Amanda L. Vasquez

The Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act created the Domestic Violence Fatality Review initiative, consisting of the Statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee (DVFRC) and regional review teams. Every year, the DVFRC submits an annual report to the Governor’s Office and General Assembly detailing its operations and activities over the past 12 months. The 2025 Annual Report outlines key DVFRC and regional review team operations and activities in 2025. Over the course of the year, the DVFRC continued to meet on a quarterly basis, provide training and technical assistance to teams, and educate the public and stakeholders about the initiative. In addition, the committee actively sought to recruit members for new teams in seven judicial circuits, pursued legislative changes to ease access to case records, supported the formation of a new team, and helped teams conduct 10 case reviews. The 2025 Annual Report also summarizes the DVFRC’s plans, which include continued training and technical assistance as well as efforts to establish additional teams.

The Task Force on Missing and Murdered Chicago Women Act created a task force, comprised of legislators, victim service providers, and criminal justice stakeholders, to examine five priority areas outlined in the Act: (a) systemic causes of violence against Chicago women and girls; (b) methods for tracking and collecting data on this violence; © policies and institutions related to the investigation and prosecution of gender-based violence; (d) measures to reduce violence against this population; and (e) measures to help impacted individuals heal. The 2025 Task Force on Missing and Murdered Chicago Women Annual Report examines current initiatives by government agencies, community-based organizations, and an ad hoc committee focused on women and girls affected by violence. Drawing in part on input from community members with lived experiences, the report makes a set of recommendations that emphasize the need for additional research on gender-based violence, public awareness of resources for victims’ families, survivor-centered policies and practices, and funding for government agencies and community-based organizations. By implementing these recommendations, the state, local municipalities, and partners can help expand knowledge of critical gender-based violence issues, address identified challenges, and prevent future harm.

The Domestic Violence Task Force Act established Colton’s Task Force. Colton Tanner Miller was a young boy killed by his father with a firearm during a domestic violence incident in Illinois. Created in Colton’s memory, the task force was charged with conducting a comprehensive review of the process, operation, and enforcement of current Illinois domestic violence laws, identifying gaps, and developing recommendations for addressing them. Members identified probation and firearm relinquishment as domestic violence-related topics to explore in greater depth through subject matter expert presentations and robust discussions. The task force found that despite a wide range of domestic violence resources in Illinois, like specialty courts and the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council initiative, that certain gaps existed. The gaps identified included the lack of a multidisciplinary coordinated response to domestic violence, actionable protocols for relinquishing firearms in domestic violence cases, and funding to address them. This report concludes with recommendations for improving Illinois’ response to domestic violence through increased firearm relinquishment enforcement measures.

Mental health professionals are essential for the healing of children, youth, and families who have experienced victimization. In this study, researchers sought to better understand mental health professionals’ experiences with burnout and vicarious traumatization. Researchers examined interview data that they had gathered for a different, earlier study from five clinicians and clinical supervisors serving child and youth victims in rural Southern Illinois. They previously collected these data as part of their process evaluation of the Illinois Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems demonstration site program. In this study, the same researchers analyze these previously collected data for the new purpose of understanding vicarious trauma. Results show that the five providers who were interviewed had experienced or were at risk for experiencing burnout and vicarious traumatization symptoms due to their work. However, they were aware of these risks and were actively implementing strategies to prevent or alleviate symptoms and negative impacts. This article concludes with recommendations for mitigating burnout and vicarious traumatization based on interviews and the research literature.

The Task Force on Missing and Murdered Chicago Women Act created the task force, comprised of legislators, victim service providers, and criminal justice stakeholders to examine five priority areas outlined in the Act. These included: a) systemic causes of violence against Chicago women and girls; b) methods for tracking and collecting data on this violence; c) policies and institutions related to the investigation and prosecution of gender-based violence; d) measures to reduce violence against this population; and e) measures to help impacted individuals heal. This annual report provides eight recommendations for improving policies and practices aimed at reducing gender-based violence, increasing safety, and promoting healing for victims and communities affected by violence against Chicago women and girls. Recommendations included increasing legislative support and funding for missing persons investigations, amending missing persons reporting requirements, and allocating funding for gender-based violence services. By maintaining a focus on missing and murdered women and girls, the task force aims to raise awareness and drive systemic change that will benefit victims, their families, and the broader community.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) convened the Victim Services Planning Committee (VSPC) in early 2022 to recommend victim service priority funding areas. ICJIA researchers utilized various research methods, such as secondary data analysis, a survey, and focus groups, to better understand Illinois victim service needs and gaps and presented findings to the VSPC. Both VSPC and ICJIA Board members voted to approve 12 research-informed victim service priority funding areas. Broadly, the priority areas aspire to increase victim service awareness and access; address victims’ needs; support victim-centered and -informed services; and promote service implementation, outcomes, and sustainability. These priorities will inform future grantmaking to address victim service needs and gaps in Illinois for the next several years.

Although males experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at a rate only slightly lower than females, they are much less likely to receive formal victim services. We examined differences in males and females who received services for IPV victimization. Using InfoNet data web-based case management system used by domestic violence and sexual assault victims service providers in Illinois—we compared non-fatal male and female IPV victim demographics collected between 2015 and 2019. We analyzed their characteristics, IPV victimization type, and service receipt. We found that the racial/ethnic representation among male IPV victims was more proportionate to their representation among Illinois residents than that of female IPV victims. Females more often reported having a disability or limited English proficiency, both barriers to accessing services, in addition experiencing abuse that presented an increased risk of escalating to homicide. Female victims received three times the number of service contacts that males did and were more likely to need and receive counseling, housing services, and shelter. Findings suggest male IPV victims needed legal services more often than female IPV victims; they were more often referred to a victim service provider by a legal source, to receive civil legal advocacy, and to have filed for an order of protection.

ICJIA researchers conducted a process evaluation of the Safe From the Start (SFS) program, examining the program’s operation with a focus on its three core pillars of coalition building, direct services, and public awareness. Researchers analyzed data collected from clinicians and administrative staff across nine program sites via an online survey, four focus groups, and nine virtual site visits. Findings indicated that providers’ key objectives for coalition building were to streamline family referrals, collaborate with partners on public awareness efforts, and educate partners on childhood exposure to violence. Sites coordinated quarterly coalition meetings and annual professional development trainings to increase collaboration among service agencies. Providers’ direct service activities involved making referrals, developing service plans, and providing therapeutic treatment. While providers used 17 different therapeutic treatment modalities across sites, all sites commonly utilized play therapy or Theraplay. Also, sites engaged in public awareness activities by offering presentations, workshops, and trainings at community events. They employed various strategies to reach underserved victims by mitigating language barriers and increasing access to services. While unique barriers and strengths were noted within each pillar, multiple sites encountered capacity, technology, and COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges that impacted all pillars. Recommendations for programmatic improvement and avenues for future research are discussed.

Illinois Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems (HEALS) is an Office for Victims or Crime-funded initiative seeking to improve systems’ response for children, youth, and families impacted by violence. Egyptian Health Department, located in Southern Illinois, was selected as the demonstration site for HEALS program implementation and evaluation. Researchers conducted a multi-method study to better understand program implementation. In the first 19 months of implementation (September 2019-March 2021), the site served 748 clients, trained more than 75 community members, and entered into nine memoranda of understanding with partner organizations. Additionally, findings revealed strong collaborative efforts and successful service connections; 60% of surveyed Advisory Council members reported that their community worked to solve problems through collaboration and resource coordinator knowledge of the region and relationships with community agencies facilitated clients’ connection to appropriate resources and services. The report concludes with recommendations and future research directions.

With the implementation of stay-at-home orders to slow COVID-19 transmission, researchers and victim service providers raised concerns about an increase in the amount and severity of domestic violence (DV) incidents. Using InfoNet—an online database used by Illinois domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA) service providers—researchers explored data collected on victim services client volume, service needs, and offense characteristics over the first three months of the pandemic in 2020 compared to data collected during the same periods in 2018 and 2019. Findings revealed large increases in telephone counseling, a precipitous drop in in-person counseling, and a change from on-site to off-site DV victim shelter use. This report also highlights several notable changes in offense characteristics, referral sources, and service provision and concludes with future research directions.

LGBTQ+ individuals experience victimization at higher rates than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts and one in five hate crimes victims are targeted for their LGBTQ+ identity. In addition, studies point to a high prevalence of other forms of trauma, including discrimination, harassment, and housing insecurity. ICJIA researchers surveyed 212 LGBTQ+ victims who were Illinois residents about their experiences with trauma. Survey findings suggested LGBTQ+ victims had experienced an average of six victimization types, with sexual abuse as the most common type reported (77.8%), followed by family verbal abuse (67.9%), and stalking (63.7%). In addition, participants were more likely to have experienced discriminatory school and workplace discipline (36.3%) than other discrimination forms. Participants were more likely to indicate their experiences with hate-motivated victimization or discrimination were due to their LGBTQ+ identity than any other motivating factor (e.g., race/ethnicity). Among other potentially stressful experiences, participants were most likely to have been bullied (68.9%). An analysis of differences by LGBTQ+ identity revealed transgender/gender non-conforming were more likely to experience certain types of trauma, such as unfair medical treatment, than their cisgender counterparts, and gay/lesbian participants were more likely to lack stable housing than bisexual participants. Recommendations for how systems (e.g., education, child welfare), law enforcement, and employers can support LGBTQ+ victims and/or prevent additional trauma are provided and future research directions are discussed.

Improving victim services for underserved populations is a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding priority. While VOCA does not define who “underserved populations” are, it does provide guidelines state administering agencies (SAAs), the entities that distribute VOCA funding, should use to designate underserved victims within their states. These guidelines state SAAs must base their definitions on victim characteristics (e.g., race, residence, income) and/or victimization type (e.g., sexual assault, robbery). The present study examines the definition of underserved in the context of Illinois sexual assault and domestic violence victims. Domestic violence and sexual assault service provider perspectives were solicited directly via focus groups, which included a discussion on provider definitions and experiences related to underserved victims and reflections on findings of a statistical and geographic analysis of domestic violence and sexual assault service receiving victims in Illinois. Researchers found service provider definitions were rooted in individual barriers victims face during and after victimization. Their definitions diverged both from the framing of the VOCA guidelines and definitions suggested by researchers’ analysis of service data. Researchers found the barrier-focused definition preferred by service providers and the analysis of demographic characteristics used to identify underrepresented victim populations complemented each other; combined these perspectives offered a more comprehensive understanding of underserved victims in Illinois.

Researchers use interviewing as a qualitative tool to answer research questions. Researchers have an ethical obligation to protect study participants from harm, particularly when asking about sensitive topics. Interviews on potentially sensitive topics (e.g., victimization, criminal offending behaviors, substance use) can elicit emotional responses from both the participant and the interviewer. However, research has found the benefits to participating in interviews on sensitive topics generally outweigh risks to participants. This article offers recommendations to researchers conducting qualitative interviews on sensitive topics, including creating a safe environment, offering compensation and referrals, and considering staff well-being.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unique challenges for the criminal justice system. Despite statewide social distancing and stay-in-place orders, criminal justice practitioners and victim service providers must, to some extent, continue to directly interact with justice-involved individuals, victims, and others. This article describes some of the challenges criminal justice system practitioners must face during the pandemic and offers guidance on policy and practices to ensure their safety.

National and state-level research points to higher rates of crime victimization, such as bullying, harassment, intimate partner violence, among individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+). Following victimization, victims may share their experiences with informal supports (i.e., social networks) and/or formal supports (i.e., physician, social service case manager) for help. In this qualitative study, researchers examined the experiences of 13 LGBTQ+ victims in Illinois who had disclosed their victimization. Findings suggest LGBTQ+ victims share about their experiences for various reasons, such as an acute need for help or being asked if something was wrong, but that the reason for disclosure varies by support source. Implications point to the importance of improving support source responses to victimization disclosure and LGBTQ+ victims; avenues for future research related to disclosure processes are also identified.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority was awarded a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime for the Illinois Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems (Illinois HEALS) initiative. The six-year initiative seeks to improve the recognition, connection, and service engagement of children, youth, and families impacted by violence in Illinois. Illinois HEALS program staff surveyed agencies in Illinois serving children, youth, and families to better understand how they learn about client victimization and exposure to violence, services available to victims, and referral and collaboration processes. Survey findings revealed service providers use varying methods to learn about clients’ victimization, such as screening and assessment tools, and strategies for sharing information within and across agencies and systems, including collaboration networks and multidisciplinary teams. While many providers offer services to children and/or adults, victim-focused services are often not available for family members. Recommendations for how agencies can work to improve harm recognition, service connections, and service engagement are discussed.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority was awarded a Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth Demonstration grant from the Office for Victims of Crime. This six-year initiative seeks to improve the identification, connection, and service engagement of children, youth, and families impacted by violence in Illinois. Informed by a 15-month planning process, the Illinois HEALS Action Plan will guide the future work of the project to implement policies, practices, and programs that strengthen the capacity of Illinois’ communities to recognize when victimization has occurred and connect and engage young victims and families in needed services.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals are at increased risk for experiencing violence and the negative impacts associated with violence, including stress, PTSD symptoms and injury. LGBTQ+ victims are an underserved victim population in Illinois despite these increased risks. Individuals from underserved victim groups, such as people of color, those who identify as LGBTQ+, or those who are homeless are less likely to seek, access, or receive services following victimization. This article will explore how victimization and help-seeking experiences of LGBTQ+ victims in Illinois differ from those of non-LGBTQ+ victims, and how experiences may vary based on a victim’s LGB identity (i.e., lesbian/gay versus bisexual). It concludes with implications for policy and practice and suggestions for how to improve victim service delivery for LGBTQ+ victims and highlights areas for further research to inform how the state can better meet the needs of underserved victim populations.

Researchers conducted a statewide study to better understand crime victim needs, identify service gaps, and measure the capacity of Illinois victim service providers. This report focuses on how victim service providers from across Illinois discussed their service delivery and capacity to meet victim need. Study findings have policy and practice implications for funders, victim service providers, and other service agencies that interact with victims in Illinois.

Media—in particular news coverage—contribute toward shaping public understanding and opinion on societal issues, and influence policies, programs, and legislative action. While a small number of previous studies have explored journalists’ reporting on other social issues, very little is known about their perceptions and knowledge of human trafficking. In this exploratory study, researchers conducted 12 qualitative interviews with Illinois newspaper reporters to examine their understanding and work process in covering human trafficking. The results suggest that while many reporters understand the federal definition of trafficking, there remain gaps in knowledge about the complexity of the issue. Furthermore, the work process that reporters follow to report on human trafficking differs by their particular role and level of experience, with investigative stories on human trafficking being covered by more seasoned reporters who have the time and space to explore the issue in greater depth. The study findings highlight the importance of, and constraints upon, comprehensive news coverage on human trafficking.

Illinois victims and victim service providers indicate that legal services are needed post-victimization, and for many victims in the state this need is left unmet. Meeting a victim’s legal needs is key to ensuring their safety and security and enabling them to continue to recover from their victimization experience. Crime victims can directly benefit from access to comprehensive legal services, including legal advocacy, civil legal services and victim rights enforcement. Numerous legal avenues are open to victims of crime, and legal advocates and attorneys are well-positioned to assist victims as they engage either the criminal justice or civil legal systems. This article explores types of victim legal services, the roles of legal service providers, the needs and potential remedies available to victims by crime type, and barriers to legal service access and delivery. Implications for both providers and funders to ensure comprehensive legal services to victims of crime also are discussed.

Researchers conducted a statewide study to better understand crime victim needs, identify service gaps, and measure the capacity of Illinois victim service providers. Victim service providers from across Illinois identified the needs of violent crime victims. Providers also highlighted service gaps, or ways in which current service availability was unable to satisfy victim need. Study findings have policy and practice implications for funders, victim service providers, and other service agencies that interact with victims in Illinois.