With the mission to put in place the protection and support given to victims of crime in Latvian public policy, PROVIDUS – the Center for Public Policy – hosted in Riga the conference, “Substantial Support for Victims: Towards a Holistic Response to Crime, Latvia and Beyond” between February 21 and 22, 2013.

The conference urged the European Union authorities to ensure that the minimum standards of the rights of victims of crime reflect the new Directive, as well as to find a model of victim support for Latvia that involves a collaboration between responsible authorities and professionals in the country, which continues to see the marginalisation of victims of crimes whose rights and resources are outdated.

The conference asked for a formal execution of the Directive 2012/29/EU as to develop a systematic approach to ensure the adequate and effective exercising of rights, support and protection of victims of crime in Latvia.

APAV was selected as a case study and was invited to present their model of victim support used in Portugal and illustrate the Portuguese reality under the talk, “Make It Happen for Victims of Crime in Portugal.”

The President of APAV, João Lázaro, was reelected to the position of Vice President of Victim Support Europe, at its General Assembly held in Edinburgh, June 1, for a term of three years.

Victim Support Europe is an international organization and was established as a European platform for victim support organizations, currently gathering 32 victim support organizations from 24 European countries. VSE has consultative status with the Council of Europe and the United Nations.

The management team of Victim Support Europe continues to be led by David McKenna, CEO of Victim Support Scotland, as President, and has five members from the victim support organizations of Germany, France, England & Wales and Netherlands.

Victims of stalking, harassment or gender-based violence who are granted protection in one member state will get equivalent protection if they move or travel to another, without having to go through time-consuming formalities, thanks to a new law passed by Parliament on Wednesday. These civil law rules complement the European Protection Order, which already provides similar protection under criminal law.

The regulation, to apply directly in all member states, will ensure that protection granted in one is maintained when the victim moves or travels to another. It will also simplify the application procedure for protection, by removing all today's intermediate formalities.

"We must make applying for protection more straightforward for victims, so that they are protected whenever they travel or move to another member state" said Antonyia Parvanova (ALDE, BG), Parliament's co-rapporteur on the civil law protection regulation. "Ensuring that victims of gender-based violence can obtain specialist support services from properly-trained officials anywhere in the EU is an important part of this protection", she added.

Co-rapporteur Antonio López- Istúriz (EPP, ES) said: "We want to make sure that any victim of crime can get protection and still move freely throughout the EU. This will allow us to strengthen the area of freedom, security and justice in the union. I am proud that we can offer better and safer future, especially to women and children".

This regulation on civil matters, covering threats to people's physical and psychological integrity, including threats to personal liberty, security and sexual integrity, complements the European Protection Order (EPO) Directive on criminal matters. Together, the two instruments will cover the broadest possible range of protection measures taken by member states.

To ensure that the protection is recognised and enforced throughout the EU, the regulation includes a standard multilingual certificate, which gives all the essential information. Using this certificate should keep translation costs to a minimum, so that in most cases there will be no extra costs for the protected person.

The resolution was passed by 602 votes to 23, with 63 abstentions. Once it is formally approved by the Council of Ministers, the regulation will apply from 11 January 2015. Denmark will not be participating.

Source: European Parliament / News

On May 2nd, APAV met with a delegation of Members of the European Parliament from the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament (FEMM).

The delegation, which also included Portuguese Members of the Parliament as interlocutors, held meetings with Portuguese non-governmental organizations with the aim of gathering information on the "feminine face of the crisis in Portugal."

APAV was represented at this meeting by Carmen Rasquete, Secretary-General, who presented the work of the Association as a national organization to support victims of crime, with emphasis on the profile of women victims of crime and violence and its context of victimization.