Make it happen for victims of crime in Portugal
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Presentation by João Lázaro, President, Portuguese Association for Victim Support in conference "Supporting Victims of Crime in Latvia – Possibilities and Challenges" organised by Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS on February 21-22, 2013 in Riga. Conference was organized in project "Conference is organized within framework of project Response to Crime Latvia and Beyond”. Further information about project: http://www.providus.lv/public/26862.html Further information about conference: http://www.providus.lv/upload_file/Projekti/Kriminalitesibas/Victim%20support/Conference_web.pdf -------- Prezentācija "Kā Portugālei izdodas atbalstīt noziedzīgos nodarījumos cietušos" (João Lázaro, Portugāles Cietušo atbalsta asociācijas prezidents) konferencē "Atbalsta sistēma noziedzīgos nodarījumos cietušajiem – Latvijas iespējas un izaicinājumi". Konference tika organizēta 2013.gada 21.-22.februārī Rīgā projekta "Atbalsta sistēma noziegumos cietušajiem - Latvijā un citur" ietvaros. Plašāka informācija par projektu: http://www.providus.lv/public/27560.html Plašāka informācija par konferenci: http://www.providus.lv/public/27812.html
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Make it happen for victims of crime in Portugal
- 1. Make it happen for victims of crime in Portugal Supporting victims of crime in Latvia – incorporating EU dimension, 21-22 February 2013, Riga Conference is organized within project “Support for Victims of Crime: Substantial or Nominal. Latvia and #cietušiem // #victimslatvia // @providus Beyond”. Project is financed by European Union
- 2. In brief words… The Portuguese Association for Victim Support: • is a Charitable organisation; • with the objective to inform, protect and support victims of crime; • assisted by volunteers; • provides free and confidential support in a personal, sensitive and professional way.
- 3. Vision APAV believes that the statute of the victim of crime must be fully acknowledged, valued and effective and works to achieve this goal in Portugal and beyond.
- 4. Mission • To support victims of crime, their families and friends by providing free and confidential quality services and • to contribute to the improvement of public, social and private policies centered in the statute of the victim.
- 5. Aims • Support victims of crime; • Cooperate with all relevant entities and stakeholders; • Promote social solidarity; • Promote research on victim’s issues; • Raise public awareness; • Contribute to the adoption of laws, regulations and administrative measures; • Liaise with international organisations.
- 6. Support • Since 2000 more than 123 000 cases supported Average of more than 240 000 people
- 7. Support 23.500 victims of crime, families and friends supported in 2012 This means, per week, the support to the following direct victims: 17 children and youngsters 139 adults 15 elderly people
- 8. Support Free, confidential, qualified and specialised support on different and complementary levels: • Emotional; • Legal; • Psychological; • Social; • Practical.
- 9. Support Specialised support in detail: • Legal; • Psychological; • Social.
- 10. Support • 15 Local Victim Support Offices all over the Portuguese territory; • 2 shelters for battered women and children; • 2 specialised schemes that support migrant victims of crime and victims of racial or ethnical discrimination
- 11. Support • 1 immigrant support centre; • a helpline; • central services: – 1 head office in Lisbon – 1 regional office in Porto – 1 regional office in Azores
- 12. Support Referral systems within this national support network with the: • Public Security Police – pilot project in the Azores islands; • Judiciary Police for the support to family and friends of victims of murder; • International Lesbian and Gay Association.
- 13. Quality Quality Management System based in: • concern to increase the quality of the support to victims; • an initial focus on Training, Quality and Communication; • the continuous professional development of its staff and volunteers.
- 14. Beyond the support • promote a strong public awareness • promote policy development on victims rights • create and develop training programmes • advocate on victims issues • monitor the network’s procedures and practices • provide technical and logistical support for the national support network • enable communication, planning and performance assessment at a national level
- 15. Beyond the support APAV is also focused on: • Prevention • Training • Awareness Raising • Advocacy • Policy development • Networking
- 16. Beyond the support On prevention… • Complementary and essential area of action • Based on training, information and awareness raising Professionals: health, education, police sectors • Targeted to Children and youngsters • 2012: more than 17.000 participants in 424 actions
- 17. Beyond the support On training… • Certified Training Centre since 2003 • Aims to develop and improve skills of professionals dealing directly and indirectly with victims of crime
- 18. Beyond the support • health care On training… • criminal justice • internal affairs • Targeted to professionals from: • social services • education sector • civil society organisations • victim support workers • In 2012, more than: 500 training events 1.600 hours 20.000 participants
- 19. Beyond the support On raising awareness… “Until death do us part”
- 20. Beyond the support On raising awareness… “Abandoned” “Financial violence”
- 21. Beyond the support On raising awareness… “Your safety is not a Game. Stay alert”
- 22. Beyond the support On raising awareness… “Cut down on violence: who doesn’t respect you doesn’t deserve you”
- 23. Beyond the support On advocacy and policy development… • Decision makers • National and international level • Through formal and informal cooperation protocols
- 24. Beyond the support On networking… Partnerships at a national level established with: • Portuguese Government • City Halls • Civil Society Organisations
- 25. Beyond the support On networking… Partnerships at an international level established with: • Victim Support Europe • European Forum for Restorative Justice • World Society of Victimology
- 26. Beyond the support On networking… • International Association for Volunteer Effort • European Network Against Racism • Fundamental Rights Platform • Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants
- 27. Income
- 28. Volunteering Volunteers represent the strength behind APAV and are the main reason for its success. Different types of volunteers: •Those who support directly the victim; •Those who offer other services such as research, translation, public relations, administration and healthcare; •Pro Bono friends.
- 29. Volunteering
Hinweis der Redaktion
- Good morning, First I would like to thank PROVIDUS and in particularly Ilze for her kind invitation and this opportunity to speak about the work that APAV has been developing for more than 20 years. I hope that these days encouraged you all to engage in the most challenging and fruitful discussions and that in the end all and each one of us will compromise to fulfill its part on this long journey to build a fair system for crime victims. NEXT SLIDE…
- Founded in nineteen ninety (1990), the Portuguese Association for Victim Support is a charitable organisation , recognised by law, with the statutory objective to inform , protect and support citizens who have been victims of crime It is a non-profit organisation assisted by volunteers , which supports victims of crime in a personal , sensitive and professional way, through the provision of free and confidential services. These brief words are a reflection of APAV’s vision and aspiration that... NEXT SLIDE
- ...the statute of the victim of crime must be fully acknowledged, valued and effective not only in Portugal but also in other countries. This is why it’s mission is to… NEXT SLIDE
- … support victims of crime, their families and friends by providing free and confidential quality services and to contribute to the improvement of public, social and private policies centered in the statute of the victim. In order to accomplish it’s vision and mission APAV aims to… NEXT SLIDE
- … Promote the protection and the support to victims of crime; Cooperate with all relevant entities and stakeholders ; Foster and promote social solidarity ; Promote and sponsor research and studies on victim’s issues; Raise public awareness of crime and towards the victims of crime; Contribute to the adoption of laws , regulations and administrative measures; Liaise with international organisations.
- The more recent figures show that since two thousand (2000) more than two hundred and forty thousand people were supported by APAV’ network. This means not only the direct victims of crime, but also their family and friends. Just in 2012… NEXT SLIDE
- … APAV’s network of services supported twenty three thousand and five hundred (23.500) people. This means that per week we supported as direct victims: 17 children and youngsters; 139 adults; 15 elderly people. Our national support network offers these victims qualified, confidential and specialised support on different and complementary levels, namely: NEXT SLIDE…
- … Emotional; Legal; Psychological; Social; Practical. In more detail… NEXT SLIDE
- When we speak about supporting victims of crime it’s crucial to highlight that we are not only talking about one time crisis intervention. The cases supported in APAV network also entail a long term support and counselling, the development of safety strategies, the promotion of social inclusion. It is a daily work of endorsing change in people’s lives so they can live with dignity and respect. Therefore, the support given to the victims of crime always involves a multidisciplinary approach. Psychology, social service and law are the main background areas from the more than 250 volunteers that work daily in the APAV network. They represent the strength of the organisation and are the main reason for its success. In what regards the juridical support: i t is of great importance that the Victim Support Worker clarifies the victim about the criminal proceedings, explaining the several stages, its contents, the different actors and the role that he or she has. The success of the Victim Support Worker in this task depends on how he or she is able to demystify the criminal procedure: it is crucial to accompany the victim , so that decisions can be taken in a truly informed manner. The Victim Support Worker shall use a simple language in order to ensure that the victim fully understands what it is being told. The psychological support at APAV starts by the victims’ main concern, symptom or suffering in the aftermath of crime. The main objectives are to: The relief and improvement of symptoms; Reduce discomfort and dysfunctional behaviours; Reinforce adaptive defense mechanisms; Improve their adaptation towards the environment; Improve their skills of reality judgment; Consolidate personal identity; Reinforce self-esteem; Maximize autonomy; Reestablish psychological balance. Weekly or biweekly sessions take place at APAV , depending on the situation and/or the victim’s availability. A quick evaluation is done initially and further intervention is focused on the current problems presented by the victim. Victim Support workers with a background on social service and based on the problems posed by the victim, intervenes both in crisis situations and on daily personal problems. The victim support worker uses a variety of techniques in accordance with a holistic approach of the human being and his surrounding environment. However, in order to properly intervene, the Victim Support Worker has to do the Social Diagnosis, an ongoing process to assess needs, in order to be appropriate, complete, clear and precise. And how is this support provided?... NEXT SLIDE
- … By a national support network constituted by: 15 Victim Support Offices all over the Portuguese territory; 2 shelters for battered women and children; 2 specialized schemes that supports migrant victims of crime and victims of racial or ethnical discrimination;
- … 1 immigrant support centre ; a help line ; central services : - 1 head office in Lisbon - 1 regional office in Porto -1 regional office in Azores Within this national support network we also developed three important referral systems, namely:...NEXT SLIDE
- with the Public Safety Police in Azores and; with the Judiciary Police for the support to family and friends of victims of murder; International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) . The link between agencies whose mission is to support victims of crime presents itself as a need and one of the APAV’s strategic priorities. The objective is to mitigate the victimisation’s impact and to avoid secondary victimisation through the interinstitutional route that the victim is confronted with in the aftermath of crime. In this complex route, organisations play different roles and have complementary responsibilities. Accordingly, APAV has invested in pilot and sectoral projects with the aim of turning the contacts between the different organisations a flowing and continuous procedure, ensuring coherent and quality support throughout the whole process. The Referral System means the mechanism through which the Partner Organisation transmits APAV information, with the victims consent, about the crime and the respective victims. The objective is for APAV to provide support to the referred victims. The Partner Organisations are mostly the Public Security Police, the National Republican Guard, Judiciary Police, as well as other civil society organisations such as t he International Lesbian and Gay Association . All systems were carefully studied by the stakeholders involved in order to adequate the systems to the realities and particularities of the victims. Guidelines were produced on the scope and characteristics of the different systems. The implementation also involved the development of awareness raising sessions, debates between the staff and volunteers of each organisation and training courses. The follow-up is ensured through periodic coordination meetings between the Partner Organisations and APAV, where the necessary adjustments are discussed. Besides this, in an ongoing effort to improve the quality of the services provided, while maintaining its core philosophy, APAV implemented a Quality Management System. NEXT SLIDE…
- This was based in the following principles: In accordance with its mission statement, APAV will always strive to make any changes which will increase the quality of its support to victims; Consistent with APAV's Principles and Values, these changes focus, primarily on Training, Quality and Communication; APAV seeks to ensure the continuous professional development of its staff and volunteers, to foster the growth of a team spirit, and to provide healthy and a safe working environment. Hence, the main objectives of this system are to: guide the organisation to achieve the results related with the Quality objectives; adequately meet the needs, expectations and requirements of stakeholders. To succeed in it’ mission and vision APAV also develops a wider range of activities that goes beyond the direct support to victims of crime. NEXT SLIDE…
- Throughout the years our central services are working to: promote a strong public awareness promote policy development on victims rights create and develop training programmes advocate on victims issues supervise the network’s procedures and practices provide technical and logistical support for the national network of offices enable communication, planning and performance assessment at a national level In fact, we are also an organisation focused on… NEXT SLIDE
- … Prevention Training Awareness Raising Advocacy Policy development Networking When we speak about prevention… NEXT SLIDE
- … we mean a complementary and essential area of action in APAV’s daily work to support victims of crime, their family and friends. As a key element of our strategy, prevention has been based on training, information and awareness raising of two main target groups: Professionals from the health, education and police sectors, who directly or indirectly deal with victims of crime; Children and youngsters In 2012, more than seventeen thousand people were present in four hundred and twenty four information and awareness raising sessions promoted by APAV. This is the result of the work developed by the national support network staff and volunteers. In what regards training... NEXT SLIDE
- ... APAV’s has its own certified Training Centre since 2003. The external and internal training promoted by APAV aims to develop and improve skills of professionals dealing directly and indirectly with victims of crime. APAV’s Training Centre is frequently asked to provide external training to a wide scope of actors, including professionals from... NEXT SLIDE:
- ... : health care, criminal justice, internal affairs, social services, education sector, variety of civil society organisations victim support workers victim support workers and to other civil society organisations. In 2012 APAV was responsible for more than: five hundred training events which means more than one thousand and six hundred hours to more than twenty thousand participants Following its strategy, every year APAV is involved in raising awareness campaigns... NEXT SLIDE
- Weather through the development of co-financed projects or with the sponsorship of advertisement agencies, this is a key pilar of our work. It is always important to break tabus, to raise the awareness on different issues, to speak about and express visually possible consequences of being a victim of crime. I brought here today some images of our latest campaigns. Until death do us part was the motto of one of our latest campaigns. In 2012 APAV supported most than six thousand and five hundred women victims of violence, which means that every day an average of 19 women are seeking support in the network of free and confidential services provided by our organisation. Violence against women continues to be one of the core problems in society. This is why it is crucial to continue to raise the awareness towards it. In partnership with LINTAS and Ignition Ativism, this campaign participated in the international competition Create 4 the UN – “SAY NO to Violence Against Women” - and was selected as one of 15 best campaigns.
- APAV launched a prevention and public awareness campaign on violence against older persons in the framework of project Títono – Support to elder victims of crime and violence. The main aim of this campaign is to alert for violence against older persons as a serious social problem, in its various manifestations. Elderly people find themselves much more isolated socially than any other population groups, which make the identification of violence a much harder task. Studies show that the older population in Portugal has features that might increase this age group vulnerability, when compared to other EU countries. Hence, it’s crucial for the State, the field organisations, the scientists, the civil society, the different professionals, the general public that are working daily with elderly victims of violence, to be aware of the problem and of the strategies and solutions drawn locally in order to identify the cases, to act upon them and also to prevent them.
- Between 2000 and 2011, APAV supported more than seven thousand cases of children and youth victims of crime and violence. Among these cases, crimes against property became the third most frequent, but were relatively low when compared to crimes committed against persons. This fact is indicated by the low level of complains and requests for help from younger people when it comes to crimes of this nature. To address these problems, APAV sought to produce and disseminate to a younger audience easy-to-follow information and resources on violence. The resources will also touch on the importance of reaching out for help and assistance, and on ways to adopt personal safety and protection measures. This initiative is done under Project LEAD – Inform to Prevent, which was promoted by APAV and financially supported by the Directorate-General Justice of the European Commission. All of this is made possible under the programme DAPHNE III, involving national partners, the Foundation of Youth, ISCTE (Lisbon University Institute), as well as international partners – namely, Victim Support Scotland (Scotland) and Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Sweden).
- This campaign was launched with the objective to raise the awareness, particularly of the younger generation, to some types of violence which occur within school boundaries, namely bullying, sexual violence and violence in dating relationships, through a preventive and simple approach which not only shows facts but also promotes an attitude: who doesn't respect me doesn't deserve me . On the other hand, APAV tried to draw attention to subtler and often undervalued types of violence, not just by the youngsters but also by society in general: mocking, humiliation and intimidation, comments and touching of sexual nature and controlling behaviour in dating relationships. Even though they are usually less serious in terms of physical impact, we know that the use and tolerance of these behaviours can precede more serious acts of violence. Besides developing campaigns that seek the attention of the general public, APAV is also seriously focused in raising the awareness of decision makers, such as… NEXT SLIDE
- opinion leaders, criminal justice agencies, members of government, members of parliament, amongst others. Indeed the advocay and policy development has been na important pilar of APAV’s action. Weather through public or private hearings, statements and opinions, national and european events, APAV is always concern to involve decision makers in what regards the rights of victims of crime. At a national and international level, some examples of these efforts are: The protocol established between APAV and the Portuguese Government, in which we highlight the presence of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Health, the protocols established with the main law enforcement agencies in what concerns the referral systems or the cooperation protocol established with the Public Prosecution Office of the State of Amapá in Brasil. Nowadays the Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime is giving us a framework to put the victims rights at the top of every country agenda. Events like these… that gather professionals from different backgrounds and decision making processes give us the perfect stage to start real and practical changes and build a leeway for the effective implementation of victims rights. The advocacy and policy development is highly enriched by a close cooperation and networking developed with different organisations at a national and international level….NEXT SLIDE
- At a National level, partnerships are established with the: Portuguese Government, namely the: Presidency of the Council of Ministers Ministry of Internal Affairs Ministry of Justice Ministry of Health Ministry of Solidarity and Social Security High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue (ACIDI) Safe Internet Line – internetsegura.pt Child Alert System (Sistema de Alerta de Rapto de Menores) At an International level we highlight... NEXT SLIDE
- Victim Support Europe, where APAV is a really active member and present at its board. VSE is the umbrella network for national victim support organisations in Europe. It consists of 32 national member organisations, providing support and information services to victims and witnesses of crime in 24 European countries. European Forum for Restorative Justice , of which APAV is a founding member aims to promote the development of victim-offender mediation and other restorative justice practices in Europe World Society of Victimology , created to foster the development of research on victims and victim support.
- International Association for Volunteer Effort , who believes in volunteering as a preferred means of developing partnerships between different countries and cultures. ENAR - European Network Against Racism, an European network of NGOs that works in the area of the fight against racism in every European Union member-state, and which represents over 600 organisations. FRP - Fundamental Rights Platform . APAV is also member of the Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP), a network of cooperation and direct information exchange between the Fundamental Rights Agency and the civil society. PICUM - Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants , a nongovernmental organization that aims to promote the human rights of undocumented migrants in Europe. APAV became a member of PICUM on 2012, with the purpose to actively participate in the platform and to develop know-how of the situation of undocumented migrants in Portugal. Indeed partnerships play a key role in our mission to support victims of crime. Our culture of partnership promotes cooperation and a healthy team spirit, as each party applies their skills and competences in the search for a common solution. As mentioned above, over the years APAV has formed important relationships, both formally and informally, with local, national and international organisations. And how is it possible for us to be in so many different areas of action? ... NEXT SLIDE
- It has been APAV’s strategy to diverse its income sources. Therefore, each year we search new and innovative ways to promote our sustainability. In the last years, the revenue of APAV has been based in: Annual contributions; Donations; Protocol with the Government of the Portuguese Republic; Amounts from other partnership agreements ; Monitoring agreements with the Social Security Institute; Provision of training , counseling and consulting services; Co-financing by other institutions, in particular the European Commission; Amounts paid to APAV by offenders or those convicted in criminal proceedings. On a last note but no least important… I would like to briefly speak about volunteering… NEXT SLIDE
- As mentioned previously, APAV is a social volunteering organisation. Social volunteering is about doing something in an unselfish way, to serve people and the community without seeking any personal gain. A volunteer is any person who freely, generously and responsibly commits whatever free time they can to serve and promote an organisation or charitable cause. The rights and responsibilities of volunteers with respect to the volunteer organisation, the groups that organisation serves, other volunteers, and society in general, are governed and protected by law. An APAV volunteer is someone who, respecting the principles enshrined in the Association’s statutes, offers his/her time on an unpaid basis, contributing directly or indirectly to supporting victims of crime, their relatives and their friends. At APAV, there are two different types of volunteer. The first are volunteers who support directly the victims. These volunteers are people who have demonstrated they have the personal and social skills to sensitively support victims of crime. For example they must be tolerant, respectful, personable and committed to their role. They will also have demonstrated their technical competence as counselors. These volunteers must also have a background related with the areas of support given through our services like psychology, law, social services. The second type are those who offer other services such as research, translation, public relations, administration and healthcare. This type includes a group of Pro Bono Friends, qualified professionals who work from home to assist APAV on an unpaid basis.
- Volunteers represent indeed the strength behind APAV and are the main reason for its success. Thank you so much for listening. Any questions, please feel free to ask... NEXT SLIDE