Victim Empowerment, Safety, and Perpetrator Accountability Through Collaboration: A Crisis to Transformation Conceptual Model

Abstract

This article describes the development of the Victim Empowerment, Safety, and Perpetrator Accountability through Collaboration (VESPAC) model based on a grounded theory analysis of congressionally mandated and permissible purpose areas for grants authorized by the Violence Against Women Act. These areas are reflective of ongoing and emerging needs of victims and agencies serving victims and are rooted in the expertise, insight, and concerns of those who work most closely with victims and perpetrators on a regular basis. Analysis resulted in five overarching and interconnected themes: Community Readiness, Victim Services, Justice Responses, Coordinated Community Responses, and Cultural Relevance. The final model emphasizes the centrality of coordinated community responses to ensure that the remaining components of the model work in tandem across time to achieve victim safety and perpetrator accountability in a culturally appropriate way. The model also may help agencies, coalitions, and communities think "big" and consider more strategically about where their strengths best fit in the vast scope of victim needs necessary to meet safety goals and where they might benefit most from the expertise of partners.

A Socioecological Perspective on Intimate Partner Violence Research: A Decade in Review

“…Finally, coordinated community response (CCR) remains an important model for local responses to IPV. CCR involves addressing accountability on multiple levels (including individual, relationship, community, and societal) and ensuring accountability across multiple systems (Pallatino et al, ) as well as victim safety and empowerment (White & Sienkiewicz, ). At the community level, coordination involves BIPs, the criminal justice system, victim services, child services, family courts, health systems, and other actors that work together to hold batterers accountable.…”

“…At the community level, coordination involves BIPs, the criminal justice system, victim services, child services, family courts, health systems, and other actors that work together to hold batterers accountable. There is empirical support for their effectiveness in increasing arrest and prosecution, reducing recidivism, and improving supports for victims (see White & Sienkiewicz, ). There is some evidence that the efficacy of BIPs in reducing recidivism is improved when part of a CCR (see Pallatino et al, ).…”

“…There is some evidence that the efficacy of BIPs in reducing recidivism is improved when part of a CCR (see Pallatino et al, ). Culturally relevant coordinated response is especially important in light of the greater victimization among marginalized groups (White & Sienkiewicz, ). This is true of BIPs as well, as there is evidence that perpetrators who are not White are more likely to drop out, which may be due in part to lack of cultural relevance (Gondolf, ; Olver, Stockdale, & Wormith, ).…”

Envisioning Future Directions: Conversations With Leaders in Domestic and Sexual Assault Advocacy, Policy, Service, and Research

“…Involving voices from local communities is critical for gaining insights into local cultural values and practices. White and Sienkiewicz (2018) argued that the VESPAC model can help agencies, coalitions, and communities be more strategic in determining how their strengths best interface with one another, while encouraging and incorporating voices from the local community. The model, while based in current OVW priorities, offers opportunities for expansion and innovation in ways that can connect where the field has been to where the field wishes to go.…”

“…Conversations were wide-ranging and often went beyond discussing these three questions directly. Information gathered during these discussions was organized based on the Victim Empowerment, Safety, and Perpetrator Accountability Through Collaboration (VESPAC) conceptual model previously developed by White and Sienkiewicz (2018).…”