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| Victim Support Europe | |
|---|---|
| Name | Victim Support Europe |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
| Region served | Europe |
Victim Support Europe is a pan-European umbrella organisation providing policy coordination, advocacy, and support development for victims of crime across European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations, European Court of Human Rights, and regional bodies. Founded to professionalise victim assistance after landmark initiatives including the Hague Programme, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the Rome Declaration on Combating Violence Against Women, it builds links with national charities such as Victim Support (England and Wales), state agencies like Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), and intergovernmental actors like the European Commission and Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The organisation engages with judicial institutions including the European Court of Justice, legislative processes in the European Parliament, and transnational networks such as the European Crime Prevention Network.
The organisation emerged in 1990 amid post-Cold War reform dialogues involving the Council of Europe, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and civil society groups such as European Women’s Lobby and International Committee of the Red Cross. Early projects intersected with initiatives led by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme to integrate victim support into criminal justice reform influenced by the Vienna Declaration, the Stockholm Declaration, and the development of the Directive 2012/29/EU. In the 1990s and 2000s it expanded through partnerships with refugee and rights organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the European Network Against Racism, while contributing to policy instruments emanating from the European Council and the European Commission Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers.
Governance follows a membership and board model similar to networks such as Eurochild and Mental Health Europe, with a General Assembly, an Executive Board, and a Secretariat based in Brussels. Leadership interacts with institutions including the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Council of the European Union, and national ministries like the Ministry of Justice (Netherlands). The Secretariat coordinates regional projects with agencies such as the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, funding bodies like the European Social Fund, and research partners like London School of Economics and University College London.
Activities include developing service standards influenced by instruments such as the Directive 2012/29/EU, training frontline staff with curricula used by organisations like Victim Support (England and Wales), and implementing EU-funded projects alongside the European Commission and European Research Council partners. Services promoted include victim helplines modelled on national examples like Victim Support Scotland, multi-agency referrals coordinated with police forces such as the Metropolitan Police Service, and cooperation with healthcare providers like World Health Organization programmes. The organisation produces toolkits and guidelines used by practitioners from institutions including Interpol, the European Judicial Network, and universities such as Trinity College Dublin.
Advocacy targets legislative frameworks including Directive 2012/29/EU and engages with the European Parliament rapporteurs, national parliaments such as the Dáil Éireann, and treaty bodies like the European Court of Human Rights. It campaigns with civil society coalitions including European Network Against Trafficking in Persons and Save the Children for reforms to criminal procedure tied to instruments like the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Istanbul Convention. The organisation also submits evidence to committees such as the Committee on Legal Affairs (European Parliament) and collaborates with research centres including University of Amsterdam and Helsinki University.
Funding sources include grants from the European Commission, awards and contracts from the Council of Europe, project funding via the European Commission Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, and philanthropic support from foundations like the Open Society Foundations and European Cultural Foundation. Partnerships span national NGOs such as Victim Support Ireland, government agencies like the Ministry of Interior (Sweden), law enforcement bodies including Europol, and academic partners at institutions like KU Leuven and University of Bologna.
The network comprises national members including Victim Support (England and Wales), Victim Support Scotland, Slovak Victim Support, Associação Portuguesa de Apoio a Vítimas, Dutch Victim Support Netherlands, and specialist services like Refugee Council (United Kingdom), Amnesty International, and sexual violence NGOs such as Rape Crisis (UK). It links with regional actors including Baltic Legal Solutions, and works alongside thematic networks like the European Network for Victim Support and the European Forum for Restorative Justice.
Impact is visible through contribution to legal standards like Directive 2012/29/EU, uptake of best-practice guidelines by national systems such as Estonian Ministry of Justice, and collaborative projects with institutions including European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and Europol. Critics from commentators associated with think tanks such as European Policy Centre and academics at University of Oxford and University of Cambridge have argued that dependence on EU project funding can skew priorities, and evaluations by auditors like the European Court of Auditors and scholars from Sciences Po have called for clearer performance metrics and stronger links to victim-survivor led groups such as Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests.
Category:European non-profit organisations