EDVA Commemorates the 40th Anniversary of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

 ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia joins communities nationwide in commemorating the 40th anniversary of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) from April 18–24, 2021. This year’s theme, Support Victims. Build Trust. Engage Communities, emphasizes the importance of leveraging community support to help victims of crime.

“We are firmly committed to upholding victims’ rights as we protect the safety of our communities and pursue equal justice under the law in a broad range of criminal and civil matters across EDVA,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “From seeking justice for victims of terrorism, human trafficking, child exploitation, and other violent and white-collar crimes, to enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act, vindicating the rights of military servicemembers and veterans, and securing restitution for the victims of financial fraud, we will stand with victims and ensure their voices are heard. This year’s theme for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week recognizes the importance of, and power in, all facets of the community—including stakeholders in the justice system, victim advocates, charitable organizations, faith-based groups, health care providers, and mental health professionals—standing together to ensure that victims of crime receive the services, healing, and justice they need and deserve.”

NCVRW is a time to renew our commitment to serving victims of crime, acknowledge achievements made in the victim services field, and remember crime victims and survivors. For more information about this year’s NCVRW and how to assist victims in your own community, please visit the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week website.

The Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) leads communities throughout the country in their annual observances of NCVRW, during which victim advocacy organizations, community groups, and state, local, and tribal agencies traditionally host rallies, candlelight vigils, and other events to raise awareness of victims’ rights and services.

In the Eastern District of Virginia, those events will include the following:

• A virtual training on Privacy, Protection, and Fairness: Why Crime Victims’ Rights Matter to Victims of Violence, hosted by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services on April 20.

• The Unsung Heroes awards ceremony, hosted by the Virginia Office of the Attorney General on April 21 to recognize outstanding service and support to victims of crime in the Commonwealth. For more information about the event, please visit here.

• National Crime Victims’ Rights Candlelight Vigil & 2-Mile Walk, hosted by the Stafford Country Sheriff’s Office on April 23.

To commemorate the NCVRW this year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia is holding a clothing drive to donate garments and toiletries to a local non-profit organization that assists women and children in crisis. Additionally, among other initiatives led by the Victim-Witness Unit, EVDA is hosting speakers to raise awareness of victim issues. On April 16, Acting U.S. Attorney Parekh hosted a virtual event in which Aloke Chakravarty, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, discussed his experience prosecuting the Boston Marathon bombings case. The discussion also focused on the collaboration and coordination required to ensure that victims’ voices were heard during the investigation and resulting trial. On April 23, Acting U.S. Attorney Parekh will host a virtual fireside chat with Tony West, who in his former role as the Justice Department’s Associate Attorney General (2012–2014) helped secure nearly $37 billion in fines and restitution for American victims in connection with the 2009 financial crisis.