CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LEGISLATION
Advocates' Role in Criminal Justice System
Providing Information and Resources About Criminal and Civil Justice Systems: Roles and Responsibilities for Community-Based Advocates
MECASA and SAPARS, 2019

Legislative Summaries
​MECASA
Every legislative session MECASA and our attorney partners summarize any new laws which may impact sexual assault survivors. You can find current and past summaries here:

​2024 Implications for Advocates
​2023 Implications for Advocates
2021/2022 Implications for Advocates
2019 Implications for Advocates
2018 Implications for Advocates
2017 Implications for Advocates
2016 Implications for Advocates

Elections & Lobbying FAQs
MECASA

Maine Victims' Compensation Fund
State of Maine Office of the Attorney General

​Request for Notification of Prisoner Release
Maine Department of Corrections

Maine Prosecution-Based Victim Services List
Maintained by Maine Attorney General's Office - updated January 2023

Improving Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence by Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias
In 2022, the Department of Justice released updated guidance "designed to help law enforcement agencies recognize, mitigate, and prevent gender bias and other bias from compromising the response to, and investigation of, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other forms of gender-based violence. The guidance provides a set of eight basic principles that – if integrated into LEAs’ policies, trainings and practices – help ensure that gender bias, either intentionally or unintentionally, does not undermine efforts to keep survivors safe and hold offenders accountable." (USDOJ) 
Guidance summary (4 pages) May 2022
Full guidance (36 pages) May 2022
​
​CIVIL LEGAL RESOURCES

Documents & Guides
Protection from Abuse - Guide & Complaint​
State of Maine Judicial Branch
​
Protection from Abuse - Video & FAQ
​Pine Tree Legal

Court Accompaniment
Experts from MECASA, Rape Response Services, and Pine Tree Legal Assistance discuss court accompaniment with survivors of sexual violence. They talk about filing PFAs, helping survivors prepare for court, supporting people on the day of the court appointment, and forming strong relationships with community partners.

Fair Housing Act
2023 MECASA Webinar

Housing and Sexual Violence 
Options to protect a survivor's housing after sexual violence

How to File a VAWA Complaint
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Housing Law Project​

Civil Legal Aid Check-Up
Pine Tree Legal

Community Resources
Maine Prosecution-Based Victim Services List
Maintained by Maine Attorney General's Office - updated January 2023

Nonconsensual Image Sharing

Cyber Civil Rights Initiative

Take Down
Without My Consent: Tools to Fight Online Harassment

Revenge Porn and Internet Privacy 
C.A. Goldberg Victims' Rights Law Firm
SURVIVOR RIGHTS & COMMUNITY-BASED JUSTICE​​​
Transformative & Restorative Justice
​2016 Restorative Justice Webinar
MECASA Webinar

Considerations for RJ Processes with SV Cases
MECASA Resource

2020 Restorative & Transformative Justice and Sexual Violence Webinar
MECASA Webinar

Restorative Justice: Repairing the Harm After Sexual Assault 
Gretchen Casey  | TEDxUF

Restorative Justice & Gender Based Violence
American Bar Association Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice 

Alternative Justice and Healing Workgroup Recommendations

Barnard Center for Research on Women | Transformative Justice Video Series - The Building Accountable Communities Project 
What is Transformative Justice?
Centering the Needs of Survivors (part 1)
Centering the Needs of Survivors (part 2)
What Does Justice Look Like for Survivors? 
How to Support Harm Doers in Being Accountable
​What are Obstacles to Accountability?
​
​​​​HEALTHCARE
MECASA publications
Reproductive Health
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence's statement on the Supreme Court decision  
Emergency Contraception (EC): A Guide for Sexual and Domestic Violence Advocates
This factsheet was created by the American Society for Emergency Contraception (ASEC), NSVRC, and Futures Without Violence to help advocates understand why it is crucial for them to know about EC and ensure all survivors of sexual and domestic violence are given accurate information and timely access. 

Strangulation
The Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention
​2021 FOUNDATIONS TRAINING FOR VICTIM SERVICE PROFESSIONIALS - WEBINAR SERIES
Maine Criminal Justice System
​​​Foundational Training for Maine Victim Service Professionals: A Mini Virtual Series - 2021

Assistant Attorney General Suzanne Russell will explain the Maine criminal justice process from start to finish and answer your questions.
Effective Advocacy in Death Cases
​​​Foundational Training for Maine Victim Service Professionals: A Mini Virtual Series - 2021

This panel discussion addressed common issues that arise where a person dies as the result of a crime, including how to hold space for complex grief and work with surviving families, common resource needs and how to address them, and how to help surviving families navigate the challenges and disappointments of the criminal justice process.
​​​
Maine Corrections System 
​​​​Foundational Training for Maine Victim Service Professionals: A Mini Virtual Series - 2021

​Tessa Mosher, DOC Director of Victim Services, will provide an overview of what happens after people convicted of a crime are sentenced and how to partner with DOC Victim Services to ensure victim/survivors have access to victim notification, restitution payments, and more.
Maine Trans Net
​​​​​Foundational Training for Maine Victim Service Professionals: A Mini Virtual Series - 2021

Maya Williams, Sexual Assault Program Coordinator for MaineTrans.Net will provide basic information and advocacy best practices when working with crime survivors who are trans or non-binary.
Supporting Older Mainers
Foundational Training for Maine Victim Service Professionals: A Mini Virtual Series - 2021

Join staff from Maine Legal Services for the Elderly to learn more about elder victimization and exploitation and advocacy best practices for working with older Mainers.
Sexual Violence 101
Foundational Training for Maine Victim Service Professionals: A Mini Virtual Series - 2021

Kayce Hunton and Ashley Hayden from Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services, and Katie Kondrat from the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault will provide a foundational training on sexual violence. The training will define and identify sexual violence and related terms, provide information about specialized statewide services, and provide simple and effective ways to respond to and support someone who has experienced sexual violence.
Domestic Violence 101
Foundational Training for Maine Victim Service Professionals: A Mini Virtual Series - 2021

Kelly O’Connor and Regina Rooney from MCEDV will provide trainees with a foundational understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse and violence, as well as best practices for providing survivor-centered advocacy.
​​​
Trauma-Informed & Healing-Centered Care
Foundational Training for Maine Victim Service Professionals: A Mini Virtual Series - 2021

Kayce Hunton from Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services, and Katie Kondrat from the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault will provide a foundational training on trauma and trauma-informed care. The training will discuss the six guiding principles of trauma-informed care and its impact on survivors of sexual violence, with wider applicability to other forms of harm.
Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Come on In: Reimagining Shelter as a Healing Space for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse​
​The Resource Sharing Project has created a new toolkit titled; Come on In: Reimagining Shelter as a Healing Space for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. This was made specifically to answer the questions they received about serving adult survivors of child sexual abuse in a shelter setting. 

"We know that a significant portion of guests in shelter have experienced child sexual abuse, but often advocates who work in shelter receive the least amount of training about sexual violence and specifically child sexual abuse. Shelters offer a unique opportunity to provide 24/7 healing support to adult survivors of child sexual abuse and this new toolkit will walk you through each step."

You can download and print the full toolkit, or you can view each tool individually. ​Check it out here.