Victim Awareness Class Online

A victim awareness class is for adults who were asked to show that they understand the harm their actions caused. A judge, probation officer or diversion program may ask for one after a case about theft, vandalism, an assault, threats or damage to property.

This class may fit you if:

• Your paperwork says "victim awareness class," "victim empathy class," "accountability class" or "victim impact class," and the case is not about drinking and driving.
• You are in a diversion program that asks for a class about harm and responsibility.
• You want to understand how what happened affected other people, and what you can do now.

The course does not ask about your case or about the people involved. It does not judge you. Explaining what happened is not the same as excusing it, and the course helps you tell the two apart.

This course is for adults 18 and older.

This course is not a DUI Victim Impact Panel and is not run by or connected to MADD. It has no talks from victims. If your order is for a DUI or DWI case and names a Victim Impact Panel, you need that panel, not this course.

It is not a Batterer Intervention Program (BIP or BIPP) and does not replace one.

Check with your court before you choose a class. Some courts require a group or in-person class for victim awareness, and some do not accept online classes for certain courses. Ask first.

No-contact orders: never contact a person protected by a no-contact or protective order. Amends in this course are written for you only and are never sent.

Each lesson is about one hour of reading, listening and short exercises, with a quiz at the end.

1. Understanding Harm: Who Gets Hurt and How
2. Owning Your Choices: Excuses, Blaming, and Minimizing
3. Seeing Through Their Eyes: Empathy and Perspective
4. The Ripple Effect: Families, Workers, and Communities
5. Shame, Guilt, and Your Past
6. Repairing Harm: Apologies, Amends, and Rebuilding Trust
7. Better Decisions: STOP, Pros and Cons, and 10-10-10
8. My Accountability Plan: Making Amends and Moving Forward

You start with what harm looks like: physical, emotional, money, and the loss of feeling safe. You learn why "no one got hurt" is almost never true. Then you look at the excuses, blaming and minimizing that make harm easier to ignore. Next you practice seeing an event through someone else's eyes, like a neighbor whose car was broken into or a cashier after a robbery. Later lessons follow the ripple effect to families, workers, neighborhoods and your own family. You work through shame and guilt, and learn how real apologies and amends work. You finish with a Personal Accountability Plan and an accountability letter that you keep and never send.

Take the number of hours on your paperwork. If it says weeks or sessions instead of hours, ask your officer how many hours they need.

• A timed study log. The timer counts active time only, like reading, listening and doing exercises. It stops when you walk away. Your hours are saved on our server. How the timer works →
• A quiz after each lesson and a final test that opens only after every lesson is done.

You get an enrollment letter when you start, a progress report for your officer, and a certificate of completion with a certificate ID and QR code. Your officer can check it at /verify with the certificate ID and your last name. The course works on your phone, and every lesson can be read to you with audio. We never ask for your case number, court or date of birth.

Your court or officer decides whether a certificate counts, not us. Ask three questions, by email if you can:

1. "Will you accept an online, self-paced victim awareness class?"
2. "How many hours do you need?"
3. "Do you require a group or in-person class, or a specific program or provider?"

The last question matters most. Our page for probation officers explains how hours are logged and how to check a certificate. For more on who decides, read will a court accept an online class?