Karin Ho
Division Director of Victim Services, South Carolina Department of Corrections. Karin has been a victim advocate for over 42 years, providing direct services to crime survivors. 11 of those years, she worked in the sexual assault field in various community-based, rape crisis programs in both Ohio and upstate New York, followed by over 20 years as a victim advocate within adult and juvenile corrections, providing services to crime survivors of all crimes regarding post-conviction issues in Ohio. Karin joined the South Carolina Department of Corrections in 2016 as the Division Director of Victim Services. As the Division Director, she oversees all post-conviction, victim-related services, including but not limited to, victim notification, the Impact of Crime Program, Violence Prevention Programming, Domestic Violence Program for Batterers, Victim Offender Dialogue and agency’s Critical Incident Stress Management Program for staff who experience trauma. She is a certified instructor for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), which is the most recognized CISM Peer Team model for all first responders. Karin was instrumental in implementing the Post Critical Incident Seminar process within corrections in South Carolina, which assists employees experiencing long-term effects of critical events. She is also trained as an expert witness in the area of non-fatal strangulation and conducts training for medical staff, law enforcement, victim advocates and prosecutors to help strengthen their response, investigation and prosecution of these cases. She is a member of the Restorative Justice and Victims’ Committee for the American Correctional Association as well as the South Carolina Victim Services Statewide Coordinating Council. As a survivor of rape and attempted murder by strangulation, Karin is a strong advocate for crime survivors and strives to ensure the voice of victims are included throughout the corrections process.