European Law and Policy Development

VSE works regularly with European and International Institutions to influence EU and international laws and policies on victims’ rights. We have formal consultative status with the UN’s ECOSOC Committee and the Council of Europe, and we work closely with the European Commission, the European Parliament and various EU Agencies such as the Fundamental Rights Agency.

We inform organisations about future policy needs, gaps in rights and implementation through consultation replies, bilateral meetings, attendance of expert groups and conferences. VSE is regularly invited to speak at conferences and seminars to share our expertise on on victims’ rights and victim support.

• Direct influence on EU legislation (EU Victims’ Directive, combatting terrorism directive, confiscation measures);
• Direct input into consultation (EU Parliament, EU Commission,  EU Agencies, UN, UN expert groups, national governments).

1. Key VSE Documents published throughout the years to support policies and laws

• Statement of Victims’ Rights in the Process of Criminal Justice (1996, 1997);
• Statement of the Social Rights of Victims of Crime (1998);
• Statement of Victims’ Rights to Standards of Service (1999);
• Victims’ Rights in the Mediation Process (2003);
• Manifesto for Europe (2008);
• Strategy 2012-2015 ;
• Training Manual – Victims of Crime in the EU (2012)
• Handbook 116006 – For a good implementation of the 116006 helpline (2012)
• Handbook for Implementation of legislation and Best Practice for Victims of Crime in Europe (2013);
• Manifesto 2014-2019 (2014);
• VSE Strategy 2016-2020 (2016).

2. Recently Published VSE’s Documents to support policies and laws

VSE’s Contribution for EU Strategies related to victims’ issues

Regularly the European Commission launched public consultations on on laws and policies currently in development. Civil society is encouraged to share their views by submitting contributions on the European Commission website.

At the end of 2019, the European Commission has announced the adoption of two important strategies in 2020: an EU Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025 and an EU Victims’ Rights Strategy for 2020-2025.

At the beginning of 2020, the European Commission launched two public consultations to collect feedback from different stakeholders on the proposed Roadmaps. VSE submitted its contributions for both text:

In 2020, VSE also contributed to other important EU Strategies by submitting our position:

In 2021, VSE submitted the following contributions:

In 2022, VSE submitted the following consultations:

A Journey From Crime To Compensation 2019

In 2019, Victim Support Europe has published the European-wide analysis of victims’ access to compensation: A Journey from Crime to Compensation. This report analyses European Member States’ abilities to provide victim-centric compensation schemes that are fair and appropriate. Victim support organisations and other stakeholders have provided essential evidence of the inner workings of national compensation schemes, their good practices, recommendations for future action, and the current impact on victims.

The World Bank Project, 2018: Ensuring Quality of Victim Support Services in Serbia

In 2018, the World Bank and the Multi Donor Trust Fund for Justice Sector Support (MDTF-JSS), in partnership with Victim Support Europe, conducted the Analysis of victims’ rights and services in Serbia and their alignment with EU Directive 2012/29/EU.

European Parliament Policy Paper on Supporting Victims of Terrorism, 2017

In 2017 VSE prepared a report for the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament on the needs of victims of terrorism: “How can the EU and the Member States better help victims of terrorism?”

3. Projects Analysing the Implementation of Laws

Project VOCIARE

The overall aim of this project is to help ensure that the rights established in the Victims Directive are operating in practice. It will achieve this by assisting the EU Commission in its own assessment of implementation as well as providing national stakeholders with evidence of the state of implementation in their own countries.
Learn more about VOCIARE Project in the section previous projects.

Project Victims in Europe, 2009-2010

In 2009/2010, on behalf of VSE, the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV) managed and conducted the Project Victims in Europe, researching the implementation in all EU Member States of the 2001 Framework Decision on the Standing of Victims in Criminal Proceedings. The research covered the implementation both in relation to legislation and practical implication/possibility for victims to access the rights.