Victim Services

This was a system provider–level training for community mental health teams in the Netherlands to improve detection of and response to domestic violence and abuse in patients with mental illness. The program is rated No Effects. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of detection or referral of current domestic violence and abuse for teams that received the intervention, compared with control teams that did not receive training, at the 12-month follow-up.

This program provided resources via telephone to women victimized by intimate partner violence (IPV). It provided referrals to community programs, helped participants overcome barriers to obtaining services, and provided social support. The program is rated No Effects. Results showed no statistically significant differences between the treatment and comparison groups on IPV victimization, feeling vulnerable to someone, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

This is a community notification program targeting people who have been released after serving time for sex offenses in Minnesota. This is a state response to the federal requirements of Megan’s Law and authorizes law enforcement to notify local communities about where people who have been released after serving time for sex offenses will be living. The program is rated Promising. The experimental notification group had lower recidivism rates for sexual crimes compared with the non-notification

This is a crisis-response program in which police connect female victims of intimate partner violence with a social service provider, via telephone, at the scene of a domestic violence dispute. The program is rated Promising. When compared with the control group, program participants reported experiencing less violence at follow up. Participants were also more likely to receive an order of protection, and to contact domestic violence services. These differences were statistically significant.

This program is a problem-solving court that is part of a unified “one family-one judge” model, which means all criminal, family, and matrimonial cases involving the same family are handled by one judge. This program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences in re-arrests and conviction rates when comparing the IDV court cases with traditional family court cases.

The program uses specially trained nurses to provide comprehensive psychological, medical, and forensic services to recent sexual assault victims in either hospital- or community-based clinic settings. The program is rated Promising. Across multiple sites, the results showed that sexual assault cases that were prosecuted following implementation of SANE had a statistically significant greater likelihood of resulting in a guilty plea or conviction.

This program provides specialized and coordinated services to victims of sexual assault during their first contact with the health care system. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group patients had a statistically significant greater number of referrals to victim services and greater likelihood of consenting to evidence collection, pregnancy tests, and STD treatment, compared with control group patients treated in the standard emergency room.

This program consists of a specialized police unit, which was designed to prevent recidivism among people convicted of domestic violence offenses and to assist victims of domestic violence through the process of prosecution and recovery. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit had a statistically significant lower likelihood of recidivating, compared with the control group, who were assigned to standard patrol.