Victim Support Europe

Main EU Legislative Proposals: DIRECTIVE 2012/29/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA

Communication Activities: As of 2020, actions and laws for victims have been well established for many years – we are not starting from scratch. Multiple Directives, Conventions, Recommendations and commitments exist at the EU, Council of Europe and UN level. For the EU, these establish specific, enforceable obligations on Member States to ensure rights and services for victims. Despite progress, these laws are far from being fully implemented. To make victims’ rights a reality, requires a concerted, comprehensive effort. In particular, clear evidence and evaluation is required to demonstrate what the status quo is and what is or is not in place. Using this evidence as a baseline will support corrective action, development of relevant policies, laws, best practices etc. It will also empower VSE, victim organisations and the European Commission to advocate for change. This is why, in the next five years, we will continue working towards mainstreaming of victims’ rights into all elements of our work. 1) Strategic priorities: 1. PROMOTE IMPLEMENTATION AND STRENGTHENING OF VICTIMS’ RIGHTS 2. ENSURE VICTIMS ARE RECOGNISED, TREATED WITH RESPECT AND PROTECTED FROM SECONDARY VICTIMISATION 3. PROMOTE THE RIGHTS, RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY OF VICTIMS, AND STRENGTHEN VICTIM SUPPORT 4. FACILITATE FULL ACCESS TO SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS WITHIN A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK 5. WORK TOWARDS VICTIM-CENTRED JUSTICE AND COMPENSATION SYSTEMS 6. GROW AND STRENGTHEN VS 2) Main activities 1. Under objective 1, FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE VICTIMS RIGHTS DIRECTIVE, MAKING SURE THAT VICTIMS RIGHTS ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN LAW AND POLICIES 2. Under objective 2, RECOGNITION OF ALL VICTIMS,ENSURE RESPECT AND FIGHT AGAINST SECONDARY VICTIMISATION 3. Under objective 3, DEVELOP RESILIENT SOCIETIES, MAINSTREAM VICTIM SUPPORT IN ALL SPHERES OF SOCIETY 4. Under objective 4, ENSURING ACCESS TO EXISTING SERVICES, DEVELOPING NEW SUPPORT SERVICES 5. Under objective 5, VICTIM-CENTRED JUSTICE SYSTEMS,VICTIM-CENTRED COMPENSATION SCHEMES 6. Under objective 6, GROW VSE, STRENGHTEN VSE

Inter-institutional or Unofficial Groupings: N/A