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Wednesday, 12 February 2025

ViSAR Project: Support for victims of crime in Greece. Recent developments & prospects_Part A

On 12 February 2025, the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) organized the first Greek focus group under the ViSAR project, entitled “Support for Victims of Crime in Greece: Recent Developments & Prospects_Part A”. The event took place in a hybrid format at the EPLO premises in Plaka and brought together various representatives from key public authorities, CSOs providing support to victims, and legal practitioners (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, LEAs, psychologists, social workers and other support services representatives).

The event set the basis for partners’ transnational efforts to establish communication and collaboration channels between the above multiple stakeholders, with the ambition to develop a holistic support of victims (both adults and minors) of domestic violence. Actions’ goals focused on highlighting existing good practices, needs, obstacles and challenges as well as brainstorming on how to meet them.

More specifically, it aimed to assess the current state of victim support in Greece, five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, and to explore how institutional responses have evolved in practice. The event formed part of the ViSAR activities related to mapping national frameworks and identifying opportunities for systemic improvement.

Participants presented and discussed topics such as:

  • the effectiveness of victim identification and referral procedures;
  • the institutional role and operational capacity of police authorities in domestic violence cases;
  • the challenges faced by child protection services and shelter facilities;
  • and the importance of legal and psychosocial assistance tailored to the needs of child victims and other vulnerable groups.

The meeting opened with a presentation of the ViSAR project and its objectives in the context of EU policies on victims' rights. Discussions were moderated by members of EPLO research team and provided a valuable platform for interdisciplinary exchange among professionals involved in victim protection. The findings and proposals collected during the session will feed into the development of project deliverables, including national and EU-level policy recommendations.

The ViSAR project is co-funded by the European Union, in which EPLO is a partner, aiming to promote institutional cooperation, mutual learning, and a more victim-centered approach across Europe. It is implemented by a transnational consortium coordinated by the Court of Appeal of Venice (CoA-V, Italy), with partners the Agenfor International (AGF, Italy), Hochschule für Öffentliche Verwaltung – University for Public Administration (HfÖV, Germany), Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Democracy (CIRD, Germany), Jagiellonian University (JU, Poland), Union of Italian Criminal Chambers (UCPI, Italy), and Centrum voor Innovatie in de Publieke en Opvoedkundige Sector (CIPOS, Curaçao).

tags: ViSAR, EPLO, Victims of Crimes, EU Funded Project