School-Based Victim Services
- The risk of violent victimization is greater for a
12-year old than for anyone age 24 or older. (Snyder & Sickmund, 1995.)
- More than 2,800 school-age children were killed by
firearms in 1993. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1994.)
- One in five students and nearly one in three males
among inner-city high school students have been shot at, stabbed, or otherwise
injured with a weapon at or in transit to or from school in the past few
years. (Sheley, McGee & Wright, 1995.)
- In 1992, about 17,000 girls under age 12 were raped in the United
States. (Langan & Harlow, 1994.)
Overview
School crime and violence have reached alarming proportions across the country, causing
concerns among victims, their families and educators. From overt violent acts such as
homicide and assaults, to concealed crimes such as child sexual abuse, violence in schools
affects everyone teachers, parents, children and the whole community. School boards,
criminal justice officials and concerned citizens are looking for effective ways to
prevent victimization in schools and to address the needs of those who are victimized.
The creation of school-based victim service programs is proving to be an effective first
step towards assisting victims, as well as developing crime prevention programs.
Comprehensive school-based initiatives are geared toward elementary through college and
university levels and are aimed at students, teachers and other professionals victimized
in the school-setting. Effective victim assistance programs respond to chronic trauma or
the victimization that occurs in everyday life as well as the critical trauma or violent
incidents that occur on school grounds and campuses.
Juveniles who are victimized, or who repeatedly witness violence, and do not receive
immediate support in understanding it, are more at risk of using violence as a means of
dealing with their own conflicts. They also show traumatic stress symptoms that impair
their capacity to succeed in school, to develop healthy relationships and to become
productive adults. Psychological health services and victim assistance programs can help
young crime victims and witnesses to violence deal with the trauma, thus stopping the
cycle of violence, and preventing academic and emotional problems that victims and
witnesses sometimes experience while trying to cope with the aftermath of violence.
Elements of positive school-based victim service programs include school-based crisis
intervention counseling and curricula which include courses on victim assistance and
violence prevention. The core of the program is crisis intervention and stress reaction
training, which helps students and teachers better respond to their own stresses, as well
as those of others around them.
Educators and schools have also begun to establish policies and procedures to ensure the
safety of all students, educators, and administrators. This includes the implementation of
the following action steps:
- Establishing and enforcing discipline rules, policies
and procedures on school grounds;
- Screening by metal detectors or some other reliable
method all individuals for weapons before they enter the school;
- Designating schools as "drug free zones" and "gun free
zones"; and
- Promoting and guaranteeing the privacy and safety of students,
faculty, and all employees.
Today many schools are forced to respond to critical incidents that occur on school
grounds, such as shootings, assaults, rapes, kidnappings or hostage situations. How a
critical incident is handled affects the "healing" of the school population, the
tone of the school, and the education of its students.
Training for educators to help them deal with critical incidents before they occur can
improve the response to the incident and aid the healing process of both the primary and
secondary victims of any critical incident. In addition, a school-based action plan
focusing on three phases immediate, intermediate, and long-term needs is an important
component of school-based victim services programs (National Organization for Victim
Assistance, 1992).
Both students and teachers initially respond to critical incidents by demonstrating shock,
disbelief and grief. Within the first one to four days, the school should address these
immediate concerns and protect itself from further victimization or intrusion,
particularly from the media. Staff or students may require emotional, psychological,
and/or physical care. These services can be provided by outside professionals, school
counselors, parents or other faculty members.
Following initial crisis intervention, the intermediate support and assistance needed by
schools includes helping students and teachers deal with anxieties and concerns that
emerge once the initial shock wears off. Those responsible for the care of school-aged
children administrators, faculty and parents may require further assistance and support as
they help students deal with their emotions, trauma and stress. Activities such as
debriefings, small and large group discussions, information sharing and individual
counseling and support are important components of this second phase.
The final phase of the school-based plan focuses on the long-term needs of students and
faculty, which may range from one week after the incident through the criminal trial
period. Schools, students and teachers may require occasional support to deal with the
continued stress, anxieties and trauma of the incident. School counselors and
professionals can provide these services in the school-settings. Support groups organized
within the school environment can be conducted by trained parents, students and school
personnel.
Finally, school-based plans should include provisions for providing crisis intervention
counseling for persons victimized away from the school grounds. Since much of a student's
time is spent in the school-setting, this should be a place where the student can easily
and confidently access victim assistance and services whenever they become a direct or
indirect victim of crime no matter where that crime occurs.
School-based victim service programs can be effective and meaningful in the lives of
students and faculty. However, they should be set-up and administered by trained victim
crisis professionals in order to be effective and not end up re-victimizing the victim.
Efforts such as these require the support of parents, teachers, administrators, social
workers, criminal justice professionals, victim services professionals and all the
community leaders working together. Creating a safe place where children can learn and
grow depends on a partnership such as this to ensure success.
References
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1994). "Crime in the United States, 1993."
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Langan, Patrick and Caroline Harlow. (1994). Child Rape Victims, 1992. Washington, DC:
Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
Sheley, Joseph, Sina McGee and James Wright. (1995). Weapon-Related Victimization in
Selected Inner-City High School Samples. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice,
U.S. Department of Justice.
Snyder, Howard and Melissa Sickmund. (1995). Juvenile Offenders and Victims: A National
Report. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S.
Department of Justice.
Bibliography
National Crime Prevention Council. (1995). How Communities Can Bring Up Youth Free From
Fear and Violence. Washington, DC.
National School Safety Center. (1990). School Crisis Prevention and Response. Malibu, CA:
Pepperdine University.
National Center for Victims of Crime. (1997). "Campus
Crime: Colleges & Universities," Get Help Series,
Arlington, VA.
National Center for Victims of Crime. (1995). "Campus Crime: Federal & State Legislation," Get Help Series, Arlington, VA.
National Center for Victims of Crime. (1993). "If You Are a Victim of Campus Violence," Get Help Series, Arlington, VA.
National Center for Victims of Crime. (1996). "School Crime: K - 12," Get Help Series,
Arlington, VA.
National Center for Victims of Crime. (1997). "Trauma of
Victimization," Get Help Series, Arlington, VA
National Center for Victims of Crime. (1996). "Violence
Involving Youth," Get Help Series, Arlington, VA.
National Center for Victims of Crime and National Organization for Victim Assistance.
(1992). "The Road to Victim Justice: Mapping Strategies for Service."
Washington, DC.
Rapp, James, Frank Carrington, and George Nicholson. (1986). School Crime & Violence:
Victims' Rights. Malibu, CA: National School Safety Center.
Wheeler, Eugene and Anthony Baron. (1993). Violence in Our Schools, Hospitals and Public
Places: A Prevention and Management Guide. Ventura, CA: Pathfinder Publishing.
For additional information, please contact:
Victim Support Program
United Federation of Teachers
260 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10010
(212) 777 - 7500
National School Safety Center
4165 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Suite 2990
Westlake Village, CA 91362
(805) 373 - 9977
For the school-based action plan referenced above, contact:
John Ganz
P.O. Box 17347
Seattle, WA 98107
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1996 by the National Center for Victims of Crime. This
information may be freely distributed, provided that it is distributed free of charge, in
its entirety and includes this copyright notice.