Providence, RI: Providence Police Detective George Duarte of the Special Victims Unit (SVU) has been selected as a 2018 scholarship recipient to attend the thirteenth annual Conference on Crimes Against Women (CCAW) where hundreds of law enforcement officials, prosecutors and victim advocates from across the nation will participate in workshops and case studies related to their work with female victims of abuse. The conference will be hosted in Dallas, Texas and held April 16th through the 19th with over 2,500 professionals from all 50 states attending.
Presented by Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support and the Dallas Police Department, CCAW is a national clearinghouse for training and best practices regarding the identification, investigation and prosecution of various forms of violent crimes against women including domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking.
Scholarship proceeds cover registration, travel and hotel costs allowing participants to return to their departments with newfound knowledge of how to combat the varied forms of crimes against women. The conference promotes strategies that improve public safety and support victims of crime across the nation. The classes are intended to not only further educate attendees in their fields but also to equip them with the necessary tools to convey information to their departments and colleagues. Ultimately, this training facilitates the improvement of policies, practices, strategies and collaborative responses to all crimes against women.
The keynote speaker at this year’s conference will be FBI Special Agent John Douglas. An innovator in the FBI in the late 1970s, Special Agent Douglas developed new investigative techniques for tracking down serial killers, sex offenders and other violent offenders and became widely recognized as the top authority on criminal profiling. As head of the FBI’s Investigate Support Unit, Douglas used profiling in numerous prominent cases. He entered popular culture as the model for Jack Crawford in the film The Silence of the Lambs and his book, Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, was recently made into a Netflix series based on his life story, starring Jonathan Groff.
“The members of our Special Victims Unit are faced with investigating crimes against women each day. I am grateful that Detective Duarte has been granted the opportunity to learn new and innovative practices for our officers to utilize when responding to calls involving these vulnerable victims in our community,” said Colonel Clements. “The protection and safety of victims involved in crimes of this nature are a top priority to our department and this workshop will allow Detective Duarte to further his education on this delicate issue and learn progressive concepts that can be applied throughout the entire Special Victims Unit and department.”
More than one in three women will experience abuse during her lifetime. One in four women will be the victim of an attempted or sexual assault. CCAW serves the overwhelming number of victims impacted each year by sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking and human trafficking across North America and beyond. The conference curriculum focuses on women of all ages, ethnicities, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. Due to tremendous safety implications, the often-repeated trauma that victims have suffered and the intimate nature of these crimes, victims require the highest skillset possible by law enforcement and other professionals who work with them. CCAW also addresses those victims who face unique barriers related to mental health, safety and self-sufficiency that require an added layer of understanding related to the multitude of challenges that they face on their road to physical and emotional safety and wellbeing.
About the Conference on Crimes Against Women:
The goal of the Conference on Crimes Against Women is absolutely to create an overall reduction in the rate of crimes against women and ultimately eliminate violence against women. It is also a primary part of our mission to improve the way crimes against women are investigated and prosecuted as well as to improve the way victims are treated throughout the criminal justice system. The problem of domestic violence is so pervasive and at such epidemic proportions, that tangible decreases in the rate of violence against women will not be seen until all women are safe in their homes. Conferences like CCAW create the momentum and the network to allow for the culture shifts necessary to end the epidemic of violence against women. For additional information about the conference, please visit the website.
About Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support:
Since its founding in 1985, Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support has been committed to providing quality safety and shelter to battered women and their children through crisis intervention and short-term crisis therapeutics and to reduce the occurrence of violence against women and children in the greater Dallas area. Genesis is also committed to raising the level of community awareness regarding the pervasiveness and effects of domestic violence. The organization provides free and confidential counseling and case management to more than 700 residential clients and 2,500 non-residential clients each year. For additional information about Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support, please visit their website.