Ventura County to mark National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with event in Oxnard
An event in Oxnard Thursday to recognize National Crime Victims’ Rights Week will feature a book author's reading, panels, award presentations and resources for attendees.
The commemoration, hosted by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, will take place from 11:30 am to 1 p.m. at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, 800 Hobson Way. The free event is open to the public.
The event returns to in-person activities for the first time since the pandemic. Last year's event was a weeklong series of virtual content after being canceled in 2020.
Karen Moe, a crime survivor, will read excerpts from her new book, “Victim: A Feminist Manifesto from a Fierce Survivor.”
The memoir follows her experience from being abducted by a serial rapist in 1994 to helping put the offender in prison for life. She will also be presented with the Ellie Liston Crime Victim Hero Award at Thursday's gathering. The award is named for a longtime victim advocate for the District Attorney’s Office who died in 2000.
More than 30 community-based organizations and government agencies will be on hand with information and resources for the public before and after the events' allotted time.
A panel with representatives from the Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project, Líderes Campesinas, Ventura County Farmworker Resources Program, the DA's office and the Oxnard Police Department will discuss how to best provide services to victims in underserved communities.
Justice for Victims awards will be presented to Oxnard police Senior Detective Erica Escalante, sexual assault nurse examiner Sheri Dungan and Ventura County Supervisor Carmen Ramirez.
A dance performance by Ballet Folklórico Mestizo and a taco lunch sponsored by the Ventura County Family Justice Center Foundation will conclude the event.
"The trauma from crime can have a lasting impact on not only the victim but on our entire community for generations," District Attorney Erick Nasarenko said in a statement.
The week honoring crime victims across the U.S., held every April, was established in 1981 by then-President Ronald Reagan.
The event formerly held at the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura will be hosted in Oxnard for the first time due to bigger outdoor space. A new Family Justice Center is also expected to open in Oxnard possibly by the end of the year.
For those unable to attend Thursday's in-person commemoration, the event will be live streamed at vcdistrictattorney.com/crvw. Spanish interpretation will be provided at the event and on the live stream.
Cytlalli Salgado is a breaking news reporter for the Ventura County Star. She can be reached by calling 805-437-0257 or emailing cytlalli.salgado@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County to recognize National Crime Victims' Rights week
