National Crime Victims Rights Week 2008 was celebrated April 13 - 19.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS), through its Ohio Office of Criminal
Justice Services (OCJS), was thrilled to have participated in several events
to promote awareness of victims’ rights in the State of Ohio.
On Monday, April 14, OCJS Executive Director Karhlton Moore and
Family Violence Prevention Center Director Chrystal Alexander attended
the National Crime Victims Rights Week Kick-Off Event at the
Columbus Urban League. This event was designed to provide survivors of
violent crime with the opportunity to fellowship with experts and share information
and experiences on areas related to crime victims’ rights. Delores Weldon,
a survivor of domestic violence, gave a moving speech and inspired survivors of
crime and the audience by showing the resiliency of the human spirit to overcome traumatic events that can happen in life.
On Wednesday, April 16, the Columbus Urban League also held a Sexual Assault Awareness Fair at their satellite office in the Linden Transit Center.
OCJS had a booth at the awareness fair with resources pertaining to
family violence prevention and teen dating violence detection and prevention.
April 16 was also a momentous occasion for the state of Ohio because
Governor Ted Strickland signed the Barbara Warner Domestic Violence and Workplace Policy Executive Order. The Barbara Warner Workplace Domestic
Violence Policy will provide guidance to state agencies in addressing and reducing occurrences of domestic violence and its impact on the workplace. The policy was named after Barbara Warner, an Ohio Department of Health employee, who was a victim of domestic violence. Mrs. Warner was murdered by her husband
in 1997 in Delaware County, Ohio.
“Domestic violence inside and outside of the workplace has become increasingly prevalent,” Governor Strickland said at the signing of the Executive Order.
“As an employer, the state must foster a safe working environment for all employees and provide the resources necessary to assist a worker who may be the victim of a domestic violence situation.”
Barbara Warner worked at the Ohio Department of Health for 20 years.
Her co-workers at the ODH were thrilled to see this policy become statewide.
Mrs. Warner’s sister, her only surviving family member, Alexandra Scott, and her husband, Gene Paul, helped Governor Strickland sign the Executive Order with
Beth Malchus,
a former co-worker and friend of Mrs. Warner.
Chrystal Alexander (OCJS/ODPS), the original victim assistant who worked with Alexandra Scott (in 1997) through the criminal prosecution case of
her sister’s murder also looked on, at the request of Mrs. Scott.
Executive Director Moore spoke to the attendees of the signing, expressing his gratitude to the Governor for signing the Executive Order. He also thanked
Hollie Hinton of the Governor’s Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach for
her leadership of the Domestic Violence Workplace Policy Group that worked for more than a year drafting the policy to submit for the Governor's approval. It was very rewarding to be a part of this process, and what a great thing to have accomplished during National Crime Victims Rights Week 2008!
On Thursday, April 17, Chrystal Alexander attended the Sexual Assault Resource
of Central Ohio’s 5th Annual Healing Garden event in honor of
Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Crime Victims Rights Week. This event was a
wonderful time to allow survivors of sexual assault to share their journeys,
read poems and/or express themselves creatively by making T-shirts and
handprints
or writing entries that signified where they were in their journey
in the
aftermath of sexual assault.
This Web site is dedicated to National Crime Victims’ Rights Week,
which will continue to honor these victims all year round.
View the Theme DVD "Justice for Victims. Justice for All."
