Dana Banta of the McDonald County Victim Advocate Office strives to take away victims' fear when testifying in court.
She has worked in the office since March 2004, serving as a liaison between victims and the prosecutor's office. Her job has many duties.
She helps people understand what it means to file a protection order and answers questions they have about filling out the forms. She works with victims, whether of domestic violence or rape, and assists them in getting restitution and helping them understand what will happen in court throughout their case.
Banta provides notifications on cases to victims regarding what happened that day in court. For example, if a jury trial is set, she will let the victim know. If the victim is able to attend the court date and did not understand what happened, she will explain it to them.
"When a case starts, the victims will have a lot of questions about what's going to happen. I assist them from one court date to the next," she said.
She also sets up meetings between the victim and the prosecutor. If the prosecutor needs information on a victim, she will contact the victim and get that information.
"I'm there for the victims, to take care of their needs, their questions," she said.
She also connects the victims with other victim services, such as legal aid.
"The best thing about my job is when a victim is able to walk away knowing they were not alone," Banta commented. "They had someone on their side. And they knew whether it went good or bad. Sometimes, even though you know that it happened, proving it is something different, and a victim just needs to know as much was done as could be done. The best thing about my job is knowing the victim didn't stand alone and the fact that I work with two prosecutors who care."
She walks the victims into the courtroom when it is their time to testify. That alone makes the experience less fearful for many victims. When the victim is a child, she often does a trial run in an empty courtroom, showing the child where he or she will be sworn in and where the other parties will be seated.
"If you can take the fear of the courtroom away and they understand what's going to happen, it makes it easier for them to testify," she said.
General News on 10/18/2018