VAOnline.org

Victim Assistance Online is a non-profit information, research and networking resource for victim assistance specialists, professionals in related disciplines and all interested in the field of victimology.

While we provide a variety of free information and networking services through our website and associated special projects, VAOnline is much more than just this website.

VAOnline is a international community of victim assistance professionals, program managers, academics, researchers and victim rights advocates, with participation by individuals, institutions and agencies in over in 23 countries. Ours users and members span the spectrum of the victim assistance field, from grass-roots advocacy organizations to law enforcement; from local voluntary service programs to regional, national and international agencies.

The strength of VAOnline lies in our members and the spirit of cooperation and sharing which exists within the global victim assistance community, assisted through the use of Internet technology. A piece of news or information posted on our website, or broadcast through one or more of our listservs, can be received by hundreds of individual agencies around the world within hours, potentially affecting tens of thousands of victims of crime, tragedy or the abuse of power.

A request for help or information doesn't just reach a single person or database, but instead accesses the collective knowledge of all our users and their organizations, across the globe. Thus, our users represent a communal knowledge bank deeper and more all-encompassing than any single database or reference service could provide.

We use a variety of Internet communications tools to help connect our users and to allow them to share their knowledge; to provide them with channels through which they can safely and securely request assistance; and to initiate and coordinate cooperative projects between organizations anywhere in the world.

Presently, our services include:

• The Victim Assistance Online Link Directories
  These include over 3000 researched and reviewed links leading to information, organizations or online documents, organized into 40+ topical areas
  
  
• The Victim Assistance International listserv (VAI)
  A private listserv which helps connect: victim assistance service providers and organizations; professionals in related fields; and academics, with their peers in countries around the globe.
  
  
• The Victim Assistance Canada listserv {VACAN)
  A private listserv which helps connect: Canadian victim assistance services providers and organizations; professionals in related fields; and academics, with their peers across the country.
  
  
• The Victim Assistance Research listserv (VAR)
  A moderated listserv for researchers in the areas of victim assistance and victimology. Open to: victim assistance practitioners; academics in the multi-discipline fields of victim assistance and victimology; professionals in related fields; and post-graduate students of these fields.
  
  
• The International Victim Advocate Exchange Project
  
  
• A variety of online collaborative projects

Quick International Victim Service Link Reference