Ethics in Victim Services

Ethical decision-making is a skill to be acquired. This handbook of ethical practice is a skill-building resource that will help victim assistance providers think through common ethical dilemmas. It offers practical tools and problem-solving techniques for addressing ethical challenges as they develop. Readers have the chance to assess their personal values, moral orientation, and personal bias to consider how these elements influence the decisions they make in the workplace. Exercises in ethical decision-making allow individuals and groups the benefit of forethought : the chance to practice the process through which common dilemmas are solved in a workshop environment. Support and services to crime victims takes many different forms and, as a result, not all victim assistance providers are subject to the same ethical standards. This text strives to be inclusive in its analysis of elements that influence ethical responsibility. Oftentimes, how a victim assistance provider responds to an ethical challenge is dependent on the nature of the service he or she provides. Since the late 1960s, the field of victim assistance has evolved from a grassroots movement of committed individuals and nonprofit organizations into a professional discipline. It now encompasses a wide diversity of organized community- and system-based individuals and organizations whose service to crime victims range the entire gamut of the criminal justice experience. While there is no consensus on every aspect of the ethics of victim services, putting victims first remains the mantra of the field. As this evolution has continued, victim assistance providers on many fronts have called for a definition of professionalism. Common questions include: What constitutes excellence in the delivery of services to crime victims? What does it mean to be well trained and well informed? How do we formalize accountability? How do we build credibility in the broader criminal justice arena? These inquiries