(WIFR) – More than four out of every 1,000 Illinoisans are affected by violent crime each year, despite a nationwide drop in crime.

Marsy’s Law ensures that victims of violent crimes have equal constitutional rights, on the same level as those accused and convicted of these crimes.

On November 4, 2014, Marsy’s Law was added to the state constitution with 78% of the vote – more than 2.6 million voters. Leaders say the law is among the strongest protections for the rights of crime victims in the country.

Known as HJRCA, Marsy’s Law for Illinois:

• It guarantees the right to be informed about legal proceedings
• It guarantees the right to be represented at trials and hearings regarding their case
• Guarantees the right to make a written statement to the court about the impact a violent crime has had on them
• Provides greater access to post-trial proceedings
• Guarantees timely action at the request of victims
• It allows the appeal of decisions that affect the exercise of their personal rights

Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, director of Marsy’s Law for Illinois, lost her sister, brother-in-law and unborn child at the hands of a then-teenager in 1990. That loss led her to get involved with Marsy’s Law, which originated in California in 2008.

“They have no say in the prosecution and defense roles in those cases, but victims have the right to be heard, to be kept safe, to be informed about things to make a victim impact statement before the pronouncement.” says Bishop-Jenkins. “Victims have the right to seek restitution if someone has harmed them financially.”

Bishop-Jenkins explains that her family was denied a victim impact statement during the 1992 trial because “the court was too busy.” She says the victim’s rights that were written into the constitution at the time were strictly symbolic.

“They actually lacked an enforcement mechanism,” Bishop-Jenkins explains. “The victim of the crime was not given justice to be able to say to the court, ‘But I have a right to say this.'”

Amanda Davis, Advocacy Coordinator with Voices of Stephenson County encourage survivors to seek help through the legal process. She says Marsy’s Law gives them an opportunity to heal by using their voices.

“What they had to live with, what they will continue to live with; this is their chance, this is their last word on what they finally get to say,” says Davis. “That might be all I get.”

So far, only 12 states have signed Marsy’s Law into their constitutions, including Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Wisconsin. Supporters like Bishop-Jenkins and Davis hope it will one day be approved nationally.

One problem in their ways, according to Bishop-Jenkins, is a misconception that the rights of the victim could limit the rights of the accused.

“People who, today, would see or dismiss the victim’s rights movement as somehow competing with justice for all people accused of crime, that’s just wrong.”

To read the story of Marsy Ann Nicholas, the woman whose death sparked this movement, visit the official website Here.

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