...VICTIM RIGHTS, ADVOCACY, AND JUSTICE IN OUR POST-9/11 NATION Though there had been terrorist attacks in the United States prior to September 11, 2001, the events on that day in the skies above America, and in the cities of Washington, DC, New York, NY, and Shanksville, PA led to an unprecedented focus on the rights of victims and survivors, and historical expectations were placed upon our government as Americans looked to our leaders for protection, reparations, and justice. In some estimation, our government reacted swiftly, passing legislative measures that would reinforce the strength of the American economy. In other respects, individuals found it necessary to form private groups to advocate for measures and benefits that would not otherwise have become law without their fight. Certainly, in the realm of victim rights, advocacy, and the demand for justice, our post-9/11 nation has endured a dramatic metamorphosis. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund was created by Congress through the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (49 USC 40101), shortly after 9/11 to compensate victims (or their families) of the attack, should they agree not to sue. There was no such government compensation for other tragedies on American soil, such as the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City or the Katrina hurricane disaster. In this instance, the airlines asked Congress for help, and Congress decided that the airline industry “must remain...
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...engagement. Fortunately for Putnam, there is an endless list of organizations around the globe that seek to reinforce his suggestions. My cousin, Seve, worked as a part of a team to found a non-profit organization in Austin, Texas, called the Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project, or LSVAP for short. In collaboration with a few of Putnam’s suggestions, Seve and her team work to build community and foster a commitment to the improvement of their clients’ lives....
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...A corporate lifetime ago policies and procedures were a nuisance put in place by management as a way to standardize business practices and attempt to use a single set of rules for everything everywhere they did business. And it was a drag. I have clear memories of my formative years on Wall Street with a seemingly endless row of binders on my cubicle shelf that appeared best suited to gather dust rather than provide anyone direction because in the end, well, all they did was gather dust. So the irony isn’t lost on me that here I am a decade or two later standing on my soapbox explaining why having things documented is a good thing. Twenty years ago there really weren’t enforceable regulatory standards such as SOX or GLBA. Frameworks and assessment guidelines such as CobIT and NIST and ISO 17799 were either in their infancy or not yet developed. And so outside of a very few pockets of industry there wasn’t a whole lot of good reason to have to put down on paper what you did, why you did it and how you got it done. Sure there were the auditors that came around every now and again but things were simpler in those days and much of what they needed could either be found in the occasional dusty binder or grabbed from the data center operations library. Today we live in a different world. There are a seemingly endless number of regulations in place that are tested monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually. There are rules as to how you must configure your network, your...
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...Advocacy In my care support class we learnt a lot about advocating for a patient. Advocacy – a person who relays the wants/needs of an individual who for reasons cannot speak for themselves. Advocacy commences when a person represents the interests of another person. This requires complete loyalty of the person acting as an advocate, who represents the wishes, needs and interests of the patient as if it was your own needs, and what advocacy means: the one that pleads, defends or supports the cause or interest of the patient for whatever reason they cannot speak for themselves or on behalf of someone in their best interest, e.g. someone who has not got a voice/confidents or cannot be heard, e.g. children, elderly, dementia patients. There are different forms of advocacy: Self-advocacy: is the ability to speak up for yourself and the things that are very important to you, self-advocacy means you are able to ask for what you need and tell other people about your thoughts and feelings. Self-Advocacy means you know your rights and responsibilities, and you are able to make choices and decisions that affect your life. It is important to learn self-advocacy skills because it helps you decide what you want and what to expect. When you have good self-advocacy skills you can have more control and make the life decisions that are best for you. (advocacy.com) Legal advocacy: involves solicitors protecting their client’s rights and interests in a court of law. i.e. a person’s will or their...
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...Prompt: “The knower’s perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge.” To what extent do you agree? Imagine, if you will, that you are sitting at a local café in France and happen to overhear the man sitting behind you say “He did it in cold blood.” As an American, the uneasy feeling of apprehension shoots through your body while waiting to sequentially overhear the dark deed belonging to this mysterious “he” the man behind you speaks of. Now, imagine that you are the friend to whom the Frenchman is confiding who also hears the same “Il l’a fait dans le sang froid.” As a Frenchman, your calm but curious ears wait to hear what the mysterious “he” has done with such grace. For though it may be the same idiomatic expression, “cold blood” takes on two drastically different meanings depending on the language and thus perspective of the person hearing it, consequently altering the tone of the subject entirely. To an American, a deed done in “cold blood” is a vicious deed done without empathy, however, to a Frenchman, a deed done in “le sang froid” is one done with self-control. The variation in the two languages is what causes the American to interpret negatively the words the Frenchman says in good spirit with the knowledge of his own language. Their two perspectives changed the meaning of the sentence entirely and it is for this reason why I would agree wholeheartedly that the knower’s perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge. The challenges of understanding...
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...1.Non-state actors especially businesses are more vocal in the design of policies that impact on the global economics. Businesses have the power to influence policies adopted that relate to engaging in trading around the globe ( Fusch, p2). The discursive power enables businesses to exert influence both in the public and in private sectors. Businesses can tailor their discursive powers to achieve diverse objectives relating to policy formulation (Fusch, p26) There are enormous changes in the global intellectual property regime that give the businesses a leeway to actively engage in international economics negotiations. The liberalization of knowledge through relaxed protection of the intellectual property works to the advantage of the businesses (Morin p3). The economic and political changes taking place around the world occasioned changes in the political roles. There is an evident decline in the roles of states in the international policing. The business enterprises are increasing taking over from governments in participating in the international economic policing (Fusch, p5). 2. A classic instance of collaboration among businesses was the formation of Basel II. Several bankers from different countries came together to influence the policies formulated around that time. The bankers came from the states that formed G10 at the time (Young, 2012, p665) The rise of academic communities successfully managed to advocate for the scrapping of the monopoly initially exhibited...
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...Chapter 3: Standard Setting Review Questions: 8-If the standard-setting process should achieve better information, what criteria would identify better information? The relevance and reliability are the two main criteria that would identify better information since this would result useful and trustful information. 9-Is the setting of accounting standards desirable for society? If so, who should set standards? Yes, the setting of accounting standard is desirable for society because it provides investors with relevant information. There are a variety of standards that each depends on its setter for example the “Public Interest Theory” aims to satisfy the needs of the Tax authority. Also the standard setters of ”The social Contract Theory” must reflect w composition of society affected by the standard and by the environment they apply. 10-How does good financial reporting add value to organization? Good financial reporting results on accurate information which enhances the image of the organization consequently motivate investors, accountability with creditors and help manager to evaluate the performance of the company. 13-In your opinion, do the benefits from regulating accounting information outweigh the costs? Justify your answer. The benefits resulting from the regulating accounting information are: * Increased efficiency in allocating capital. * Cheaper production of accounting information. * Check on perquisites. * Public confidence. * Standardisation...
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...like, “I own you.” “You will never survive without me.” “I have all the money where will you go.” Then there is the small voice inside the head of the victim saying things like, “Where will I go? How will I survive? Maybe I am not worthy of being treated better.” A victim is shuffled in so many directions, he or she loves his or her abuser and does not want to see him or her arrested, if social services discovers the situation he or she lives in he or she may lose his or her children. What will happen to him or her if the abuser gets out of jail, will it make things worse? All of these directions and all of these questions need some clearing up, and this is where advocacy comes into play. Personal Perspective According to Reference.com (2013), “Advocacy is the pursuit of influencing outcomes –including public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions- that directly affect people’s lives” (Advocacy). The role of an advocate is to provide a voice to one unable to because of a crisis. This voice is supposed to be an empowerment tool. Often times this empowerment tool can go wrong. Mandatory arrest was established because of advocates to amplify the law replying to domestic violence. The problem with mandatory arrest is that the choice taken away from the victim. He or she may call the police to help defuse the situation, instead the police show up and have to arrest the abuser. Doing this takes the choice...
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...erode and eventually completely eradicate entire civilizations such as the rural Ecuadoreans seen in this powerful documentary. Since these peoples are primarily indigenous and have little to no voice as to what a powerful destructive corporation can and will do to them, in order to counteract rampant negligence by corporations in their globalized quest for maximized profit, it is crucial that the growth and evolution of transnational advocacy networks give the people who matter a venue to be heard on a large scale. People all over the world, both nationally and internationally are often silenced or disregarded because as many say, “money talks”, however this all changes when these individuals or small groups of people create coalitions, whether they are near each other, or simply someone on the other side of the planet who is trying to help them and make a difference. It all starts with one person and once the movement gains momentum, it is much harder for corporations and money to stifle and silence. The key to creating these transnational advocacy networks, as seen in Crude, is the presence and backing of a Non-Governmental Organization, or NGO, as Steven R. Donziger (the American Lawyer seen in the case) helped get the popularly called “Amazonian Chernobyl” into the headlines and eventual coverage support by Vanity...
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...parents in advocating for proposed school regulation Background of this idea ABC’s mission is to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. In the past few years, we have been concerned about how to best advocate for young parents with children who have disabilities—especially since a recently proposed school regulation will have a huge impact on their lives. To sufficiently influence policy makers, these parents need to be educated on the issues and involved in advocating for the new regulation. Their involvement will give ABC’s advocacy work the necessary visible support of young families. However, few young parents participate in ABC’s advocacy programs, preferring to join XYZ for their relevant information and support groups or LMN for their help in addressing problems in the school system. ABC recognizes that young parents have a limited amount of free time and wants to make it easy for them to participate in its advocacy efforts. In addition, ABC needs to be a good steward of its resources and not compete for clients with other organizations that are providing excellent complementary services. Purpose of the alliance The purpose of this alliance is to • Share information about the proposed school regulation • Recruit young parents into the project • Provide training to young parents so that they can assist in revising the proposed school regulation • Defray the costs of parent involvement in the project Outcomes An alliance of ABC, XYZ, and LMN (and perhaps...
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...differences between criminology and victimology are discussed. The flagstaff of safe houses for abused women and children, along with our nation’s first rape crises center are highlighted. The contribution from our history’s civil rights movement and how it has played a part in the U.S. laws are explained, along with children’s rights groups and the problems child victims face in the criminal justice system. In the conclusion of this paper, readers will be given a path to take in regards to advocacy groups for victims. Before we begin to understand the concept of victimology I feel it is important to first understand the definition of a victim, and the history in which victimology stems from. To be a victim means that you are a person who individually or collectively, has suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of your fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws operative within member state, including those laws proscribing criminal abuse of power (UN Declaration 1985 on Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power). Victimology stems from criminology, which is the study of crime as a social phenomenon, and is the science upon which victimology is based. Victimology differs from criminology because it is the scientific study of physical, emotional, and financial harm people suffer because of illegal activities. Victimology is best viewed as an...
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...DIFFERENT FORMS OF ADVOCACY IN MODERN SOCIETY: Advocacy is defined as public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy. It is also defined as the profession or work of a legal advocate whose responsibility is to plead or argue in favour of a course, idea, or policy. There are three forms of advocacies namely case advocacy, self advocacy, peer advocacy, paid independent advocacy, citizen advocacy and statutory advocacy. Case advocacy This at times is referred to as crisis or short-term advocacy. The advocacy focuses on one issue or set of issues which are not intended to have long-term objectives. It may be provided alongside peer, citizen, or self-advocacy to give extra support in dealing with a particular problem due to a break down in an advocacy partnership, or because of issues requiring special expertise e.g. in law, child protection, education, housing, employment, and financial matters. Self advocacy This is when people come together to speak up for themselves. This is the norm for most of the population especially when people feel empowered. It takes the form of societies or special interest groups. People with disabilities tend to be introverts hence find it hard to express their challenges to the rest of the community; Self advocacy is the best way to address these vice. The advocacy groups are run by thee vulnerable themselves with the support of other members of the society. Self advocacy groups comprise of people with sharing common locally;...
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...INTRODUCTION Grassroots-based advocacy movements are not new and continue to be politically contentious. However, since the mid-1990s there has been an increasing interest in advocacy on the part of both NGOs and Northern donor agencies. Firstly, influencing macro-level policy and regulatory frameworks is now seen as essential to increasing opportunities and removing constraints at the micro-level for both enterprise programmes and entrepreneurs themselves. Secondly, multilateral and bilateral donor agencies have increasingly emphasised civil society development and democratisation as a means of effecting this macro-level change. Underpinning both these trends are related debates about rights-based approaches to development and pro-poor growth. Advocacy organizations have also used advances in communications and information technology to increase global as well as national visibility and influence. Impact assessment has had a two-fold role in these trends: • • Firstly action research and impact assessments of the effects of macro-level policies, legislation and regulatory environments have been used to support advocacy campaigns. Secondly donors, NGOs and advocates themselves have been concerned to assess the impacts of their advocacy strategies either to justify funding them and/or to improve future strategies and campaigns. There are now a number of manuals by NGOs and donors presenting models, tools and frameworks for both advocacy itself and advocacy impact assessment.1 There...
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...where they were established. Next, the writer discusses how the civil rights movement contributed to anti-discrimination efforts and the establishment of hate crime legislation and policy. The writer also tells the role children’s rights groups have played in highlighting the problems child victims face in the criminal justice system. Finally, the writer provide the organizations that an individual can contact if he/she has been victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and homicide along with what services are not provided by government crime compensation programs. What is Victimology? Victimololgy is a sub-discipline of criminology concerned with understanding and explaining the patterning of criminal victimization (Victimology, 2008). Victimology draws together academics, activists, and policymakers from all different type of backgrounds. There are three different types of victimological thoughts. The three different types are positivist, radical, and critical. According to Miers (1989), positivist victimology is preoccupied with the patterning of criminal victimization that was a product of interpersonal crime. When it comes to positivist victiomolgy, the victim is taken as either being defined by the criminal law or by the self-evident nature of their own suffering. Even though...
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...When we looked into our issue we found many interesting facts about gangs. For example we found in 2013 there were 15,000 individual gang members in London and 35000 across the UK. Gangs are also connected to lots of knife crime. Knife crime is a very serious issue in London and the UK. The London Standard newspaper reported that there were about 1000 victims of knife crime in London per month. ------------------------------------------------- We discovered other important information about our issue such as knife crime. ------------------------------------------------- Our issue is important locally because it will help reduce knife crime in the city and it is really important to make sure knife crime is stopped in certain areas because young people are becoming victims of knife crime. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Our issue is important nationally because knife crime rate is increased in some areas of Britain. However it is important because too many young people carry knifes and instead of making someone else a victim majority of the time they get victim of knife crime themselves because most people take the knife off you and use...
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