In honor of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Office of Victim and Survivor Rights (OVSRS) and University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law’s California Victims Resource Center today hosted a community event, Stronger Together: Uniting for Victims’ Rights and Support.
The National Crime Victims’ Rights Week’s theme, “Listen. Act. Advocate. Protect victims, serve communities,” provided a forum for representatives from the Governor’s Office, California Office of Emergency Services, along with state and local law enforcement agencies and community organizations, to bring communities together and raise awareness about victims’ rights and services.
During the event, these agencies came together to hold panel discussions on how they are working to actively listen to victims and their communities to continue strengthening services and protections for victims and survivors. BIGGER PICTURE: In 2025, OVSRS was in contact with more than 40,000 victims and victims’ families to aid them in exercising their rights to receive case notifications, collect restitution and access other services and support. This resulted in thousands of victims being able to share their stories at offender parole hearings. OVSRS has overseen more than 132,000 incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons paying direct orders of restitution totaling approximately $17 million. This week, in honor of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Governor Newsom issued a letter (English /Spanish) to honor victims and survivors of crime and provide resources
to impacted Californians. “Since the OVSRS was created in 1988, it has played a key role in protecting crime victims’ rights by ensuring that victims get timely notice and an opportunity to meaningfully participate in post-conviction processes. OVSRS remains committed to providing trauma-informed and victim -centered services.” Mariam El-Menshawi, Chief, OVSRS
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
Partners and community organizations that participated in the Stronger Together event
include:
California Governor’s Office
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
California Office of Emergency Services
California Department of Justice
California Secretary of State’s Office
California Victim Compensation Board
I-CAN Crime Victims Assistance Network
CDCR Accountability Letter Bank
Mend Collaborative
Yolo Conflict Resolution Center
Elk Grove Police Department
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Victim Services
Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, Victim Wellness Center
Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center
San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, Victim-Witness Services
SUPPORTING VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS
OVSRS helps people impacted by crime to enforce their rights and access services that foster a sense of healing, accountability and justice. OVSRS works to ensure that crime victims, survivors and their families are treated with respect and receive information
about and timely notice of their rights, including opportunities to participate and be heard. CDCR encourages victims and survivors to contact OVSRS for support and to register, which is a confidential process. OVSRS also helps crime victims with restitution
CDCR and McGeorge Host National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Event to Support Victims and Survivors
