When No One Else Will: Victims’ Rights and the Fight for Accountability

By: Meg Garvin
April 23, 2026

When people think about victims’ rights, they often think only about a discreet moment, such as a victim being notified (or not) or giving a victim impact statement (or not). Yes, victims’ rights are about these things and about victims being meaningful participants in the system, but they are also about more than this. They are about accountability.

They are about whether those with power, including prosecutors, agencies, courts, and institutions, can make life-altering decisions behind closed doors or whether they must answer to the people affected by those decisions. They are about whether justice systems operate in the open, with fairness, transparency, and respect for human dignity.

That is what is at stake with victims’ rights enforcement.

At the outset of the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation first began identifying individuals as crime victims, NCVLI stepped in to ensure those victims were not alone. We helped connect them with no-cost attorneys prepared to advocate for their rights.

From those early days through years of litigation, public scrutiny, and shifting political winds, we have continued to stand with those victims and with victims of crime across the country every day.

That work is not over.

Even now, as the United States Department of Justice releases documents and at times makes serious mistakes, including exposing the identities of people who sought privacy, victims’ rights attorneys are again doing what too few others will: stepping in, demanding accountability, and working to prevent further harm.

This is what victims’ rights enforcement often becomes in practice: one of the last lines of defense when systems fail.

Victims’ rights attorneys are frequently among the few actors who are both positioned and willing to insist that power answer for its choices. Whether confronting prosecutorial decisions, challenging secrecy, opposing exclusionary backroom deals, or demanding inclusion in proceedings that profoundly affect victims’ lives, these attorneys ensure that government authority does not operate without scrutiny.

They fight for rights that should never be optional: the right of victims to be treated with dignity and respect, the right to be heard, and the right to participate in justice processes that shape their futures.

These rights are not symbolic gestures. They are enforceable safeguards that help keep justice systems credible, transparent, and fair.

In moments when institutions falter, when decisions are made behind closed doors, or when public confidence in our systems is strained, victims’ rights attorneys step in to press for answers. They insist that legal processes reflect not only efficiency or finality, but integrity. And that benefits everyone.

When victims are excluded, transparency suffers. When victims’ voices are ignored, accountability weakens. And when accountability weakens, democratic institutions erode.

At a time when fear, uncertainty, and misinformation deter many victims from seeking help, enforcing victims’ rights is more important than ever. It ensures that every victim can safely engage with legal systems and helps build public trust in those systems.

As we recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Crime Victims’ Rights Week this April, we should be clear-eyed about what is at stake.

Victims’ rights are not a niche issue. They are not secondary concerns. They are a measure of whether justice systems are truly accountable.

This is why the work continues. This is why it matters.

Because when no one else will stand up, victims’ rights attorneys do. And in protecting victims’ rights, they help protect the integrity of our democracy itself.