Military-Connected Victims’ Rights Advocates

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NCVLI helped to envision and launch the first Special Victims’ Counsel (SVC) Program in the Air Force, and trained the first cohort of 60 Judge Advocate Generals (JAGs) on victims’ rights. When the SVC Program encountered its first appellate test in the landmark case LRM v. Kastenberg, NCVLI provided litigation support to the victim’s attorney and filed an amicus curiae brief. Since 2011, NCVLI has partnered with all branches of the military to address the unique challenges faced by military-connected victims.

As a training and technical assistance provider on projects such as the Military Members & Families Project and the Advocating for Military-Connected Victims Project, NCVLI has trained and developed resources for hundreds of advocates and attorneys who serve—or are interested in serving—military-connected victims, expanding access to justice for these victims nationwide. Additionally, sessions on military-connected victims’ rights are included in NCVLI’s annual Crime Victim Law Conference, which is the only national conference focusing on the enforcement of victims’ rights.

Today, NCVLI continues to advise military leadership on the design of legal counsel programs, victims’ rights enforcement, and training curricula; trains attorneys across all branches of the military; provides legal research, writing, and strategic advice about military-connected victims-related issues; participates as amicus curiae in cutting edge military cases; and works to pair military-connected victims in need of legal representation with trained attorneys.

Resources for attorneys and advocates who work with — or are interested in working with — military-connected victims are available on this page and on NCVLI’s YouTube channel. If you need training, technical assistance, or amicus curiae support, or if you would like to connect with pro bono opportunties — either as a volunteer attorney or on behalf of a military-connected victim in need of legal representation — please reach out to our team today!

NCVLI has partnered with the National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA) on multiple projects to provide specialized training and technical assistance for criminal justice and allied professionals who work with military-connected victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. One such project is the Advocating for Military-Connected Victims Project, under which the NOVA/NCVLI Project Team provided TTA to build and strengthen military-civilian partnerships and coordinated community response (CCR) teams, as well as to provide civilian advocates and attorneys with information and skills to meet the unique needs of military-connected survivors. The Project concluded September 30, 2025.

A key component of the Project was the Advocating for Military-Connected Victims Toolkit, an online collection of tools and resources to help practitioners provide survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and collaborative advocacy for military-connected victims, including: interactive videos, tip sheets, checklists, quizzes, flash cards, and survivor interviews. By the end of the Project, the Toolkit had over 700 enrolled users.

While the Toolkit is no longer open to new enrollees, the Practice Tools section of this page contains select Toolkit resources. Other Toolkit resources are available via video playlists like Advocacy Building Blocks Playlist, Military-Connected Victims’ Rights Playlist, and Safety-Forward Practices & Tools Playlist. NOVA also hosts a number of Project resources online.