Background and Purposes:
The Victim Support Asia (VSA) established the Victim Support Awards in 2020 to provide direct financial assistance to victims of severe and/or violent crime and to outstanding victim service organizations/individuals in Asia. In the past two years, a total of 13 awards were given at the VSA Annual Conferences (3 awards in 2021 and 10 awards in 2022). Following the international guidelines on victim assistance, the Victim Support Awards provides financial support to serve victims’ needs in the following, but not limited to, five situations: emergency assistance, medical care, food/shelter, legal assistance, and education/vocational training. The purposes of these awards is to 1) help victims of severe crime escape violent and abusive environments such as in case of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, sex trafficking, or terrorist attack and rehabilitate/recovery from injury, financial hardship, or emotional/psychological trauma or reunification with their child(ren) or families through this financial assistantship and 2) reward those outstanding individuals or organizations that provided high quality services and assistance to victims of crime in Asia.
This year, Victim Support Awards will award 10 selected recipients (@ $1000 each) from nomination pool inclusive of all Asian countries. Of these 10 awards, eight will be awarded to victims of crime who are nominated by an NGO or criminal justice agency or VSA Executive Board members that directly work with victims of crime and/or have firsthand knowledge about the nominees. Additional two awards will be given to two selected outstanding victim service organizations or individuals nominated by a VSA board member or by an agency/organization that directly work with victims in any Asian country. The Award Selection Committee reserves rights to adjust the number of awards between these two categories if nominations in any category is insufficient for selecting recipients for the designated number of awards.
In light of diverse, complicated and, sometimes, unforeseeable situations in reaching out to victims of violent crime in many Asian countries, we are committed to working with and helping victims through the rescue, cleanup, and recovering/healing process. We offer this financial assistance in form of monetary payment to directly assist victims of severe violent crime in DARE situation to help their recovery efforts, participation in training or education, or re-integrative efforts to resume a normal life, or receiving medical treatment for physical or psychological injury or help victims apply for third party funding, legal aids, or welfare benefits sponsored by government or private foundation. VSA also recognizes individuals and organizations that demonstrate outstanding commitment and provide high quality of services in supporting victims in Asia. We give priority of consideration to those victim service individuals, agencies or organizations for their vision, humanitarian action, leadership in seeking justice, ensuring victims’ rights and safety, and inspiring hope, empathy, resilience, and delivery of quality of services to victims in Asian countries.
Eligibility:
Victims of severe or violent crime with citizenship in any Asian country/region are eligible to apply for this financial award. The priority of selection will be given to victims of severe violent crime such as domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, or terrorist attack, who are facing financial hardship, social isolation, gender discrimination or/and social disfranchising and persecution. The Award Selection Committee is especially interested in nominations from economically underdeveloped or poverty-struck regions/countries where lack of government-sponsored justice and victim services in Asia. The Committee especially welcomes nominations from those countries that have not submitted any nominations in the past.
For the Outstanding Victim Service Award, any individual or organization or agency that provides direct services to victims of crime and demonstrates outstanding leadership, commitment, and high quality of services to victims and is legally registered/incorporated in an Asian country is eligible to be nominated for this award. Foreign victim assistance agencies/organization operating in an Asian country is not eligible for this award. The members of current VSA board members and of this Selection Committee are not eligible to apply for this award.
Click the Link Below for more details:
https://www.worldsocietyofvictimology.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-VSA-Victim-Support-Awards.pdf