Coalition rewards Davila
for her advocacy

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

It only takes an instant to become a crime victim, but it can take a lifetime to recover. Sometimes, even that isn’t long enough.
Crime educes more than a broad range of intense emotions from its victims. It also brings certain responsibilities. As if living through the event isn’t harsh enough treatment, victims must relive it when filing a police report and testifying in court.
Leslie Davila has understood and sympathized with the vulnerable since she was a girl, having grown up in an area of the city that is no stranger to crime. As a result, the North Philadelphia native and Cardinal Dougherty High School graduate resolved at a young age to do something about it.
More than a decade into her professional life, Davila is making good on that commitment to her community as a victim advocate in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and as a leader of a consortium of advocacy organizations from throughout the region.
Last week, the Philadelphia Coalition for Victim Advocacy recognized Davila’s many contributions by presenting her with the coalition’s Catherine Bachrach Award, named in honor of the founder of Philadelphia’s first community-based victim advocacy organization.
Davila was one of three individuals from the district attorney’s office recognized by PCVA during an April 25 luncheon. District Attorney Lynne Abraham received a Special Merit Award for her 15 years of service as D.A. and as legislative chair for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. Veteran assistant district attorney Roger King received the Prosecutor Award for his 33 years of service, most notably with his office’s homicide unit.
Despite the efforts of many individuals within and outside of the law enforcement community, crime victims remain an underserved population, Davila believes.
"Growing up in the inner city, you know about violence and you know about crime, but people don’t always know about the services that exist," said Davila, who now lives with her son Joshua in the Far Northeast.
As a result, she has made a personal crusade of connecting those victimized and impacted by crime with the many services available to them. Various organizations can provide emotional support and counseling, along with financial compensation for things like lost property, medical bills and lost earnings.
Davila’s primary role with the district attorney’s office is to lead crime victims and witnesses through the often lengthy and difficult court process. She currently handles felony waiver cases — that is, those in which a defendant has waived his right to a trial by jury. Previously, she served in a similar role for the Municipal Court Unit, which handles misdemeanor cases.
In addition to that, Davila is often called upon to work with Spanish-speaking victims and witnesses because she is bilingual.
"A lot of what I do is explaining the process," she said. "People who have never been to court before, and from watching TV, think it’s going to be done in sixty minutes."
That couldn’t be further from the truth, however, as most criminal prosecutions take months to resolve.
"There’s a lot of hand-holding and walking with someone through the system," Davila said. "I think people want to know, a lot of times, why they have to come (to court)."
Before joining the D.A.’s office almost nine years ago, Davila interned as a victim advocate with Women Organized Against Rape, followed by an 18-month stint in a similar role with Families of Murder Victims.
Outside of her professional duties, Davila is in her second tenure as co-chairwoman of PCVA, also serving on the organization’s vigil, Web site and school-crisis committees. In addition, she is a member of the Keystone Crisis Intervention Team, a group of professional advocates who respond to incidents with multiple victims, such as the Amish school shooting in Lancaster County last October.
Davila finds that the district attorney’s office is an effective intermediary between crime victims and the many private-sector advocacy organizations. While the D.A.’s office has the legal expertise, Davila and her colleagues also act as a referral service. The setup works well because crime victims tend to call the district attorney first with questions they may have.
"The D.A.’s office is like the clearinghouse," Davila said.
While helping crime victims cope with their personal tragedies is the chief objective of advocacy, Davila also views her work as a key piece in the crime-prevention puzzle.
By making victims and witnesses more comfortable with the court system, the hope is that they’ll be more inclined to testify and help gain the conviction of individuals who might otherwise continue committing crimes. Also, Davila believes, acts of compassion serve as great examples to young people in distressed communities.
"Services that are provided to kids to help them deal with victimization can hopefully prevent them from becoming perpetrators (in the future)," she said. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com