South Carolina Immigrant Victim Network Program Information Resource Directory Questionaire Statewide Coalition Meetings Videos Contact Us Resource Search Spanish Resource Search SCVAN Home                                 South Carolina Immigrant Victim Network (SCIVN) A crime victim’s ability to successfully overcome trauma and rebuild his or her life is dependent on the collaborative efforts of victim advocates, the criminal justice system, healthcare and legal professionals, and social service providers.  A crime victim’s inability to access available services precludes the victim from exercising his or her basic right to meaningful participation in the criminal justice process.  In addition to the challenges that all victims of crime face in getting the protection and help they need, immigrant victims face linguistic, cultural and immigration-related barriers to seeking legal protection and accessing available services. About Us Formally established in 2009, the South Carolina Immigrant Victim Network (SCIVN) is a program of the SC Victim Assistance Network founded in partnership with SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, the Coalition for New South Carolinians, SC Legal Services, Catholic Charities Immigration Services  and the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.   SCIVN was created to serve as a collaborative network of partners - including immigrant communities, victim service providers, healthcare and legal professionals, and law enforcement agencies – dedicated to working together to better serve immigrant victims of crime by finding culturally and linguistically competent resources and providing direct legal assistance.  Our statewide coalition is dedicated to ensuring that immigrant crime victims have meaningful access to justice and available services, benefits and resources. What rights do immigrant crime victims have in South Carolina? The South Carolina Constitution grants specific rights to crime victims that guarantee them meaningful participation in the criminal justice process. In addition, federal immigration law provides specialized immigration benefits to certain noncitizen victims that grant legal status, employment authorization and access to public benefits. What types of victims do we serve? In accordance with the South Carolina Constitution, we consider a “victim” to be any “person who suffers direct or threatened physical, psychological or financial harm as the result of the commission or attempted commission of a crime against him [or her].”  This includes victims of homicide, robbery, domestic violence, financial crimes, sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking, etc.  Our program serves all crime victims regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship or immigration status that are experiencing linguistic, cultural or immigration-related barriers to accessing services and resources. What services do we provide? We connect immigrant crime victims to linguistically and culturally competent legal, social service, counseling and healthcare resources through our referral services and bilingual online database. We provide education and training about the rights of immigrant crime victims to immigrant communities, law enforcement, victim service providers, healthcare and mental health professionals, lawyers and judges. We provide direct legal representation and technical assistance to immigrant crime victims to secure available immigration benefits, including Violence Against Women Act petitions for battered spouses, children and parents of US citizens of legal permanent residents; Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions for abused, neglected and abandoned children; U visas for crime victims and T visas for human trafficking victims. We organize regular meetings of a statewide network of partners dedicated to responding to the needs of immigrant crime victims.