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Victim Support Europe

VSE

Victim Support Europe strengthens rights and services for all victims of crime across Europe and beyond.

Lobbying Activity

Response to EU’s next long-term budget (MFF) – EU funding for cross-border education, training and solidarity, youth, media, culture, and creative sectors, values, and civil society

10 Nov 2025

Victim Support Europe (VSE) urges the post-2027 MFF to place victims rights at its core. Funding should facilitate implementation of EU and national victims legislation, mainstream victims rights across sectors, amplify victims voices, and ensure access to high-quality support for all. Sustainable resources are needed for specialised services, helplines, victim support organisations, and national networks to strengthen multiagency cooperation. Trauma-informed education, mental health, and resilience programmes must be prioritised, while civil society organisations and victims are meaningfully involved in design, monitoring, and evaluation. Special attention should be given to groups of victims with additional needs that expose them to risks due to their vulnerabilities. By integrating victims rights across all instruments, the MFF can strengthen social justice, inclusion, and trust in Europes institutions.
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Response to Action plan against cyberbullying

29 Sept 2025

Victim Support Europe (VSE) welcomes the European Commission's initiative to develop an EU Action Plan on Cyberbullying. As the leading European network supporting all victims of crime, we stress that cyberbullying is not just a digital or social issue; it is a serious form of psychological violence that can lead to long-term emotional and mental harm. Vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, LGBTIQ+ individuals, persons with disabilities, and those facing exclusion are disproportionately affected. Cyberbullying victims need more than punishment for perpetrators. They need to be heard, protected, supported, and empowered to recover. To that end, we urge the Commission to adopt a victim-centred, trauma-informed, and rights-based approach across all measures of the Action Plan. Survivors and young people must be involved in co-creating solutions, awareness campaigns, and safe reporting tools to ensure responses are grounded in real experience. Key recommendations include: 1.Mainstreaming Victims Rights: The Action Plan must centre the rights, needs, and voices of victims at all stagesprevention, intervention, and recovery. Cyberbullying should be recognised as psychological violence, with a focus on trauma recovery and safeguarding against secondary victimisation. 2.Access to Support Services: Victims must have access to free, inclusive, and confidential psychological, legal, and social support, including tailored services for adults and children. Long-term funding for victim support organisations is essential. Expand the 116006 helpline to address cyberbullying and digital harm, and ensure EU-wide accessibility. Support must be trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and accessible to persons with disabilities and across languages. 3.Improved Reporting and Redress: Establish accessible, child-friendly reporting mechanisms with clear procedures for follow-up, content removal, and referral. Victims must receive feedback and support throughout the process. Platforms should be required to assess their systems through a victim impact lens and engage with victims in designing safer tools. 4.Awareness, Education, and Prevention: Launch EU-wide campaigns co-designed with youth, and integrate digital empathy and online safety into school curricula. Parents, teachers, healthcare workers, and law enforcement must be trained to identify and respond to cyberbullying. Promote youth-led initiatives and peer support models. 5.Addressing Data Gaps and Monitoring: Collect disaggregated data to reflect the experiences of diverse victims. The Action Plan should include measurable indicators and an independent monitoring mechanism to evaluate progress. Victims and survivors must be part of this evaluation process. 6.Legal Protections and Platform Accountability: Ensure coherence with existing EU legislation (DSA, AI Act, CSAM Regulation, Victims Rights Directive). Introduce minimum standards for platform accountability and provide victims access to legal aid and restorative justice, where appropriate. 7.Cross-Border Coordination: Online violence often crosses national borders. The Action Plan should facilitate cross-border support, protection orders, and cooperation with platforms. A dedicated EU coordination hub should connect national services, law enforcement, and tech platforms. Cooperation beyond the EU is essential to ensure victim support regardless of jurisdiction. This Action Plan must go beyond general guidelines. It must deliver real, measurable change for victims of cyberbullying, ensuring justice, protection, and recovery. Victims are too often unheard. Their perspectives must shape every measure within the plan.To reinforce this, VSE annexed the CRAG joint statement to its submission, underlining our shared commitment to upholding childrens rights in digital spaces. VSE stands ready to contribute to the implementation of the AP and support efforts to build a safer, more inclusive, and resilient digital environment for all.
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Victim Support Europe urges better protection for tourist crime victims

12 Sept 2025
Topic — The EU is developing a strategy for sustainable and competitive tourism across member states.
Message — The organization calls to mainstream victims rights as an essential pillar of tourism policy. They request strengthened cross-border cooperation and visible referral systems to ensure tourists access support and justice.123
Why — Establishing robust safety and support measures would enhance the reputation and long-term viability of destinations.45
Impact — Opaque industry sectors would face greater scrutiny through mandatory transparency and expanded crime reporting obligations.67
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Victim Support Europe Urges EU to Protect Victim Advocacy

4 Sept 2025
Topic — This consultation seeks to establish a comprehensive framework for strengthening European civil society.
Message — Victim Support Europe demands explicit recognition for victim organisations and protections for public advocacy. They seek sustainable, multi-annual core funding to ensure independence and institutional resilience.123
Why — Stable funding and advocacy safeguards would reduce financial uncertainty and protect against political pressure.45
Impact — Victims of crime lose access to specialized care if state-run services replace NGOs.6
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Response to Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030

11 Aug 2025

The EU Gender Equality Strategy 20262030 presents a vital opportunity to deliver concrete, systemic change for all victims of crime, regardless of gender or background. Gender-based violence (GBV) remains one of the most pervasive and harmful manifestations of gender inequality, occurring across all spheres of life and affecting people of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, ethnicities, migration statuses, and disabilities. Addressing GBV is essential not only for achieving gender equality but also for upholding fundamental rights and building inclusive, safe societies across the European Union. Despite important legislative progress, the fragmented and inconsistent implementation of EU victims rights continues to leave many without effective access to protection, support, and justice. Institutional inaction, procedural bias, and systemic barriers too often result in re-victimisation and erode trust in justice and support systems. To counter this, Victim Support Europe (VSE) calls for a bold and action-oriented Gender Equality Strategy that centres victims rights, experiences, and needs. This strategy must shift from legal commitment to practical deliveryensuring that rights enshrined in EU law, particularly the Victims' Rights Directive (2012/29/EU), are fully realised in practice, in every Member State, and for all victims, without exception. VSE urges the European Commission to adopt a strategy with a strong focus on: 1. Prioritising all forms of gender-based violence as a structural barrier to gender equality, and recognising GBV victimisation as a cross-cutting issue across all policy areas; 2. Ensuring effective implementation of existing EU legislative frameworks, including coordination between victims rights, anti-trafficking, child protection, and digital safety policies; 3. Guaranteeing access to justice, protection, and specialist support services for all victims, especially the most marginalised. The next Strategy must be rooted in a rights-based and victim-centred approach, as set out in the Victims Rights Directive, ensuring that all victims are treated with respect, dignity, and sensitivity. Victims must have access to clear, timely, and understandable information; quality support services; effective protection measures; and the opportunity to participate meaningfully in proceedings. These are not aspirational goalsthey are fundamental rights that must be realised for every victim. Achieving Safe Justice requires coordinated, trauma-informed, and inclusive systems that place victims safety and well-being at the core. The Strategy must support early identification, needs-based assessments, safe and accessible reporting, and strong referral mechanisms. A cultural shift is needed to challenge harmful norms and tackle GBV online and offline, while ensuring inclusivity through the mainstreaming of diversity and intersectionality in all actions. The Strategy should also improve data collection and accountability mechanisms, enabling better monitoring of progress and ensuring transparency. Long-term, sustainable funding must be allocated to ensure support systems are resilient, accessible, and equitable across all regions. In conclusion, the Gender Equality Strategy 20262030 must reflect the EUs commitment to dignity, equality, and safety by embedding a victim-centred, inclusive, and rights-based approach. This requires cross-sectoral leadership, robust legal implementation, and the meaningful participation of victims at all stages. VSE and its members stand ready to support the European Commission and Member States in delivering a strategy that transforms legal rights into lived realitiesensuring no victim is left behind.
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Response to Anti-racism Strategy

8 Jul 2025

Victim Support Europe (VSE) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the development of the EUs first comprehensive Anti-Racism Strategy, building on the 20202025 Action Plan. Racism and racial discrimination remain deeply rooted across the EU, with racialised individuals continuing to face significant barriers to justice, protection, and support. VSE calls for a renewed, victim-centred approach that places the rights and needs of victims of racist violence and discrimination at the heart of EU action, and meaningfully addresses the systemic inequalities they experience. While the 20202025 EU Anti-Racism Action Plan marked important progress, critical gaps remain. Across Member States, individualsparticularly people of African descent, Roma communities, Muslims, and other racialised groupscontinue to experience hate-motivated violence, exclusion, and systemic discrimination. These victims are often underserved, face institutional neglect or bias, and lack access to adequate support or justice. Low reporting rates, limited trust in public institutions, and inconsistent national implementation further exacerbate the problem. Evidence from the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and VSEs project work underscores the urgent need for accessible, inclusive, and tailored victim support services capable of addressing the specific needs of hate crime victims. To ensure real progress, the next EU Anti-Racism Strategy must be robust, inclusive, and grounded in victims experiences. Victims' rights and needs should be integrated across all areas of the strategy, ensuring equal access to justice, protection, and support. The strategy must also tackle the broader societal drivers of racism, including increasing polarisation, disinformation, and the influence of far-right movements. These dynamics are contributing to a growing divide across communities and fuelling hostility, particularly online and in public discourse. Addressing these challenges requires a strong and coordinated response by the European Commission, Member States, and civil society. Building inclusive, resilient communities demands investment in empathy, communication, and social cohesion. At the same time, effective prosecution of hate crime perpetrators and those promoting racism is essential to ensure accountability and deterrence. The future EU Anti-Racism Strategy must promote a comprehensive framework that supports victims through individual resilience-building, strong social support networks, trauma-informed professional services, and the mainstreaming of victim support across society. Victim-centred justice systems must be accessible, fair, and responsive, upholding victims' dignity and ensuring no one is left behind. Only by centring the lived realities of victims can the EU truly move towards a society free from racism and racial discrimination.
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Meeting with Johanna Bernsel (Cabinet of Commissioner Glenn Micallef)

8 Jul 2025 · Introductory meeting

Victim Support Europe demands better protection for LGBTIQ crime victims

24 Jun 2025
Topic — A new EU strategy to combat inequality and violence against LGBTIQ people.
Message — Victim Support Europe calls for a dedicated focus on victims within the strategy. They urge officials to recognize hate as an aggravating factor and provide anonymous reporting tools. They also want mandatory training for professionals to ensure victims are treated with respect.12
Why — These measures would secure more funding and institutional recognition for organizations supporting marginalized victims.34
Impact — Hostile public figures and discriminatory institutions would face increased accountability and legal consequences.5
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Meeting with Michael McGrath (Commissioner) and

10 Jun 2025 · Exchange of views on issues related to victims of crime

Response to European Democracy Shield

26 May 2025

Victim Support Europe (VSE), having taken into consideration the risks to Democracy as posed by hybrid threats, misinformation and societal fragmentation, showcasing that the shielding of democratic spaces includes victim-centred perspectives and the victims themselves as active agents in the transformation of the justice systems; a cornerstone in modern democracies. VSE's contribution highlights measures around societal and individual resilience, citizens' engagement and building of trust, preparedness, pluralism, a safe information space and integrity, countering disinformation and how all these connect to the victims' rights agenda and policy perspectives. Modern democracies are threatened not only by authoritarianism, totalitarianism or disinformation, but by a crisis of connection and a struggle to balance agendas focused on individual rights with those focused on the community. Citizens increasingly distrust one another, and are lacking the tools to communicate and socialise whilst losing their resilience to cope with daily stressors and more serious trauma. The outlined measures reflect a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach to shield EU democracies; we hope CSOs' feedback informs future legislative and operational initiatives to safeguard the EU's democratic processes and the integrity of its information management environment. Actions to protect democracy must therefore include priorities related to: Achieving a balance between individual rights and community needs based on social solidarity creating a foundation for all whilst protecting and empowering vulnerable populations and individuals; Creating space and skills for safe, open, and respectful dialogue; Building community and understanding to counter distrust and polarisation; Countering and fighting back those that seek to manipulate populations and dialogue, supporting populations and building resilience; Protecting and supporting victims of extremism and counter democratic actions. Victim centric justice underpins rule of law and public trust; essential for long term societal stability and effective democracies. Rebuilding trust among youth, supporting victims and their rights without exploitation, and defending independent media are all critical steps. At the heart of these efforts lies civil society, whose active engagement is fundamental to ensuring transparency, accountability, public participation and democracy. The whole concept envisions a European democracy that is not only legally sound, but also compassionate, inclusive, and responsivea democracy where the voices of victims are heard, their rights upheld, and their dignity restored. By strengthening and protecting civic space, the EU can reinforce its democratic foundations and empower its citizens to build a more resilient, inclusive, and just future; we are all active components of this European democratic shield. Democratic politics must be revitalised through the implementation and investment in innovative democratic practices and technologies that prioritise citizen participation and inclusion. To achieve this, European public spaces, both online and offline, must be open, constructive, and safe, enabling all citizens to express their views freely and effectively.
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Meeting with Edouard Schmidt (Cabinet of Commissioner Hadja Lahbib), Francesco Zoia Bolzonello (Cabinet of Commissioner Hadja Lahbib), Halliki Voolma (Cabinet of Commissioner Hadja Lahbib)

12 May 2025 · Preparedness and Crisis management Equality

Meeting with Roxana Mînzatu (Executive Vice-President) and

17 Mar 2025 · The preservation of children’s rights on the agenda

Victim Support Europe demands victim-centric EU internal security strategy

13 Mar 2025
Topic — Consultation on a strategy to integrate security into all EU legislation.
Message — The organization demands that the new security strategy includes direct references to all crime victims. They advocate for a victim-centered approach that prioritizes support, protection, and access to justice.12
Why — Strengthening victim rights ensures more funding and recognition for their support networks.34
Impact — Tech companies would face stricter accountability and mandatory regulations regarding online content.56
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Meeting with Magnus Brunner (Commissioner) and

26 Feb 2025 · Child participation, protection of children’s rights in migration, protection of children from crime

Meeting with Marco La Marca (Cabinet of Commissioner Dubravka Šuica) and Save the Children Europe and

21 Jan 2025 ·  Presentation of CRAG  Pact on the Mediterranean: Safeguarding children in migration management  Middle East Strategy: West Bank  Family care in sub-Mediterranean countries  Youth policy dialogue

Response to 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard

6 Dec 2024

VSE welcomes the opportunity to provide with feedback on the efficiency and quality of justice systems as a key in implementing EU law, upholding the rule of law and the values upon which the EU is based, and stimulating economic growth. Our attached contribution aims to strengthen the indicators of the EU Justice Scoreboard by offering pan-European inputs and by stressing attention on moving towards an integrated, victim-sensitive system. This can happen by building a rights-based, victim-sensitive approach to justice which ensures the physical, psychological, and emotional safety of the victim. Thus, a victim-sensitive approach in accessing justice ensures victim-centric priorities exist, are effective and are not inferior to defence rights, and guarantee respectful treatment, victim empowerment, well-being and safety.
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Meeting with Lucia Yar (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

21 Nov 2024 · Victims´ Rights Directive

Meeting with Tineke Strik (Member of the European Parliament) and Amnesty International Limited and

16 Oct 2024 · LIBE Civil Society Meeting

Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Save the Children Europe and

13 Sept 2024 · Child sexual abuse directive

Meeting with Irène Tolleret (Member of the European Parliament)

9 Jan 2024 · Directive générale sur les victimes

Meeting with Maria da Graça Carvalho (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Associação Portuguesa de Apoio à Vítima

4 Dec 2023 · Rights, support and protection of victims of crime

Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights

8 Nov 2023 · Victims’ Rights Directive - stakeholders’ consultation meeting

Response to Amendment of the EU rules on victims’ rights

26 Sept 2023

Victim Support Europe (VSE) is the leading European umbrella organisation advocating on behalf of all victims of crime, no matter what the crime, no matter who the victim is. VSE represents 78 member organisations, providing support and information to more than 2.5 million people affected by crime every year in 36 countries. Founded in 1990, VSE has been working for more than 30 years for a Europe, and a world, where all victims have strong victims rights and services, whether they report the crime or not. We work towards this missing through advocacy to improve European and International laws, through research and knowledge development and through capacity building at the national and local level. In a significant step towards enhancing justice and support for victims of crime across the European Union, the European Commission advanced a proposal for a revised Victim Rights Directive on 12th July 2023. Building on the foundations laid by the previous Directive, this new proposal marks a crucial milestone in ensuring that the rights and well-being of victims are better protected and respected throughout the EU. At the same time, important and necessary opportunities for progress have not been taken and certain concerns have been identified in the Commission proposal. VSE has summarised its position in attached document and has included in Annex a model provisions paper that provides legislative drafting proposals for the EU Victims Directive aimed at overcoming implementation failures as well as ensuring victims needs are fully addressed. The original Victim Rights Directive, adopted in 2012, was a commendable effort by the EU to establish common standards for safeguarding victims' rights and to provide them with support and protection. However, the Directives text is vague with many exceptions and despite years of action, progress remains ad hoc, limited, and reactionary. Victims continue to face significant challenges: they do not receive the information they need in a timely manner, or in a way they can understand. Appropriate support services are often unavailable, leaving victims without the help they need. A lack of protection leaves them open to further harm during their interaction with the justice system. VSE has long advocated for a revision of the Directive, which would use more precise language to clarify obligations, to ensure that no victim is forgotten or remains voiceless. We are grateful that the European Commission has listened to these calls in its amendments to the Directive. We commend the Commissions leadership on victims issues, which recognises the fundamental importance of a single legislation for all victims without exception whilst also recognising that the individual situation of victims must be responded to, especially for victims who are particularly vulnerable to crime, to secondary victimisation, and to barriers to accessing their rights. While VSE strongly supports the revision of the Victims' Rights Directive, we would highlight that the text misses opportunities to address important shortcomings and raises some concerns. Based on years of research on the practical implementation of the Victims Directive, VSE has published a series of policy papers which sets out the necessity to implement a systemic and integrated approach to victims issues. This shift in approach from short term, ad hoc and un-coordinated action is fundamental to transforming European rights for victims into genuine change on the ground. Without this shift, victims will continue to suffer and to have their rights ignored. Attached paper summarises VSEs key priorities for change in the proposal, structured around key proposals that VSE supports, risks and concerns identified, missed opportunities and VSEs vision for a revised Directive through a systemic approach.
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Meeting with Frances Fitzgerald (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and EUROPEAN TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION and

27 Oct 2022 · Proposal for a Directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence

Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Jul 2022 · Victims Rights Directive

Response to Recommendation of the Commission on detention

19 Apr 2022

Victim Support Europe welcomes the initiative to improve judicial cooperation in matters of pre-trial detention, but regrets the lack of mention to victims of crime in a matter of such importance to them. We call on the Commission to consider pre-trial detention as affecting not only the rights of detained people, but also the rights of victims as set out in the EU Victims’ Rights Directive. The principle of proportionality between the interests of victims and alleged offenders must be applied when considering pre-trial detention as a measure to prevent further harm and ensure victim safety and their right to protection. For this purpose, standards for risk assessment, to be carried on by practitioners with specialised training in matters of victim’s needs and soft skills, must be put into place. These serve the purpose of assessing whether the situation and characteristics of both the victim and the alleged offender require measures such as pre-trial detention, ensuring that the preventing of further harm is paramount. We furthermore call on the Commission to guarantee the victim’s right to be heard in the context of a decision on pre-trial detention of the alleged offender, and that no decision is taken without their opportunity to voice their position. Regarding cross-border cases, we call for the increased cooperation between different EU Member States and their criminal authorities, so that decisions on pre-trial detention are recognised and enforced across all Member-States and victims’ rights and needs are equally applied and respected. Finally, we call on the Commission to ensure that any alternatives to pre-trial detention take into account the immediate needs of victims and their safety and are similarly based on good standards of risk assessment.
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Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament) and European Digital Rights and

19 Apr 2022 · Roundtable: Gender-based Violence

Response to Digitalisation of cross-border judicial cooperation

16 Mar 2022

VSE feedback can be found in the attached submission.
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Meeting with Ana Gallego (Director-General Justice and Consumers)

28 Jan 2022 · Victims'rights

Response to Amendment of the EU rules on victims’ rights

7 Jan 2022

Victim Support Europe welcomes the Commission’s initiative to revise the EU Victims’ Rights Directive. VSE supports Option 2)b) Legislative initiative amending the Victims’ Rights Directive - Broader scope of the legislative amendments, for the following reasons: - While the Victims’ Rights Directive has been a crucial instrument and has proven to be very beneficial for victims and those working for them, there are still many obstacles to its full enjoyment by EU citizens. After 6 years of enforcement of the Directive, major obstacles remain, including in particular the lack of proper and effective implementation in all Member States, lack of national victim support system, poor victim experience in the justice system. - Research and practical experience of our member organisations around Europe show that some implementation gaps are due to the Directive not being drafting in a sufficiently detailed way, not having a sufficient level of obligation imposed on Member States, and too many or too broad series of exemptions from the basic rights. - This results in some Member States simply not implementing their obligations under EU law as well as inconsistencies in approach between Member States. It can leave States in doubt as to the best approaches. At the same time, it inhibits the ability of the European Commission to monitor, oversee and enforce implementation of the Directive. This is why VSE is calling for a range of articles of the Directive to be revised to address those shortcomings e.g. right to information, access to services, coordination, etc. In addition to greater detail and improved drafting on existing rights, some issues have not been addressed or properly covered. These include prevention, safe reporting of crimes, physical protection measures. The Commission should fully explore these gaps to determine which would be best suited to EU legislative action. Some of the main points that VSE has already identified as potential priorities include: 1) Comprehensive system of support 2) Coordinated system of information 3) Access to safe justice A more detailed answer is provided in the attached document.
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Response to 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard

22 Dec 2021

As the leading European umbrella organisation advocating on behalf of all victims of crime, no matter what the crime, no matter who the victim is, VSE welcomes the call for evidence for the EU Justice Scoreboard. Effective, efficient and quality justice systems are critical for victims of crime and a core aspect of ensuring that multiple EU laws relevant for victims of crime are operational in practice. Just as importantly, effective access to justice for victims and the proper treatment of victims within the justice system must be considered as core compenents of successful, high quality justice. Whilst supporting a successful economy should clearly remaining a priority for the justice scoreboard, it must not be ignored that rule of law and criminal justice are equally important. Justice for victims itself enables the recovery of victim, and enhances social cohesion and resilience. Just as the economy has been impacted during Covid, so too have victims through increases in crime and reduced access to justice. These factors and the importance of digital criminal justice for victims, should not be ignored when considering justice scoreboard criteria and the potential usage of EU structural funding to improve justice for victims. It is consistently recognised that there is an unacceptable lack of data with respect to the operation of criminal courts from the perspective of victims rights. Given that priority concerns for EU victims laws are their lack of implementation, inconsistent implementation and lack of knowledge about the extent to which victims are able to access their rights, VSE calls for the EU justice scoreboard to be extended to: - more widely include data from criminal proceedings - include data criteria more directly relevant to the experience of victims in criminal proceedings and to the implementation of victims rights.
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Meeting with Monique Pariat (Director-General Migration and Home Affairs)

30 Nov 2021 · introductory meeting with the newly appointed president of VSE, Ms Geraldine Hanna. Issues of victim protection, in particular also planned initiatives in the field of child sexual abuse and trafficking in human beings were discussed.

Meeting with Didier Reynders (Commissioner) and

21 Oct 2021 · EU Strategy on Victims Rights (2020-2025) and Victim Support Europe (VSE) presentation of their priorities

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner)

13 Oct 2021 · Ms Helena Dalli holds a meeting via videoconference with Victim Support Europe to discuss their priorities to improve victims’ rights and experience in the EU

Response to EU strategy on combating antisemitism

5 Jul 2021

The Jewish community is particularly victim of hate crime and terrorist extremism. Anti-Semitic incidents and hate crimes violate fundamental rights, especially the right to human dignity, the right to equality of treatment and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The very low reporting and recording rates of discrimination, hate crimes and violence against the Jewish community, combined with their apparent normalisation, highlight the need for the EU and Member States to act now. Every victim of crime is different and is affected differently. There are many factors that can influence the impact of victimisation, including: the type of incident, a person’s previous experience with crime, the existence of social support circles, and the level of resilience. Anti-Semitic crimes can also affect the broader community and can therefore experience fear and feel at risk of future attacks . The specific impacts of anti-Semitism crimes result in common types of needs among hate crime victims: recognition and respectful treatment, support, protection and access to justice. Addressing and understanding these needs is critical to correctly responding to anti-Semitism crime and countering their damaging impact for victims. VSE welcomes the adoption of the first-ever EU Strategy on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in the EU. It is crucial that this Strategy includes in its priorities support to victims of anti-Semitism and access to justice. Antisemitism is a complex phenomenon and needs a holistic response across policy areas. The Strategy should be developed in conjunction with the recently adopted Victims’ Rights Strategy, the Gender Equality Strategy and other relevant EU Strategies and legislations related to victims of crime. The diversity of culture, background and social networks within the Jewish community must also be taken into account in the Strategy. VSE has identified the following elements as priorities to be taken into account when developing the upcoming strategy: - Ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of existing laws and mechanisms (e.g. 2008 Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law and the 2012 Victims’ Rights Directive); - Increase prevention activities by developing innovative education and awareness raising programmes for both children and adults, - Encourage and assist victims to come forward by developing multiple and innovative channels to report crime and reach victim support services (e.g. online, anonymous) and ensuring regular and effective training of professionals in contact with victims; - Improve the collection of disaggregated data related to hate crime and anti-Semitism; - Ensure access to support, including by the creation of a specific EU funding programme for the establishment and funding of 116 006 helplines in EU Member States; - Ensure safe access to justice and participation in criminal proceedings; - Ensure victims are protected against secondary victimisation and that security protocols are in place to protect the Jewish community and buildings; - Ensure remembrance of victims and victims-centered organisation of memorials for victims of anti-Semitic terrorist attacks. You can read our full feedback in the attached document.
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Response to Communication on the Global Approach to Research, Innovation, Education and Youth

9 Apr 2021

Victim Support Europe (VSE) is the leading European umbrella organisation advocating on behalf of all victims of crime, no matter what the crime, no matter who the victim is. VSE represents 62 member organisations, providing support and information to more than 2 million people affected by crime every year in 30 countries. Founded in 1990, VSE has been working for 30 years for a Europe, and a world, where all victims have strong victims’ rights and services, whether they report the crime or not. We work towards this missing through advocacy to improve European and International laws, through research and knowledge development and through capacity building at the national and local level. VSE welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to revise the 2012 international cooperation strategy to reflect current European priorities, global challenges and geo-political considerations. Investing in research and innovation is investing in Europe’s future. That investment often focuses on medical, environmental, law enforcement issues for example, yet fails to recognise the significant need and value of research with respect to justice and in particular victims of crime. There are five notable areas where victims still face considerable challenges: - Evolving crime, crime prevention and practical assistance when facing such crimes. - Barriers to reporting crime and reaching assistance services. - Secondary victimisation when victims do come forward. - Lack of implementation of rights or poor quality implementation of rights and services - Support, assistance and therapies which don't benefit from state of the art research and technology which could greatly improve outcomes for victims and communities Research and innovation to resolve these challenges will offer significant individual, social and economic benefits across Europe and Globally. Victims’ issues are too often forgotten by the European Union when developing new policies or funding programmes. The first-ever EU Victims’ Rights Strategy is a crucial tool for long term planning and proper, co-ordinated implementation of policies across a wide range of sectors whilst ensuring that no victim is forgotten. However, it lacks a significant element around innovation and research. Victim Support Europe therefore calls for the rethinking of the EU global approach to research and innovation to incorporate in its priorities: - Justice innovations including digitalisation for the benefit victims; - Victimisation issues including mental health and access to high quality innovation in services and therapies; - Full recognition of the role of NGOs in innovation and research and the active support for co-operation between NGOs, academia and the private sector.
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Response to 2021 EU Justice Scoreboard

8 Apr 2021

About Victim Support Europe Victim Support Europe (VSE) is the leading European umbrella organisation advocating on behalf of all victims of crime, no matter what the crime, no matter who the victim is. VSE represents 62 member organisations, providing support and information to more than 2 million people affected by crime every year in 30 countries. Founded in 1990, VSE has been working for 30 years for a Europe, and a world, where all victims have strong victims’ rights and services, whether they report the crime or not. We work towards this missing through advocacy to improve European and International laws, through research and knowledge development and through capacity building at the national and local level. Introduction In the past years, the European Union has taken important steps to promote the rights and protection of victims of crime. Despite some progress, recent reports show that victims of crime still cannot fully rely on their rights in the EU. Access to justice is one of the core rights recognised in the Victims’ Rights Directive; however, many obstacles still exist for victims to fully rely on their rights: - Firstly, a large proportion of victims never report the crime or never reach the services they need because they are not identified as victims or because of barriers to coming forward; victims may not understand they are victims, they may not know their rights, and they may not know how to report a crime. - for those who report the crime or seek help, many are subject to secondary victimisation by a wide variety of actors both inside and outside the justice system, and by society itself – due to lack of knowledge and understanding, lack of protection, poor treatment, and lack of co-ordinated efforts. - for those who report the crime or seek help many do not benefit from rights established in EU law either because the right is not implemented or it is implemented poorly, or they are never informed of their right. To achieve a substantial improvement in the operation of European justice systems for the benefit of victims, rights need to exist in law and be fully implemented in practice. There is crucial need of data to know whether these rights are actually implemented, where the gaps are and whether the actions taken are effective or not and that they meet victims’ needs. There is a significant lack of victim relevant statistics within the justice sector in particular. For too long the absence of data has been used to argue that no action is necessary. Data collection and data analysis are therefore crucial to improve the access to efficient, effective and safe justice for victims. Victim Support Europe welcomes the Commission’s initiative to gather information from civil society on this important issue. While we recognise the importance of measuring the efficiency, quality and independence of justice systems in the EU Member States for the good functioning of the EU and the respect of the Rule of Law, we deplore that certain aspects of justice systems are missing from the reports, in particular: - The significant lack of focus on criminal justice and victims of crime: the scoreboards mainly focus on civil, commercial, and administrative cases; - The lack of focus on safe justice for users: whilst efficiency of justice and successful convictions have to be general priorities for justice, a key issue for victims is that they are able to fully and safely participate in the process: VSE recommends to include criteria on safe justice within its concept of the efficiency and effectiveness of justice; - The lack of collection of data within the criminal justice system. We call on the European Commission, in its review, to develop new EU Justice scoreboards to address these gaps.
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Response to Consular protection – review of EU rules

10 Feb 2021

Recommendations for the review of Directive 2015/637 and provision of assistance to victims in consular services: Given the importance of consular service to victims of crime, Victim Support Europe welcomes the European Commission’s review of Directive 2015/637. However, victims abroad facing wide ranging difficulties which can be addressed through co-ordinated action of the EU and Member States. VSE calls on the European Commission to examine with Member States opportunities to amend Directive 2015/637 to provide further guidance on how services for victims should be offered in a victim centric way and how they should co-operate to achieve that objective. Recognising there may be limited opportunities to extensively expand legislation in the area, we also call on the European Commission to explore ways to support and encourage Member States to develop more victim centric approaches within their consulates. In particular, in line with Article 16 of Directive 2015/547, we encourage the Commission or the Member States to prioritise in the EU external action agenda, a discussion on how more favourable provisions and mechanisms can be put in place to improve victims’ care and support and to how the cooperation and coordination at the EU level can be improved in that regard. VSE makes the following specific recommendations: i) With respect to co-ordination, VSE believes that any amended Directive can be further strengthened by identifying specific co-ordination action to assist victims of crime. This includes developing co-ordinated information for victims and ensuring effective referral to relevant services in the home Member State of the victim. ii) In addition, VSE considers that it is essential that all EU citizens who are victimised abroad should have equal access to basic standards of victim assistance irrespective of which consulate or embassy assists them. VSE calls on the EU to seek the establishment of such standards within amended legislation. Understanding that this may be beyond the legal basis for legislative action, it is sufficiently important that all tools at the EU’s disposal including facilitation of discussions and prioritisation of victims issues in EU funding in third countries should be used to promote quality victims services. iii) EU legislation as well as research carried out by VSE on the challenges faced by victims of crime abroad already identify priority areas. These include: o Increasing awareness amongst citizens of their rights to assistance o Respectful treatment o Training of officials o Interpretation and translation o Simple and accessible information o Assistance with practical arrangement o Assistance with financial difficulties o Emotional and psychological support including referral to home state services iv) Whilst Member States are required to co-ordinate contingency plans for crisis situations, there are no requirements on the inclusion of victim centric responses in the event of terrorist attacks. Experience in the EU shows that States often do not have proper victim focused planning. The EU should therefore explore how the 2015 Directive can be amended to specifically recognise planning to assist victims of terrorism. v) We also call on the Commission to support exchange of best practices between Member States and with third countries and facilitate the review and development of policies and practical measures to support victims of terrorism. Victim Support Europe together with a range of civil society actors play a considerable role in assisting victims in cross border situations, including following terrorist attacks. It is clear that the most successful systems combine both governmental and NGO action in mutual co-operation. We therefore call on the European Commission and Member States to include civil society actors in future discussions in this field and in the development and implementation of solutions.
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Response to Evaluation of the Victims’ Rights Directive

30 Dec 2020

Victim Support Europe (VSE) is the leading European umbrella organisation advocating on behalf of all victims of crime, no matter what the crime, no matter who the victim is. VSE represents 61 member organisations, providing support and information services to more than 2 million people affected by crime every year in 30 countries. Founded in 1990, VSE has been working for 30 years for a Europe, and a world, where all victims have strong victims’ rights and services, whether they report the crime or not. VSE greatly welcomes the Commission's evaluation of the EU Victims Directive and calls on a comprehensive assessment based on detailed evidence gathering and consultation. VSE notes that despite progress, implementation problems remain: • A large proportion of victims never report the crime or never reach the services they need because they are not identified as victims or because of barriers to coming forward; • For those who report the crime or seek help, many are subject to secondary victimisation by a wide variety of actors both inside and outside the justice system, and by society itself. • For those who are identified as victims and require support, in many EU countries generic and specialised victim support services do not exist or are insufficient, are not accessible or are not of a high quality. Whilst such matters relate to the implementation the Directive, knowledge of these issues and the drivers for them are integral to an effective evaluation process. To properly assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Victims’ Rights Directive, it is essential to fully understand and properly identify a number of issues: - The objectives of the Directive which are driven by the needs of victims. In particular the challenges victims face as a consequence of a crime; - The problems faced by victims following a crime and in enjoying their rights; - The challenges faced by governments and other actors in carrying out victim centric responses and the drivers for those problems – and therefore in implementing the Directive. The evaluation should in particular examine: - Whether the objectives of the Directive themselves sufficiently cover all the problems faced by victims and meet the needs they have – recognising limitations due to legal basis; - Whether implementation problems are due to inadequacies in the drafting of articles of the Directive, including such matters as lack of clarity, insufficient detail, lack of sufficient obligation on States – and whether these issues have resulted in lack of consistency in implementation across States, a lack of understanding on how to implement, or the ability of States to largely avoid implementation; - Whether there are gaps in the obligations and rights established in the Directive which prevent the Directive from successfully meeting its objectives. In other words, it is insufficient to simply examine the success or otherwise of existing articles and issues. It must be examined whether additional rights and obligations are needed. - Whether identified problems should be met through changes to the current Directive, through specific and separate legislation or through other actions. Foundational to a correct evaluation is a detailed analysis of the legal and practical implementation of the Directive. An EU wide recent assessment which examines this in detail is lacking but is essential to determine what problems exist and why they exist - in other words whether the problem of implementation is coming from the text of the Directive itself or from decisions of Member States. In the attached statement, Victim Support Europe set outs an initial list of critical issues to be considered including with respect to specific drafting of the Directive.
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Response to Child sexual abuse online: detection, removal and reporting

28 Dec 2020

Please find attached Victim Support Europe's feedback to the inception impact assessment on the detection, removal and reporting of child sexual abuse online.
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Response to Union of Equality: European Disability Rights Strategy

12 Nov 2020

Victim Support Europe (VSE) is the leading European umbrella organisation advocating on behalf of all victims of crime, no matter what the crime, no matter who the victim is. VSE represents 61 national member organisations, providing support and information services to more than 2 million people affected by crime every year in over 30 countries. Founded in 1990, VSE has been working for 30 years for a Europe, and a world, where all victims have strong victims’ rights and services, whether they report the crime or not. We work towards this mission through advocacy to improve European and international laws, through research and knowledge development and through capacity building at the national and local level. The EU Victims’ Rights Directive lays down a set of binding rights for victims and clear obligations on EU Member States to ensure these rights in practice. The aim is that all victims of crime and their family members are recognised and treated in a respectful and non-discriminatory manner based on an individual approach tailored to the victim’s needs. While the EU Victims’ Rights Directive aims to ensure rights for all victims of all crimes, it recognises the necessity to provide particular attention to victims with disabilities. The Directive, therefore, creates a legal environment in which it is of utmost importance that victims with disabilities are not only provided with the support they need, but also with protection, recognition, access to justice and compensation. At the same time, the Directive insists that all actors across the board – including the governmental services, civil society and businesses – work in a collaborative manner, putting the disabled victim in the centre of their work. Of course, the best form of protection from crime is prevention. However, when a disabled person is victimised, these actors need to ensure that disabled victims’ needs are fully met and that they are supported in their full recovery as a matter of priority. Member States and civil society should be supported by the EU to implement EU laws and the EU should act to ensure States follow minimum standards of implementation of the Directive. In particular, this requires a culture change – a change in thinking about victims of crime in general, and victims with disabilities in particular – amongst those who work with victims, better coordination across different institutions and sectors to maximise impacts, and fully established generic and specialist victim support services across the entire territory of a country, following a national framework for victim support. Please view the attached file for our feedback regarding victims with disabilities.
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Meeting with Věra Jourová (Commissioner) and

27 Oct 2017 · issues relating to victims of terrorism and the specific situation in Belgium

Meeting with Julian King (Commissioner)

7 Nov 2016 · Sharing the expertise of Victim Support Europe