Delivering for victims through referrals and co-ordination

Inform victims about other services and service providers

• Victims receive the information they need about services and service providers.

An important element of providing support to victims of crime is informing victims about other services and services providers. Victims of crime often find themselves facing different institutions, procedures and services that are foreign to them. Victim Support organisations play a key role in in informing victims about which services exist, what these services offer and what the services can mean to this particular victim.

Firstly, victim support services must inform victims about existing services. To be able to do so, victim support services need to stay informed about the existence of a variety of services for victims in their region. This includes a wide array of services that might respond to the variety of needs that victims have and the services they might have to deal with in the aftermath of a crime.

As the needs of victims range from emotional, judicial, educational, social, practical, financial to psychological victim support services must be informed about the social map of their own environment. This includes being aware of where to find vocational support in case the victim has to change profession because of the crime; medical services for rape victims; a specialised trauma psychologist when a victim has post traumatic stress disorder; a social service that can help the victim cope with his or her financial difficulties. The list of relevant services for victims is long and ever-changing. Therefore, victim support services should set up a social database of relevant services for victims they are dealing with. In order to do so in a good way, victim support organisation need to make sure their information is up to date on the services offered, the contact details, etc. Close collaboration and information-sharing between organisations is a facilitating factor in ensuring the information offered to victims is correct and In that sense the victim support organisation can become a navigator for victims they are supporting.

Secondly, victim support services must have basic knowledge on what other services can do for victims of crime. That way they can provide information to victims about certain other services or institutions they come across or need in the aftermath of crime. Concretely, victim support providers can offer oral or written information on other existing services in a simple, accessible and victim-friendly way through different means of communication, such as leaflets or websites.

Thirdly, victim support organisations must be able to provide tailored advice on existing services to victims based on their needs and vulnerabilities. This tailor-made victim-friendly information should be guided by a practical comprehensions and knowledge on the services offered by a certain organisation or institutions. Sometimes there is a discrepancy between what organisations or institutions offer on paper and what they can do in practice. There victim support organisations can play an important role in offering additional information to victims on this particular service like what is offered, procedures, challenges and opportunities as well as their rights as a victim.

Refer victims for support to partner organizations we know and are confident they will provide a quality service

• Develop networks with other organisations.

Each victim support organization offers certain services and carries out a range of activities. In most cases, however, victim support organisations cannot offer all different services to fully respond to the all the needs of the victim. Often other institutions and organisations are involved to support victims in other ways, for instance, through medical care or legal representation.

For victim support organisations, collaboration is crucial, as it is the only way to ensure both the physical, emotional, practical, financial, judicial needs are met. The foundation of information provision on and referral to other services is the collaboration with others. Through the development of a network – either formally or informally – information and referral are facilitated and fostered. For many organisations a strong collaboration with other NGOs and specialized services facilitates greatly information provision and referral in the best interest of each individual victim.
Formal networks can be formed through memoranda of understanding, written agreements or other official documents describing the areas of collaboration. Informal networks can also be formed through regular contact, building relationships, and informing each other about the work.

• Work together with other organisations to refer victims to the most appropriate organisation whilst confirming the case has been taken on.

Working together with other organisations to build a framework for referral of victims of crime is key. Referral of victims of crime to other institutions or organisations builds on trust, information about the service, and previous contact between the individuals working there. In order to refer a victim to another organization a victim support organization should be informed and ensured that the victim will be supported and that the quality of the services offered is good. To build this trust, victim support organisations can organise meetings or joint work to learn about each others’ services. In most countries, good referral starts with collaboration on certain victims of crime or cases and elaborates from there.

Ensuring a victim that is referred is also taken on by the organisation or institution can be facilitated by ‘warm referral’ or by putting in place procedures for follow-up. A warm referral procedure is a referral where the victim support organisations contacts the institution or organisations the victim is referred to proactively to organize a first meeting with the victim or to ensure the victim is invited to a first meeting. Some organisations even chose to accompany the victim to the referred to organisation if that is helpful.

Additionally, agreed procedures for follow-up can facilitate confirmation that victims are taken up by the referred to organization or institution after a referral. This can imply that the victim support organization request confirmation that the victim was contacted or contacts the institution or organization after a limited time to ensure the case was taken on. Each victim support organization can decide on their strategies to ensure referral of victims to partner institutions or organization is successful and benefits the victim as intended.

A range of measures can show compliance with this standard from having a very basic follow-up procedure, having regular meetings or doing warm referrals where the victim support worker goes with the victim to the first meeting.

• Victim Support organisations work together with other organisations to facilitate the referral of victims to your organisation.

Referral builds on trust and collaboration, therefore, it is important that victim support organisations work with other organisations, institutions and professionals to ensure their services is known and referred to. A proactive approach in working with different partners lies at the basis of forming this trust and start collaborations.

When targeting potential referrers and partners the idea is to follow the paths potential victims can take in the aftermath of a crime. Key actors are of course law enforcement and judicial actors that many victims come in contact with rather quick after their victimisation. Victim Support Organisations should aim to build strong relationships with these actors to ensure victims of crime are referred to victim support organisations. Countries where a strong relationship is built out and supported by legislation between law enforcement and judiciary with victim support also have a very high rate of referrals.

Besides these actors also other potential partners come into contact with victims and carry the potential to become a source of referrals. Thinking from the point of view of the victim helps identify partners like hospitals, schools, insurance companies, embassies. Victim support organisations should build on those partnerships – taking into account their own capacity – to facilitate referrals of victims.

Evidence to proof the standard has been put into practice:

• Service procedure
• Leaflets
• Website
• Network protocols
• Summary of network meetings
• Service procedure
• Follow up system Social map

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