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Crime victim advocacy programs provide support and services to victims and survivors of crime, offering critical support and care in the aftermath of victimization. Someplace Safe provides free and confidential crime victim advocacy services to all victims and survivors of crime, free of charge.
Abuse in Later Life
Abuse in later life is an intentional act or failure to act by a caregiver or other person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult. (An older adult is defined as someone age 55 or older.)
Forms of abuse in later life can include:
Physical Abuse: the intentional use of physical force that results in the acute or chronic illness, bodily injury, physical pain, functional impairment, distress or death.
Sexual Abuse or Abusive Sexual Contact: forced or unwanted sexual interaction (touching and non-touching acts) of any kind with an older adult. Acts committed against an incapacitated person who is not competent to give informed consent to sexual acts are also included.
Emotional or Psychological Abuse: verbal or nonverbal behavior that results in the infliction of anguish, mental pain, fear, or distress.
Neglect: failure by a caregiver or other responsible person to protect an elder from harm or the failure to meet needs for essential medical care, nutrition, hydration, hygiene, clothing, basic activities of daily living or shelter, which results in serious risk of compromised health and safety.
Financial Abuse or Exploitation: the illegal, unauthorized or improper use of another individual’s resources by a caregiver or other person in a trusting relationship, for the benefit of someone other than the older individual.
Bullying/Cyberbullying
Bullying and cyberbullying are unwanted, intentional, aggressive behaviors that involve a real or perceived power imbalance such as being older, being physically bigger or stronger, having more social status, or when a group singles out an individual. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. The person being hurt has a hard time stopping or preventing the behavior. This behavior can occur to both children and adults. Bullying occurs everywhere: schools, buses, workplaces, housing (apartments, group homes, assisted living, neighborhoods, etc.), places of recreation, as well as on-line.
Child Abuse
Neglect is the most common form of maltreatment. It is usually a failure of a child’s caregiver to:
- Provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical or mental health care, education or appropriate supervision.
- Protect a child from conditions or actions that endanger the child.
- Take steps to ensure that a child is educated as required by law.
- The following also may be considered neglect:
- Exposing a child to certain drugs during pregnancy
- Causing emotional harm to a child
Domestic and Interpersonal Violence
Domestic or intimate partner violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in a relationship that is used by one partner or individual to gain or maintain power and control over another person. Domestic/intimate partner violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.
Domestic or intimate partner violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. Domestic or intimate partner violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels. Domestic violence can occur in all types of relationships, including those in which intimate partners are married, living together, or dating.
Domestic or intimate partner violence not only affects those who are abused, but also has a substantial effect on family members, friends, coworkers, witnesses and the community at large. Children, who grow up witnessing domestic or intimate partner violence, are among those seriously affected by this crime. Frequent exposure to violence in the home not only predisposes children to numerous social and physical problems. This also teaches them that violence is a normal way of life, potentially, increasing their risk of becoming society’s next generation of survivors and abusers.
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose, including sex or labor trafficking.
Sexual Violence
Sexual violence is the use of sexual actions and words that are unwanted by and/or harmful to another person. Some of these actions are defined as crimes by Minnesota statutes. Some experiences of sexual violence are hurtful violations of personal boundaries but may not rise to the level of a crime. However, that does not diminish the victim’s experience of being harmed. Sexual violence is widespread. Sexual violence is wrong and harmful. * Definition from Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Stalking
Stalking is defined as conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.
Stalking can include:
- Repeated, unwanted, intrusive, or frightening communications from the perpetrator by phone, including text messages, or mail.
- Repeatedly leaving or sending the survivor unwanted items or gifts (i.e., flowers, food, and/or cards).
- Following, showing up, tracking, or lying-in wait for the survivor at places such as home, school, work, a place of recreation, or other public places.
- Making direct or indirect threats to harm the survivor, the survivor’s children, family, friends, coworkers, or pets.
- Harassing the survivor through the internet. This may include social media.
- Posting information or spreading rumors about the survivor on the internet, in a public place, or by word of mouth.
- Damaging or threatening to damage the survivors, the survivor’s children, family, friends, or coworker’s property.
- Using GPS tracking to obtain the location of the survivor or survivor’s children.
- Obtaining personal information about the survivor by accessing public records, using internet search services, using social media, hiring private investigators, using a third party, going through the survivor’s garbage, following the survivor, contacting their friends, family, employer, neighbors, etc.
Other Crimes
Other crimes include the intentional commission of an act that is deemed socially harmful or dangerous and specifically defined, prohibited or punishable under criminal law. These crimes are many times divided into two main categories: property crimes and violent crimes involving others.
These may include but are not limited to:
- Arson
- Homicide
- Kidnapping
- Robbery
- Identity Theft
- Financial Exploitation
- Property Crime
- Theft
- Terroristic Threats
- Assault
- Burglary
- Neglect
- Vehicular Homicide/ Injury
- Fraud
- Hate/Bias Crimes
- Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
- Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)
Due to the diverse nature of these crimes, trauma-informed advocacy services will be provided based on the self-defined needs of the survivor(s). Advocacy services are available to any survivor of a crime, their family, and support system regardless of race, color, economic status, religion, familial status, parenthood, national origin, place of residence, political affiliation, disability, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, social status, gender, sexual orientation, age, or physical ability.