Tell Us About It, Episode 26: Language Access and its Role in Victim-Related Research

Dr. Lauren Cattaneo and Dr. Amanda Stylianou discuss their work to measure the impact of a survivor-centered approach to victim services at Safe Horizon in New York City. Drs. Cattaneo and Stylianou discuss the nature of survivor-centered practice with victims of intimate partner violence, the measures used to determine the effect of that approach, and how data was gathered in the course of victim services. This project revealed that using a survivor-centered approach had a measurable impact on victims' sense of safety-related empowerment—even after a single session.

Janine Zweig of the Urban Institute and Chad Sniffen of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center share how they worked with Uber Technologies to better understand sexual misconduct in the ridesharing industry. Janine and Chad share the process to define sexual assault, harassment, and other misconduct and then set up a system to track complaints. This new taxonomy and data collection will provide a more complete understanding of the problem of sexual misconduct, providing direction for prevention and response. See the report on this project: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/examining-ubers-use-sexual-misconduct-and-violence-taxonomy-and-development-ubers-united-states-safety-report More information is also available in this Urban blog post: https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/three-lessons-businesses-can-learn-ubers-collecting-and-reporting-sexual-assault-data

Marian Liu, an assistant professor at Purdue University, and Mariah Freark of the Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission join Susan to discuss how the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) uses data and research to study adult victimization. Marian and Mariah's relationship through the Research to Practice Interest Group brings practitioners and researchers together to better understand and more fully comprehend the various aspects of -- and how to improve -- adult protective services.

Join Brittany Jeffers, the victim services specialist and unit coordinator of the Saginaw Police Department, and Dr. James Bowers, a criminal justice professor at Saginaw Valley State University, as they share their experience in conducting and using research to inform the development of law enforcement-based victim services. They also discuss the elements that have contributed to their long-term successful partnership.

In this episode, we talk to Bridgette Stumpf and Lindsey Silverberg of the Network for Victim Recovery of DC. They share NVRDC's experience in becoming a data-informed champion for victims, from the steps they’ve taken to promote data collection and quality to their use of data for advocacy and programming.

On this episode of "Tell Us About It," experts from the Tribal Law and Policy Institute and the Hoopa Valley Tribe share their experience in working together on a Tribal-Researcher Capacity Building Grant from the National Institute of Justice. Heather Valdez Freedman, Jeremy Braithwaite, and Kendall Allen-Guyer share insights on how research is changing in tribal communities, focusing mainly on including community members' voices in order to better understand tribal practices and traditions.

On this episode of "Tell Us About It," you will get to hear from Eva Velasquez, the president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. Listen to Eva explain how the ITRC collects and uses data and research to better protect our wellbeing when it comes to internet scams, fraud, cybercrime, and privacy issues. You will also learn about how the ITRC partners with researchers across the country in an effort to collect as much data on cybercrimes and fraud as possible.

Have you ever wondered how language barriers play into research on victims of crime? Join us as Gabriela Lopez-Zeron, a linguistic justice expert from Michigan State University, sheds light on how language access plays a key role in working with multiracial, multicultural victims.

This episode of Tell Us About It features a conversation with Lynn Jones and Sarah Young Patton, partners on a research fellowship project funded by CVR. Lynn and Sarah collaborated on a project to understand and address the victim service needs of rural and Native American communities in Coconino County, Arizona through outposts in Flagstaff, Arizona, Page, Arizona, and the Grand Canyon. Lynn Jones is a Professor in and the Associate Chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northern Arizona University. Sarah Young Patton is the Associate Director of Victim Witness Services, which provides outreach, advocacy, and support services to Coconino County residents during high crisis situations through holistic and wraparound services.

On this episode of Tell Us About It, we spoke with Robin Foemmel Bie about the data evaluation project completed at the California Victim Compensation Board. This project aimed to understand the effectiveness of the victim compensation services and the needs of their community. She talks about the completion of a baseline data report, needs assessment, and a gap analysis, and how they synthesized this data into strategies to address their community’s needs. Robin Foemmel Bie is the Assistant Deputy Executive Office, Victim Compensation Division, at the California Victim Compensation Board. She is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and previously provided expertise on policy, networking, regulation, and training for the Department of Mental Health.