Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 / Presidential Documents 24849 

Proclamation 10374 of April 22, 2022 

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, 2022 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Forty years ago, the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime was established to help those who had experienced crime and their families—an 

important step toward the protection of and support for victims’ rights. 

Over the years, crime victims’ rights have evolved. Dedicated professionals 

have worked to develop support and services for survivors that are more 

holistic, trauma-informed, and effective at overcoming systemic barriers that 

certain communities face in prosecuting offenders and obtaining justice. 

However, more work remains to be done to advance these goals. During 

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, our Nation renews our commitment 

to providing survivors of crime the support they need to heal. We honor 

the dedicated victim service providers who support crime victims, and we 

continue to advance this important cause for all people. 

Delivering true justice requires that we provide all victims with the support 

they need. Persistent barriers still prevent many survivors from receiving 

the services they need and the justice they deserve. Many crimes—including 

violent crimes, such as rape and sexual assault—often go unreported to 

law enforcement because, among other concerns, victims fear placing themselves in further danger and negative interactions with the criminal justice 

system. My Administration is also working to tackle the epidemic of gun 

violence, which is a public health and public safety crisis. In the absence 

of necessary Congressional action, my Administration is taking action to 

get illegal guns—and those who would use them to commit crimes—off 

of our streets. 

Victims of crime not only face physical and emotional costs, they often 

suffer a serious economic toll as well, and this is another area in which 

my Administration is making progress. The Crime Victims Fund, established 

through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), helps provide critical resources 

for victim services and victim compensation programs throughout the country. That is why, last July, I signed the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime 

Victim Fund Act into law to strengthen VOCA and increase the revenues 

to support survivors of crime and victim services organizations. My Administration is supporting innovative programs like sexual assault telehealth services and hospital-based victim assistance, enabling providers to quickly reach 

more survivors and reduce repeated victimization. I am also proud to have 

recently signed into law the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women 

Act (VAWA), which funds programs that provide services to survivors of 

domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This reauthorization of VAWA also expands the rights of victims of technologyfacilitated gender-based violence and also includes historic Tribal provisions 

to protect Native communities and help them pursue justice. 

Strengthening public safety also means addressing the trauma and inequality 

of victimization experienced by communities of color, Native American communities, the LGBTQI+ community, the Asian American community, and 

other historically marginalized groups. People of color suffer higher rates 


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24850 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 / Presidential Documents 

of victimization, and violence is disproportionally concentrated in neighborhoods that have been harmed persistently by racial discrimination, segregation, redlining, and disinvestment. Breaking the cycle of violence enhances 

public safety, public health, and equity. We also know that members of 

the LGBTQI+ community are more likely to be victims of violent crime. 

My Administration is committed to using all tools at our disposal to ensure 

every survivor of crime has equal access to the resources and services 

they need to recover from their ordeals and regain a feeling of safety. 

To address a surge in hate crimes and bias-motivated attacks—and to provide 

law enforcement with the resources to identify and investigate hate crimes, 

I signed the COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act into law. As part of this law, 

we have funded a new Center for Culturally Responsive Victim Services 

to help local programs better serve historically marginalized communities. 

In addition to supporting crime victims, we must also hold offenders accountable. That is why the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are 

committed to investigating and enforcing our criminal and civil laws and 

ensuring that Federal, State, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement 

officers and prosecutors receive the training and resources they need to 

deliver justice to victims. 

It takes enormous courage and extraordinary strength to emerge from life’s 

most painful moments. As a Nation, let us all work together to stop crimes 

before they happen and to give victims the support they need to restore 

a sense of trust and safety and to move toward healing and justice. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 24 through 

April 30, 2022, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this week by participating in events that raise awareness 

of victims’ rights and services and by volunteering to serve victims in 

their time of need. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second 

day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of 

the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 

forty-sixth. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09137 

Filed 4–26–22; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F2–P 


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