximately 3" - 4" tall, they are handmade with bendable arms and come in a variety of sty… — **The Owl from Powell**
Save 5% on Real Ohio Buckeyes! OCVJC has partnered with John Marefka, Columbus artist and the creator of these buckeye characters! Each approximately 3" - 4" tall, they are handmade with bendable arms and come in a variety of styles. Great gifts for every fan in your life and 50% of every purchase will go directly to OCVJC in support of the movement to enforce victims’ rights throughout Ohio. **Click here** **and USE PROMO CODE: OCVJC**

By making purchases through OCVJC's Amazon Smile link, we receive a donation at no cost to you. And if you have Prime, you can still use it for fast delivery! Add it to your profile or bookmark for easy access. Happy Shopping!