94 PART TWO: CIVIL <strong>LEGAL</strong> REMEDIES FOR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
The Importance of Civil Law Introduction People do not often associate the civil legal system with sexually violent crime. Civil law usually involves things like contract disputes, discrimination lawsuits, malpractice, and dollar awards. All of those can be very serious, but most people view crimes like rape as an entirely separate matter. However, the reality is that most sexual assault survivors will have needs arising under civil law as a result of the crimes against them. In fact, the vast majority of survivors will never see their attackers apprehended and convicted. Therefore, civil remedies often are much more important to the survivor than the criminal process. To understand why, consider for a moment the purposes of the criminal justice system. What is it designed to accomplish? Primarily, it serves retribution by punishing offenders. That punishment also prevents and deters other potential offenders from committing crimes. In addition, convictions allow the state to keep victims and society safe from offenders by locking them away. Finally, the criminal justice system can provide the victims of crime with closure—the sense of completion that comes with seeing that the perpetrator has paid consequences for his or her actions. Compare, then, the functions of the criminal justice system with the actual needs of victims. To be sure, many victims need the things the criminal justice system provides: safety, retribution, and closure. And the rest of us need the justice system’s deterrent effects to discourage new assaults. However, survivors’ needs do not end there. For example, unexpected financial burdens are almost universal for sexual assault survivors. Costs can arise as direct results of an attack, or they can arise along the road to addressing other civil needs, like medical treatment or new housing. Recouping costs, or making life changes in order to get by on less money, can be matters of civil law. This second part of the manual will examine the most common ways civil law becomes relevant to sexual assault survivors, as well as the roles of advocates in those circumstances. Throughout the following discussions, bear in mind that often one or more of these civil legal issues will be much more important to survivors than seeing their attackers convicted in criminal court. A critical part of being a victim advocate is understanding that the remedies appropriate for some survivors are inappropriate for others. For example, trauma from a rape might cause a survivor to have trouble performing at work, and the survivor may not be able to afford the counseling and treatment she needs. In that case, she or he likely will not want to devote energy to a criminal prosecution at the expense of getting assistance with employment and healthcare. Legal advocates need to be sensitive to survivors’ diverse needs. As an advocate, you sometimes play a role within the criminal justice system, so it is very easy to become fixated on the criminal conviction as your goal—and therefore the survivor’s goal. But despite the advocate’s role in the criminal justice system, the advocate’s more fundamental responsibility is to be whatever the survivor needs her to be. For some survivors that will mean focusing on the criminal investigation and prosecution, but many others will have vastly different non-criminal needs, which can be every bit as important to their safety, health, and financial stability. You might not always be equipped to provide the assistance yourself, but effective advocates are prepared to provide appropriate referrals outside of the criminal justice system. Therefore, it is imperative from the very first day an advocate meets with a survivor to begin defining the survivor’s needs with an open mind. The survivor often will not know about civil remedies, so the advocate must listen carefully to spot possible civil issues, not just make recommendations. Use the concepts in this chapter as a baseline for serving all survivors—especially those who don’t know exactly what they need. 95
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