The Issue
Women with serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, or serious depression, are vulnerable to domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of criminal victimization. Yet frequently, these women fail to get the treatment, services, support, and protection they need. Limited awareness about the link between mental illness and victimization and insufficient coordination across victim and mental health services jeopardizes the mental health of these women and places them at higher risk of future victimization.

The Response
The Council of State Governments (CSG) is coordinating a two-phased project with support from the Center for Mental Health Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice, to draw attention to the unmet needs of women with mental illness who are victims of crime, and construct a core set of policy and practice recommendations for serving this population within the contexts of the victim service, criminal justice, and mental health systems.

Resources
Click the links below for more information on Consensus Project resources for policymakers and practitioners working to improve the response to women with mental illness who have been victims of crime or contact Hope Glassberg.