What degree do you need to be a victim advocate?

You need a bachelor's degree in social work to be a victim advocate. Bachelor's degrees in psychology, forensic psychology, sociology, and criminal justice, are also acceptable. You might also consider getting an advanced degree, such as a master's, in any of these areas to increase the number of victim advocate job positions available to you.

How To Become A Victim Advocate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a victim advocate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Meredith Bertrand

A victim advocate is an individual who is trained to offer support to victims of crime, and provide emotional support, advocate for victims' legal rights, and assist in helping victims find resources and assistance. Victim advocates often support victims and their families by leading them through the criminal justice process and helping them work with social service agencies, health care professionals, and other organizations. A victim advocate is trained to offer assistance to victims of crimes and is trained to help these people navigate all of the legal issues surrounding their situation.

Most victim advocates have a bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, or criminal justice, and some may be required to be certified or receive additional training to work in certain states. These individuals should be knowledgeable of how the legal system works and should possess strong communication, analytical and interpersonal skills.

A victim advocate can make up to $49,000 annually in the US, and the career field is expected to grow 16% by 2028.

What general advice would you give to a victim advocate?

Dr. Meredith Bertrand

Chair of Education; Associate Professor of Education, Elms College

History is ever-changing, and teachers must clarify how current events are just as much a part of the study of history as any other socio-political period or event. If you are not comparing the civil rights movement of today to the ongoing civil rights movements of the past, and if you are not supporting the campaign against oppression and institutional racism upon which our nation was built, then you are doing continuous harm to those who need you to act and disrupt the cycle. History teachers better be ready to be activists, not just teachers, or else you are perpetuating the status quo.

ScoreVictim AdvocateUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,628

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.69%

Asian 6.59%

Black or African American 11.16%

Hispanic or Latino 20.07%

Unknown 4.73%

White 55.76%

Gender

female 87.28%

male 12.72%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a victim advocate

Explore victim advocate education requirements

Most common victim advocate degrees

Bachelor's

64.5 %

Associate

15.5 %

Master's

13.6 %

Start to develop specific victim advocate skills

Skills	Percentages
Crime Victims	10.63%
Safety Planning	9.28%
Criminal Justice	7.43%
Social Work	7.38%
Advocacy Services	5.76%

Complete relevant victim advocate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New victim advocates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a victim advocate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real victim advocate resumes.

Research victim advocate duties and responsibilities

Present at statewide summit on alternatives to incarceration using Microsoft PowerPoint.
Conduct intakes following ethical protocol, maintaining client confidentiality according to HIPAA.
Conduct outreach efforts to promote services including PowerPoint presentations and speaking by panel.
Ensure legal compliance integrity and confidentiality in accordance with company policy and HIPAA regulations.

Prepare your victim advocate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your victim advocate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a victim advocate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable victim advocate resume templates

Build a professional victim advocate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your victim advocate resume.