The media contributes significantly in advocating for social policies and victim legislation. Thus, the media is paramount in advancing both advocacy and social policies aimed at addressing the plight of crime victims. Victims go through traumatic pain and need support to not only report the crimes but also to get over the impacts of the ordeal. Against this backdrop, this essay will discuss the role of advocacy, media, and social policy in addressing the needs of crime victims and how one can become an effective advocate. Secondly, the essay will describe and distinguish the law and services available for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse. Lastly, the paper will describe, compare and contrast two separate victim advocacy programs in the United States (U.S) with the aim of fostering a deeper understanding of the issue.
The media plays a primary role in advocating for social policy and needs of victims of crime. For instance, when coverage of cases of crime is timely, the information can assist in enhancing public awareness of such cases as a missing child or emergency services that may be needed following a particular crime. When cases of both common and emerging crimes are covered , the information can aid in effecting positive change in public policy. The advocacy and influence attained through media may also lead to change in the public attitude towards crimes and crime victims. Through advocacy , the media helps in humanizing a victim and his or her experiences especially at a time when the criminal justice system may be focused on the crime and the offender ( Greer, 2007). Through the media, a victim can share a story of “resilience and hope.” This information may inspire families to talk about close people who succumbed to the said crimes. This may also encourage individuals to become advocates of social justice. In some instances, reporters speak to victims with the sole intention of making the news . However, mistakes may arise in the process of reporting on the story. Due to its distorted nature, the information shared ceases to be of any use especially regarding advocacy. Therefore, for a person or entity to become an effective advocate for social justice, full commitment never to distort the information shared by the victims is requisite ( Greer, 2007).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Various organizations offer support to crime victims and crime prevention. One such organization is Safe Horizon, a non-profit established in 1978 and based in New York. The entity endeavors to “support, prevent violence, and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and communities.” (Safe Horizon, n.d). This encompasses victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, among other sets of crimes. Secondly, the organization offers legal support and runs community programs and family justice centers that assist victims in their recovery. The US Department of Justice Archive (USDJA) also provides support programs that are faith-based and community-based, and also holds conferences and advocacy events. One of the most prominent programs run by the department is The Presidents Family Justice Center Initiative that serves several vulnerable groups (USDJA, n.d). Further, Safe Passage is a local organization based in York, Lancaster, Chester, and Union Counties and “provides a 24-hour emergency shelter, 24-hour crisis line, advocacy, counseling, and other supportive services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse .” (Safe Passage, n.d).
The selected programs have been very effective in meeting their mandate. This is due to their focus on addressing specific needs of victims, as well as their well-defined target community. No one type of victim benefits the most from the selected advocacy programs. This is because the programs are highly comprehensive offering myriad services to different kinds of victims. Moreover, the support received by a particular individual, no matter the amount, is vital in his or her recovery process. Given a chance to modify an element of the programs, I would ensure that there is a close linkage between the operation of each of the organizations and the media. The media strongly influences the public, and thus a healthy relationship would ensure that the information passed to the public is both appropriate and useful . Secondly, this would ensure that reporting of victim stories is not distorted since the media would be obtaining information first-hand from the organizations (Seymour et al., 2009; Newmark, 2004) . Thus, the media has a mostly positive impact as it helps in sharing the stories of victims with the public, which plays a vital advocacy role and helps in shaping social policies.
From one classmate’s posting, I learned that social media could be used as a tool for sharing information about both crime and victimization with the public. This is primarily informed by the increased number of social media users globally. However, after reading the posting, it was not clear how adverse impacts of social media would be addressed . Specifically, how would such issues as lost privacy, false information, harmful posts and misrepresentation among others be resolved? From a second classmate, I learned that culturally sensitive assistance and support is necessary . After reading the post, I would love to know how personnel with such skill set would be obtained . Since most communities have become multi-cultural, how would an organization ensure that all the cultures in the community are reflected in its workforce? Emphasis on the positive role of media, advocacy, and social policies forms a significant similarity between my post and that of my classmates. However, differences exist in emphasis on the use of social media as opposed to the traditional media, as well as the need to consider culturally-sensitive assistance in the chosen programs.
In conclusion, the role of media and advocacy in enhancing victim legislation and social policies cannot be overemphasized . Likewise, the media aids in strengthening the effectiveness of such efforts. Therefore, by incorporating the media, social and advocacy are highly improved . It also aids in highlighting the existing victim legislations.
References
Greer, C. (2007). News media, victims and crime. Victims, crime and society , 20-49.
Newmark, L. C. (2004). Crime Victims’ Needs and VOCA-Funded Services: Findings and Recommendations from Two National Studies. Alexandria, Virginia: National Institute of Justice.
Safe Horizon (n.d.). What we do . safehorizon.org . Retrieved from https://www.safehorizon.org/our-services/what-we-do/
Safe Passage (n.d.). About Safe Passage. safepassagesc.org. Retrieved from http://safepassagesc.org/
Seymour, A., Bucqueroux, B., Justice Solutions, & United States of America. (2009). A News Media Guide for Victim Service Providers.
USDJA. (n.d.). Domestic Violence . justice.gov . Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/archive/fbci/progmenu_domv.html
