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The Terrorism and International Victims Services Division (TIVASD) is
responsible for developing programs and initiatives regarding assistance
to victims of terrorism and to victims of crimes involving transnational
dimensions, such as victimization of tourists, the international trafficking
of adults and children for sexual or worker exploitation, and international
child abduction victims. The threat of terrorism against Americans, both
in the United States and abroad, has increased in recent years. New types
of weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical and biological agents,
pose significant challenges for those charged with responding to victims
of terrorist attacks. TIVASD staff are responsible for coordinating OVC
resources and funding for victims of terrorism and for developing
the International Terrorism Victims Compensation Program. OVC recognizes
that as countries and their citizens become more interconnected through
tourism, Internet usage, and international trade, issues of violent crime
and victimization increasingly become an international concern and focus.
TIVASD strives to improve awareness of and responsiveness to the needs
of terrorism victims and individuals who are victimized outside the borders
of their own country, and to further promote crime victim
issues into international discussions related to crime.
The Terrorism and International Victims Assistance Services Division—
- Administers OVC's Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program.
Informational
Brochure
Application
Guidelines (intended for eligible applicants and Government employees
only)
- Provides information, benefits, and services to U.S. nationals and
Federal Government employees who are victims of terrorism abroad. Victims
are given assistance in accessing services, traveling to participate
in trials and briefings, and obtaining information on the criminal
justice process.
- Identifies appropriate resources and coordinates OVC funding for
victims of terrorism, from crisis response stages through post-trial
proceedings. OVC Responds
to the Victims of Terrorist Attacks Against America on September 11,
2001 (December 2004) .
- Administers a compensation program, the International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program (ITVERP), for U.S. nationals and Federal Government employees who are victims of terrorism outside the United States.
- Coordinates the development of federal protocols to ensure a more
effective and timely response to victims of crime and terrorism in the
future.
- Works closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S.
Attorneys' Offices, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Issues
(formerly INS now Border
and Transportation Security at the Dept. of
Homeland Security), the National Transportation Safety Board, the Bureau
of Consular Affairs within the U.S.
Department of State, the Center
for Mental Health Services, and other federal agencies
on issues related to victims of terrorism and transnational crimes.
- Maintains the 2004–2005 Directory of International
Crime Victim Compensation Programs to help link
victims who may be far from home with the resources they need and
deserve in the aftermath of a crime.
- Develops informational materials for victims of terrorism and transnational
crimes.
- Develops training and educational materials for victims services,
mental health, law enforcement, and emergency responders on effective
response to victims of terrorism and transnational crimes.
- Helps fund efforts to find and regain children abducted and taken
across international borders in partnership with the International
Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC). OVC assists
parents with inadequate resources in traveling abroad and accompanying
their children back to the United
States.
- Serves as OVC's liaison to the United
Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and other international bodies.
- Provides technical assistance and briefings to visitors from around
the world who are interested in victim assistance efforts in the United
States.
More detailed information is available in the TIVASD
fact sheet.
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