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Rights are Violated 1. Get Help! Get help from a smart friend, a neighbor, a teacher, a victim advocate, a co-worker, a minister, a trusted official, etc. The people you ask for help don't necessarily have to know all about the system and how it works. What's most important is that they are caring, that they have common sense, and that they have a basic respect for people's rights. Tell your support person what happened. Talk with them about how you want to handle the situation. Ask them to accompany you when you go to get the situation corrected, or ask them to speak for you, or to make the phone call for you. 2. Put Your Complaint in a Short Note! If officials don't immediately correct a violation of your rights after you make a phone call or two, write a short (one or two paragraphs) description of what happened. Next, write in your note that you know you have a right to different treatment. Cite the law (give the name and number of the law as we give it here). And then, at the end of your note, don't forget to write out briefly how you want the situation corrected and ask for help. Make a dozen copies of your note. Whenever possible, attach a copy of the law to your note. Hand the note, or send it, to the people you want to know about the problem. If you find it difficult to focus on writing your note of complaint because of all that's happened to you, that's one of the things your friend can help you with. Have your friend sit down beside you and help you write the note. 3. If You Don't Speak English or If You Are an Undocumented Immigrant ... If you are a crime victim and don't speak English or if you are an undocumented immigrant, remember that criminal justice officials are obligated to provide you equal protection of the laws. This means that if you don't speak English, these officials must provide you with adequate interpreters. This also means that if you write a note in your native language, officials must find a translator for your note. 4. Bring a Copy of the Law with You or Cite the Law. If you are writing about or talking about your rights with an official or advocate, you'll need to refer to the law by giving what's called the law's "citation", the name of the code book followed by the number of the code section. For example, the citation for your right to obtain a copy of your domestic violence police report is "Family Code Section 6228". By giving the citation of the law, the person you're talking to can then go and look up the law for themselves. Citing the law also tells the person that you know about and take your rights very seriously. 5. Go Up the Ranks! Going up the ranks is often the only way to get enough power to get the situation corrected. For example, in police departments, go to seargents, captains, or go straight to the chief. If you don't get the help you deserve from inside a department you'll need to go to other powerful people outside the department, such as the head of your church or to the city council. Going up the ranks to people's bosses or to other powerful people can feel very intimidating when you're already traumatized by violence. That's why step number one is so important. Get help from people you trust so they can be with you or speak for you. A friend by your side makes you strong. 6. Don't Give Up! Keep fighting for Your Freedom, Your Happiness, and Your Future! In the course of getting free of domestic violence or sexual assault you're going to be dealing with many different officials and related workers. Because things aren't perfect yet, it's very likely that one or more of these people along the way is going to disrespect you and your rights. When your rights are trampled on top of everything else it can quickly make you feel very depressed. It can make you feel like giving up. But don't give up. Chances are the next person right around the corner is someone who takes your rights very seriously and wants very much to help you. A
Couple More General Notes: Note 2. Most of the Rights We Discuss Here Are Based on California Law. Naturally if you live in another country or state, the laws we discuss here don't directly apply to you. However, many other states have very similar laws. To find the laws covering your rights in other states you can consult your state codes on the internet or in the reference section of your library, you can call victim advocates, talk to your county law librarian, or ask a lawyer to look up your rights for you. We also hope that people in other places can use the laws we cover here as a starting place for thinking about the kind of legislation you can pass in your own area. In addition, if you are not from California, remember that every person from every country is covered by the crime victims' rights as outlined in the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. Note 3. Don't Be Discouraged by the Confusing Language of the Laws. If you're not used to reading legal text, it might seem impossible at first to even figure out where a sentence begins and ends. Don't be discouraged. It really can be confusing! To help you out, we've put some of the key phrases of the laws in bold type. We've also provided a plain language summary of the law in the title of each section, and a set of explanatory notes that follows the text of each law. Note 4. How to Download Small Sections of Text. If you want to download the text of a law or other small sections of text without having to print out the whole document, here's how:
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