Programs that provide a variety of supportive services for victims of crimes and their families which may include general emotional support, crisis counseling, information about police investigative procedures, liaison to police personnel, assistance in completing and filing applications for reimbursement of crime-related expenses or losses, information about the mechanics of court proceedings, advice concerning court appearances, court accompaniment services, assistance in preparing victim impact statements and referrals for other needed services such as medical treatment, shelter away from home, transportation, child care, financial assistance and protective services.

Programs that intercede on behalf of individuals to help them establish eligibility for or obtain needed services when they have been denied benefits or services for which they are eligible, when they need assistance to communicate their needs to a service provider or to otherwise effectively represent themselves, or when they have a complaint about a service. Individual advocacy attempts to reach equitable settlements without resorting to litigation and seeks to meet individual needs without attempting to change social institutions.

Programs that provide information and guidance and/or representation in court proceedings for individuals who have been abused in an intimate relationship and/or for people who are facing a summary conviction offence or criminal charge for perpetrating abuse. Included are domestic violence law clinics and other legal assistance programs that represent victims of domestic abuse at restraining order hearings or in other civil or criminal actions involving charges against an abuser. Most also represent the person's interests in complexities that arise as part of the legal process such as restitution, payment of debts or child support, custody and visitation and property control. Some programs may also represent victims of domestic abuse who have been charged with a crime and/or handle cases involving accusations of child abuse filed by one parent against the other, abuse of an elderly person by an adult child or abuse of an adult child by a parent.

Programs that provide legal assistance including consultation and representation for victims of human trafficking who have a case involving issues such as coercion into prostitution, forced marriage, domestic violence, bonded labor or other controlled situations against their will that fall within the jurisdiction of the courts in the United States. Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by improper means, such as force, abduction, fraud or coercion, for an improper purpose, like forced or coerced labor, servitude, slavery or sexual exploitation.

Programs that help victims of domestic abuse obtain a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent harassment, stalking or violence on the part of the abusive individual until the court can set a "show cause" hearing to review the evidence and determine what permanent relief is appropriate. Variously known as protective orders or personal protection orders, temporary restraining orders are injunctions issued by the civil court (in most places the family court) that restrain the conduct of the abuser and may identify places such as the abused person's residence or workplace that the individual is prohibited from entering. Although eligibility may vary, restraining orders are generally available to people who have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused or threatened by a current or former spouse, family member (e.g., parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents), partner, other parent of a child, current or former roommate, or current or former dating partner. Temporary restraining orders are usually issued after an "ex parte appearance" (an appearance in court by one party without the other being present), become effective when served on the restrained person and remain in effect until the "show cause" hearing.

Individuals who have suffered injury or loss of property because of the illegal actions of another.

Individuals (including adults and children, males and females) who have been abducted, sold, recruited under fraud or pretence or otherwise brought under the control of another person, and forced, by means of threats, intimidation, violence or other forms of coercion, into unpaid or underpaid labor, servitude, prostitution or forced marriage, either domestically within their own country or internationally. Other forms of exploitation include provision of children for illegal adoption, provision of women as mail-order brides, and subjection of individuals of all ages to the forced removal of organs.

Individuals who have been forced into prostitution against their will or to serve as "sex slaves". The commercial sex trade can include street prostitution, massage parlors, escort services, strip clubs and residential brothels. Sex trafficking can be defined as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.