Resources for Violence Against Women and the Courts:
Fact Sheets on Sexual Violence from the National Judicial Education Program for the National Center for State Courts
To encourage state courts to use their Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) 5 percent STOP Grant court set-aside for projects on sexual assault as well as domestic violence, the National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) worked with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) as part of their OVW-funded grant. NJEP’s role within this grant was to provide resources for state court Violence Against Women Points of Contact (VAW POCs) about judicial education.
The resources NJEP developed for NCSC were three information sheets, linked here, and a webinar, presented in February 2017. The information sheets are:
- Introduction to Sexual Assault Cases and the Courts;
- Ten Tips for Creating Judicial Education Programs About Adult Victim Sexual Assault; and
- Promoting Fairness by Minimizing Victim Trauma During a Sexual Assault Trial.
The webinar, Enhancing the Court’s Response to Adult Victim Sexual Assault, was presented by Lynn Hecht Schafran, NJEP Director, and three state court administrators from Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington State. The purpose of this webinar was to provide information to VAW POCs and judicial educators about developing judicial education about sexual violence. A recording of the webinar is accessible free at https://vimeo.com/209450190, and the webinar PowerPoint can be accessed at www.vawaandcourts.org.
More resources about violence against women and the courts can be found at NCSC’s website VAWA and the Courts: Promoting Effective Court Responses to Violence Against Women, accessible at http://www.vawaandcourts.org.
