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Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials: Zoe’s Story – A Journey Through (and beyond) the Legal System

NCJ Number
303956
Date Published
January 2022
Annotation

One in a series of books provided by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) that are referred to as “graphic novels” based on the experiences of real people, this book is about a person named Zoe, who shares her experiences with a support group regarding being arrested and placed in detention, meeting with a defense attorney and social worker, and participating in juvenile court.

 

Abstract

Zoe’s story is intended to be read by a youth who may be facing events in juvenile justice processing similar to those experienced by Zoe. Zoe’s experiences are depicted in drawings with captions of conversations she has with other characters in her story. The book’s introduction to the youth reading it contains the following statement: ”Some of Zoe’s experiences might not look or sound like yours, but they might help you understand what’s going on with you, your family, your friends, and your situation.” The youth given the book is advised in its introduction that she/he can keep the book for reading, with the options of writing in it and sharing it with others.