Civil Legal Needs of Survivors of Sexual Assault

Abstract

This researcher-practitioner partnership seeks to fill an important gap in the victim research literature. Existing research on sexual violence survivors’ experiences with the legal system tends to focus on their experiences with the criminal legal system. The practitioner partner, Victim Rights Law Center, headquartered in Boston, MA, is the first non-profit law center in the U.S. to solely focus on providing civil legal services to survivors of sexual assault in the areas of privacy, safety, immigration, housing, education, employment and financial stability. Through a systematic review of closed, redacted victim case files, the victim services field will gain a better understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with civil legal remedies in the aftermath of a sexual assault. [CVRL Note: The Center for Victim Research (CVR) funds and supports local-level Research-and-Practice (R/P) Fellowships. This partnership was part of the 2019 cohort]. (Author Text)