Specialist support to victims
1. Member States shall ensure that specialist support services as referred to in Article 8(3) and Article 9(3) of Directive 2012/29/EU are available for victims, irrespective of whether they have filed a formal complaint.
Where specialist support services as referred to in the first subparagraph are not provided as an integrated part of general victim support services, general and specialist support services shall be coordinated.
Specialist support services as referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide:
(a)
information and support on any relevant practical matters arising as a result of the crime, including on access to housing, education, childcare, training, financial support and assistance to remain in or find employment;
(b)
information on access to legal advice, including the possibility of legal aid, where available;
(c)
information on and, where appropriate, referral to services providing medical and forensic examinations, which may include comprehensive healthcare services, and information on and, where appropriate, referral to psychosocial counselling, including trauma care;
(d)
support to victims of cybercrimes as referred to in Articles 5 to 8, including on how to document the cybercrime and information on judicial remedies and remedies to remove online content related to the crime;
(e)
information on and, where appropriate, referral to women’s support services, rape crisis centres, shelters and sexual violence referral centres; and
(f)
information on and, where appropriate, referral to specialist support services for victims at an increased risk of violence, which may include services for rehabilitation and socio-economic integration after sexual exploitation.
2. Specialist support services as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be provided in person, tailored to the needs of victims and easily accessible and readily available, including online or through other adequate means, such as ICT.
3. Member States shall ensure sufficient human and financial resources to provide the specialist support services referred to in paragraph 1.
Where specialist support services as referred to in paragraph 1 are provided by non-governmental organisations, Member States shall provide them with adequate funding, taking into account the proportion of specialist support services that are already provided by public authorities.
4. Member States shall provide the protection and specialist support services necessary to comprehensively address the multiple needs of victims by providing those services, including those provided by non-governmental organisations, at the same premises, by coordinating such services through a contact point, or by facilitating access to such services through one-stop online access.
The services referred to in the first subparagraph shall include at least first-hand medical care and referral to further medical care, as provided in the national healthcare system, as well as social services, psychosocial support, legal services and police services, or information on and direction to such services.
5. Member States shall ensure that guidelines and protocols for healthcare and social service professionals on identifying and providing appropriate support to victims are issued, including on referring victims to the relevant support services and avoiding secondary victimisation.
Guidelines and protocols referred to in the first subparagraph shall indicate how to address the specific needs of victims who are at an increased risk of such violence as a result of their experiencing discrimination based on a combination of sex and any other ground or grounds of discrimination.
Guidelines and protocols referred to in the first subparagraph shall be developed in a gender-, trauma- and child-sensitive manner in cooperation with specialist support service providers and shall be reviewed and, where appropriate, updated to reflect changes in law and practice.
6. Member States shall ensure that guidelines and protocols for health-care services performing first-hand medical care on identifying and providing appropriate support to victims are issued.
Guidelines and protocols referred to in the first subparagraph shall cover the preservation and documentation of evidence and the further transmission of evidence to competent forensic centres in accordance with national law.
7. Member States shall aim to ensure that specialist support services referred to in paragraph 1 remain fully operational for victims in times of crisis, such as health crises or other states of emergency.
8. Member States shall ensure that specialist support services referred to in paragraph 1 are available to victims before, during and for an appropriate time after criminal proceedings.
Specialist support for victims of sexual violence
1. Member States shall provide for appropriately equipped and easily accessible rape crisis or sexual violence referral centres, which may form part of the national healthcare system, to ensure effective support to victims of sexual violence and to ensure the clinical management of rape, including assisting in the safekeeping and documentation of evidence.
Centres referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide trauma-sensitive support and, where necessary, referral to specialised trauma support and counselling for victims, after the offence has been committed.
Member States shall ensure that victims of sexual violence have access to medical and forensic examinations. Those examinations may be provided in the centres referred to in this paragraph or by referral to specialised centres or units. Member States shall ensure coordination between the referral centres and competent medical and forensic centres.
Where the victim is a child, the services referred to in this paragraph shall be provided in a child-friendly manner.
2. Member States shall provide for victims of sexual violence to have timely access to healthcare services, including sexual and reproductive healthcare services, in accordance with national law.
3. The services referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall be available free of charge, without prejudice to those services that are provided for under the national healthcare system, and accessible every day of the week. They may be part of the services referred to in Article 25.
4. Member States shall ensure a sufficient geographical distribution and capacity of the services referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 across the Member State.
5. Article 25(3) and (7) shall apply to the provision of support for victims of sexual violence under this Article.
Specialist support for victims of female genital mutilation
1. Member States shall ensure effective, age-appropriate and easily accessible support to victims of female genital mutilation, including by providing gynaecological, sexological, psychological and trauma care and counselling tailored to the specific needs of such victims, after the offence has been committed and for as long as necessary thereafter. That support shall include the provision of information on units in public hospitals that perform genital and clitoral reconstructive surgery.
Support as referred to in the first subparagraph may be provided by the referral centres referred to in Article 26 or any dedicated health centre.
2. Article 25(3) and (7) and Article 26(3) shall apply to the provision of support for victims of female genital mutilation under this Article.
Specialist support for victims of sexual harassment at work
In cases of sexual harassment at work that constitute a criminal offence under national law, Member States shall ensure that counselling services are available for victims and employers. Those services shall include information on ways to adequately address such cases of sexual harassment, including on available remedies to remove the offender from the workplace.
Helplines for victims
1. Member States shall ensure that state-wide telephone helplines are available, free of charge, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, to provide information and advice to victims.
Helplines as referred to in the first subparagraph may be operated by specialist support services, in accordance with national practice.
Information and advice as referred to in the first subparagraph shall be provided on a confidential basis or with due regard for the victim’s anonymity.
Member States are encouraged to also provide helplines as referred to in the first subparagraph through other secure and accessible ICT, including online applications.
2. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that the services referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are accessible for end-users with disabilities, including by providing support in language that is easy to understand. Those services shall be accessible in line with the accessibility requirements for electronic communications services set out in Annex I to Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 19 ) .
3. Member States shall strive to ensure the provision of the services referred to in paragraph 1 in a language that victims can understand, including by means of telephone interpreting.
4. Article 25(3) and (7) shall apply to the provision of helplines and support through ICT under this Article.
5. Member States are encouraged to ensure that the services referred to in paragraph 1 for victims of violence against women are reachable through the harmonised number at Union level, namely ‘116 016’, in addition to any existing national number or numbers.
6. Member States shall ensure that end-users are adequately informed of the existence of and number for helplines, including by means of regular awareness-raising campaigns.
Shelters and other interim accommodation
1. The shelters and other appropriate interim accommodation as provided for in Article 9(3), point (a), of Directive 2012/29/EU (‘shelters and other appropriate interim accomodation’) shall specifically address the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual violence, including those of victims at an increased risk of violence. They shall assist victims in their recovery by providing safe, easily accessible, adequate and appropriate living conditions with a view to a return to independent living and by providing information on support services and referrals, including for further medical care.
2. The shelters and other appropriate interim accommodation shall be provided in sufficient numbers and shall be easily accessible and equipped to accommodate the specific needs of women, including by providing women-only shelters with room for children, and ensuring the rights and needs of children, including child victims.
3. The shelters and other appropriate interim accommodation shall be available to victims and dependants under the age of 18, regardless of their nationality, citizenship, place of residence or residence status.
4. Article 25(3) and (7) applies to shelters and other appropriate interim accommodation.
Support for child victims
1. Member States shall ensure that a child is provided specific adequate support as soon as the competent authorities have reasonable grounds to believe that that child might have been subject to, or might have witnessed, violence against women or domestic violence.
Support to children shall be specialised and appropriate to the age, developmental needs and individual situation of the child, while respecting the best interests of the child.
2. Child victims shall be provided with age-appropriate medical care and emotional, psychosocial, psychological and educational support, tailored to the developmental needs and individual situation of the child, and any other appropriate support tailored, in particular, to situations of domestic violence.
3. Where it is necessary to provide for interim accommodation, children, after having had their views on the matter heard, taking into account their age and maturity, shall as a priority be placed together with other family members, in particular with a non-violent parent or holder of parental responsibility, in permanent or temporary housing equipped with support services.
The principle of the best interests of the child shall be decisive when assessing matters regarding interim accommodation.
Safety of children
1. Member States shall ensure that the relevant competent authorities have access to information regarding violence against women or domestic violence involving children, in so far as necessary to allow that that information can be taken into account when assessing the best interests of the child in the framework of civil proceedings concerning such children.
2. Member States shall establish and maintain safe places which allow safe contact between a child and a holder of parental responsibility who is an offender or suspect of violence against women or domestic violence, to the extent that the holder of parental responsibility has rights of access. Member States shall ensure supervision, as appropriate, by trained professionals in the best interests of the child.
Targeted support for victims with intersectional needs and groups at risk
1. Member States shall ensure the provision of specific support to victims experiencing intersectional discrimination who are at an increased risk of violence against women or domestic violence.
2. The support services referred to in Articles 25 to 30 shall have sufficient capacity to accommodate victims with disabilities, taking into consideration their specific needs, including personal assistance.
3. Support services shall be available for third-country nationals who are victims, in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination referred to in Article 1 of Directive 2012/29/EU.
Member States shall ensure that victims who so request can be kept separate from persons of the other sex in detention facilities for third-country nationals subject to return procedures or accommodated separately in reception centres for applicants for international protection.
4. Member States shall ensure that persons can report occurrences of violence against women or domestic violence in institutions and reception and detention centres to the relevant staff and that procedures are in place to ensure that those staff or the competent authorities adequately and swiftly address such reports in accordance with the requirements set out in Articles 16, 17 and 18.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
