Responding to individual victims’ needs

A fundamental aspect of addressing victims’ needs is knowing what the needs of victims are. Needs of victims can be identified in different groups:

• Basic needs of all victims:

The first, and most fundamental need for the victim is respect and recognition. It is widely agreed that victims need to be recognised as victims and the suffering to be acknowledged. Victims need to be treated with dignity and respect. (see also Standard 1)

Victims have a range of protection needs – for instance, the victim needs to be protected from further harm and from secondary victimisation. The victims need to be protected throughout criminal procedures and other court proceedings.

Victims also need support, which includes in particular information, but also other forms of emotional, psychological and practical support, as well as referral to adequate services.

Victims need access to justice, which can require that they are involved in the proceedings against the perpetrator. International and EU legislation and guidelines are clear that victims of violent crime should receive financial compensation.

• Specific needs of certain groups of victims:

Apart from basic needs of victims, we see that certain groups of victims will have specific needs and will need more specific support based on those needs. These specific needs can be based on the type of crime. For instance, victims of domestic violence will need a safety plan; relatives of someone who died will need support to cope with the dead of a loved one; rape victims will have a higher risk of a long-term trauma; victims of a terrorist attack will need protection from the media; etc.

Victims’ specific needs can also be based on the vulnerability of the victim, e.g., children and adolescents, persons with disabilities, women, migrants, minorities, cross-border victims, etc.

• Individual needs of victims

Apart from the general needs of all victims and specific needs of certain groups, every individual victim will have their own individual needs. Those needs will have to be assessed in the first contact with every victim and in further contacts with them. Based on these needs it will be decided which support will be appropriate. When assessing a victim’s individual needs it will be important to focus on:

Context and circumstances of the crime: does the victims now the offender, did someone die or get hurt, did the crime take place in the victim’s home, was the victim a direct victim, or a family member of the direct victim. etc.

Physical needs: was the person hurt by the attack, are there any psycho-somatic complaints, etc.

Emotional needs: how is the victim coping emotionally and psychologically with the event.

Social needs: did the victim tell anyone what happened, do they receive support in their own social network, etc.

Judicial needs: often the whole judicial process is very complicated for a victim. Which information does this victim need? Is a lawyer needed? Which steps will need to be taken in the judicial procedure?

Practical and financial needs: does the crime have financial implications? Can the victim leave the house? Can the victim still go to work or look after their children? Can they do the housework?

Tailor our services to respond to individual needs of victims

• Needs assessment in place to identify victims’ needs.

To identify the individual needs of a victim in a proper way, a needs assessment needs to be put in place (based on Article 22 of the Victims’ Rights Directive):

• This assessment needs to be timely and focused on the individual victim
• This assessment needs to focus on the specific needs of every individual victim.
• This assessment needs to be broad and take into consideration three main aspects: victim’s personal circumstances, the type and nature of the crime and the circumstances of the crime.
• The extent of the individual assessment may be varied, depending on the victim’s particular circumstances;
• The needs’ assessment should be revised throughout the proceedings to respond to a victim’s changing needs

There is a big difference between a need of a victim and a question of a victim. To conduct a needs assessment in a proper way it will be very important for Victim Support workers to have the knowledge to do so. Victim Support workers need proper training about the needs of victims and how to assess them ( See also standard 8) .

• Support offered on basis of assessment.

It is very important to assess the needs of a victim as soon as possible after the victimisation or at the first contact with a victim, and this is all cases, whenever the first contact is face-to-face, over the phone or online. To support victims in the best possible way, support has to be carried out on the basis of different principles.

Stepped Care Model:
Stepped Care is a model/principle often used in mental health services. It is a system offered to people in adequacy with their needs. Stepped care means the effective, yet least resource intensive treatment is delivered first. Quality assessment of the needs of victims allow for professionals to identify the step of care the victim needs at that moment in time.

Watchful Waiting:
The principle of Watchful Waiting fits perfectly within the Stepped Care Principle. Watchful Waiting means being alert to possible risks and problems. It means carrying out a needs and risk assessment short after the attack happened. It also needs to follow up the victim in every stage of the recovery.

Outreaching:
To understand the needs of victims and to identify those in need, it is very important to work in an outreaching manner. Victims often do not know which help exists or may be reluctant to seek help when they do. In each case, it is very important to organisations to do everything they can to reach as many victims as possible.

Assessment of psychological needs:
Victims, but also their social network and sometimes even Victim Support workers, are not aware of the impact of a crime and will e.g. not recognise the psychological symptoms and PTSD risk symptoms that the aftermath of victimisation can carry. It is therefore very important to train anyone who might be confronted with a victim.

Victim-centered approach:
To better understand the needs of victims for support and information the main source of information is the victim itself. Victims are often very well aware of their own priorities and needs. Providing them with clear information about support available and impact of crime will help them guide the victim support worker in developing a support plan.

• Establish policies to ensure maximum flexibility to support victims based on their needs.

For a victim support organisation it will not be possible to establish policies based on the individual needs of every victim. But it must be possible to establish flexibility within the policies (e.g., to do a home visit, to accompany a victim to court, to contact a victim several times, to follow up a victim for a long term, to revise the needs of a victim throughout the support, etc.)

As a victim support organisation you do not have to be able to give an answer to every need of a victim. It is important to be able to assess and identify the needs of every victim and to refer them if needed. (see also standard 6)

Provide services which can respond to victim’s different abilities and vulnerabilities

• Seek and provide solutions to support vulnerable victims according to their needs.

Some groups of victims will have very specific needs:

• Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the far-reaching impact of victimisation. They are often an overlooked group. Children and young people’s reaction to victimisation have some peculiarities. Children will react in different ways according to their age. They will need information in a language based on their age. Children in the school-going age groups are at increased risks of developing psychological sequelae. Also, the reaction of the child’s parents or carers shortly after the event and the extent to which the parents can support their child is very important.
• Persons with psycho-social disabilities will be at an increased risk of further trauma and mental health problems if exposed to victimisation.
• Women suffer differently from men and may be exposed to different forms of victimisation.
• Elderly people can become victims of elderly abuse and can become very dependent from people in their own environment in their reach and search for help.
• Recently, Victim Support Europe published a study on cross-border victimisation, which explores the specific situation of persons who become victims of crimes outside of the border of their own country. Cross-border victims may just visiting the country for tourism or business, or they may reside in the country but be of foreign origin and be integrated to a lesser or a greater extent. Cross-border issues may add a layer of complexity e.g. towards the measures required to protect victims’ access to justice and/or compensation, or to certain information and certain support.
• Migrant and minority groups are particularly vulnerable to victimisation of especially discrimination and hate crime. It is very important that the cultural and religious needs of different groups of victims are taken into account. This might mean being aware of sensitivities and knowing how to speak with persons of different ages or genders, different spirituality needs of victims, or it may mean needing to ensure that the religious custom is respected in the case of death caused by a crime.
  
  

• Seek and provide solutions to support victims with different abilities according to their needs.

In order to support victims with different abilities according to their needs, it is important to be aware of different needs of victims with disabilities. This will require flexibility, but it will also benefit from building networks with other organisation (see also standard 5), to respond to needs of different victims. This will require ensuring accessibility, but also reasonable accommodations. You need to ensure access for persons with reduced mobility, sign language interpretation, flexibility to do home visits, or providing information in easy to understand language, or with the use of pictograms.

Evidence to prove that the standard has been put into practice:

• Needs’ assessment
• Training
• Service procedures
• Specific strategies for vulnerable victims

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