[ParlTrack]

Proposal for a directive
Recital 2

(2) The Union is committed to the protection of victims of crimes and to the establishment of minimum standards and has adopted Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA of 15 March 2001 on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings. Under the Stockholm programme, adopted by the European Council at its meeting on 10 and 11 December 2009, the Commission and the Member States have been asked to examine how to improve legislation and practical support measures for the protection of victims, with attention, support and recognition for all victims, and particularly for victims of terrorism, included as a European priority.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 5

(5) Crime is ~~as an offence against society as well as~~ a violation of the individual rights of victims. As such, victims should be recognised and treated in a personalised, respectful, sensitive and professional manner in all contacts with any public authority, victim support service or restorative justice service taking into account their personal situation and immediate needs, age, gender, disability and level of maturity and fully respecting their physical, mental and moral integrity. They should be protected from secondary and repeat victimisation and intimidation, should receive appropriate support to facilitate their recovery and should be provided with sufficient access to justice.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 5 a (new)

(5a) Crime is moreover an offence against the whole of society and the values of coexistence on which the latter is built. This principle is especially clear when some organisations seek to alter the basic rules of coexistence by undemocratic means or use violence to try to establish unofficial systems of authority alongside legitimately established ones. Such is the case with terrorism and mafia organisations. In these cases, specific problems appear, such as organised intimidation, which create special requirements in terms of protection, support and recognition of persons so affected.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 a (new)

(8a) This Directive works on the principle that that, for victims of crime to receive the proper degree of attention, public services need to be involved at all administrative levels – at Union level, and at national, regional and local levels. It advocates, therefore, drawing on public services’ past experience, interinstitutional coordination and all levels of government being involved in the design and implementation of support programmes and in examining the financial implications. These recommendations aim to achieve three goals: raising the profile of these programmes and facilitating the public’s access to them, restricting or removing the red tape encountered by victims wishing to access programmes offered at multiple levels, and ensuring that assistance can be maintained. To achieve this, the principle of ‘sole point of access’ or ‘one-stop shop’ should be improved and steps taken towards having a single European corporate identity to identify a service of this type. Management of these points of access should be established at the administrative level closest to the general public or at the level that is most consistent with national legislation in the Member State concerned. Intensive use of ICT should also be favoured to prioritise the inclusion of these programmes in e- management systems.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 12

(12) Justice cannot be effectively achieved unless the victim can properly explain the circumstances of the crime they have suffered and provide their evidence in a manner understandable to the competent authorities. It is equally important to ensure the respectful treatment of the victim and to ensure they are able to access their rights. Free of charge interpretation should therefore always be available during questioning of the victim and for their participation in court hearings: this refers to both interpretation for linguistic reasons and interpretation due to communication problems arising from a possible disability suffered by the victim. For other aspects of criminal proceedings, the need of interpretation and translation can vary depending on specific issues, the status of the victim and their involvement in proceedings and any specific rights they have. As such interpretation and translation for these other cases need only be provided to the extent necessary for victims to exercise their rights.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 12

(12) Justice cannot be effectively achieved unless the victim can properly explain the circumstances of the crime they have suffered and provide their evidence in a manner understandable to the competent authorities. It is equally important to ensure the respectful treatment of the victim and to ensure they are able to access their rights. Free of charge interpretation in the language selected by the victim should therefore always be available during questioning of the victim and for their participation in court hearings. For other aspects of criminal proceedings, the need of interpretation and translation can vary depending on specific issues, the status of the victim and their involvement in proceedings and any specific rights they have. As such interpretation and translation for these other cases need only be provided to the extent necessary for victims to exercise their rights.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 13

(13) Support, whether provided by governmental or non-governmental organisations, should be made available from the moment a crime takes place as well as throughout criminal proceedings and after such proceedings in accordance with the needs of the victim. Support should be provided through a variety of means, without excessive formalities and through a sufficient geographical distribution to allow all victims the opportunity to access such services. Certain groups of victims such as victims of sexual violence, gender, race hate or other bias crimes or victims of terrorism ~~may~~and organised crime require specialist support services due to the particular characteristics of the crime they have fallen victim to.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 16

(16) Restorative justice services, including for example victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing and sentencing circles, can be of great benefit to the victim, but require safeguards to prevent any further victimisation. Such services should therefore have as a primary consideration the interests and needs of the victim, repairing the harm done to the victim and avoiding further harm. Factors such as power imbalances, and the age, maturity or intellectual capacity of the victim, which could limit or reduce the victim's ability to make an informed choice or could prejudice a positive outcome for the victim, should be taken into consideration in referring a case to and in conducting a restorative process. Whilst private proceedings should in general be confidential, unless agreed otherwise by the parties, factors such as threats made during the process may be considered as requiring disclosure in the public interest. In all cases, any such step requires the express permission of the victim concerned.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 17

(17) Some victims are particularly vulnerable during criminal proceedings to secondary ~~and repeat~~ victimisation and tocan easily be intimidat~~ion~~ed by the offender or his associates. Such vulnerability can broadly be identified from the personal characteristics of the victim and the type or nature of the crime. On this basis some victims such as children, persons with disabilities, victims of sexual violence, victims of organised crime, by terrorists, mafia organisations and drug traffickers for example, and victims of human trafficking are in most cases vulnerable to further victimisation and in need of special protection measures. Only in exceptional circumstances, such as balancing the fundamental rights of the accused or suspected person, or where the victim so wishes, should access to such protection measures be limited. In the case of victims of human trafficking and victims of child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and child pornography, where specific and more detailed provisions are already included in separate instruments adopted or in course of negotiation this Directive does not deal with those same matters.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 17 a (new)

(17a) Nor does this Directive address specifically the issue of victims of terrorism and of mafia organisations, which have a specific structure in some Member States. Specific sections covering this particular problem should be included in the statistics produced from data provided by the Member States on the operation of victim support services. Once the extent of this very specific problem has been determined and any new needs detected, an EU Charter focusing on recognition of the rights of victims of crimes of this kind will be drawn up. This document will be based on five principle points: To establish an EU definition of the victim of organised crime and terrorist crimes with a structured report on the specificities involved. To acknowledge the suffering, offer protection and accept that those who die or are injured are victims as are also members of their family, those who are threatened and intimidated, and their freedom, which is also our freedom. To repair the damage done with substantial and decisive measures, promote remembrance and ensure that justice is done. To give a human face to debates concerning victims of these organisations, as these are individual people who are suffering and in whom the attack on common values and the fight against the perpetrators of these crimes is embodied. To de-politicise the debate over victims. This is a question of principles: totalitarians and fanatics kill. The perversion of the basic values of humanity kills. The origin of violence lies in this, never in the free exchange of democratic ideas.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 18

(18) Beyond these categories, but again based on personal characteristics and the crime, any person could be vulnerable. Only through individual assessments, carried out at the earliest opportunity by those in a position to make recommendations on protection measures, can such vulnerabilities be effectively identified. The assessment should in particular take into account age, gender and gender identity, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, state of health, disability, communication difficulties, relationship to or dependence on the suspected or accused person, previous experience of crime, the type or nature of the crime such as organised crime, terrorism, or bias crimes and whether the victim is a foreign victim. Victims of terrorism require particular attention in any assessment given the varying nature of such acts ranging from mass acts of terrorism to targeted terrorism against individuals. Special attention needs to be paid to 'organised intimidation’ wherein the full complexity of criminal organisations and the social groups that support them come together in coordinated direct intimidation of specific individuals and, through them, of society as a whole. They intimidate and place pressure on people who, on account of their activities, thoughts, attitudes or position in the social and professional fabric may be targeted for more serious attacks, including assassination.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 19

(19) Victims who have been identified as vulnerable should be offered appropriate measures to protect them during criminal proceedings. The exact nature and extent of any such measures should be determined through ~~the~~a professional individual assessment, in discussions with the victim and in accordance with rules of judicial discretion. The victim's concerns and fears in relation to proceedings should be a key factor in determining whether they need any particular measure.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 22

(22) The risk of further victimisation either by the offender or as a result of participation in criminal proceedings should be limited by carrying out proceedings in a co-ordinated manner which treats victims with respect and enables them to establish trust in authorities. Interaction with authorities should be as easy as possible whilst limiting the number of unnecessary interactions the victim has with them through for example video recording of interviews and allowing its use in court proceedings. As wide a range of measures as possible should be made available to practitioners to prevent distress to the victim during court proceedings in particular as a result of visual contact with the offender, his family, associates or members of the public. To that end, Member States are encouraged to introduce, where appropriate, feasible and practical measures enabling court facilities to include separate waiting areas for victims. Protecting the privacy of the victim can be an important means of preventing further victimisation and can be achieved through a range of measures including non-disclosure or limitations on the disclosure of information concerning the identity and whereabouts of the victim. Such protection is particularly important for child victims, including non-disclosure of the name of the child. (Linguistic amendment affecting only the Spanish version of the text)

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 24

(24) Any officials in criminal proceedings likely to come into contact with victims should be trained to identify and meet the needs of victims both through initial and ongoing training and to a level appropriate to their contact with victims. This should include ~~specialist training as appropriate~~training on the specific services to which victims should be referred and specialist training where their work focuses on victims with special needs.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Recital 25

(25) Member States should encourage and work closely with civil society organisations, including recognised and active non-governmental organisations working with victims of crime, in particular in policy-making initiatives, information and awareness-raising campaigns, research and education programmes and in training, as well as in monitoring and evaluating the impact of measures to support and protect victims of crime. In this respect particular prominence should be given to all the national and Union programmes supporting the development of activities of this kind, and the red-tape that organisations prepared to take advantage of them come up against ought to be cut.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Article 1

The purpose of this Directive is to ensure that all victims of crime receive appropriate protection and support and are able to participate in criminal proceedings and are recognised and treated in a respectful, sensitive, personalised and professional manner, without discrimination of any kind, in all contacts with any public authority, victim support or restorative justice service.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Article 5

Member States shall take measures to ensure that victims understand and can be understood during any interaction they have with public authorities in criminal proceedings, including where information is provided by such authorities. Particular account shall be taken in this respect of difficulties in understanding or communicating which may be due to a disability of some kind, for which accessible media and formats shall be prioritised.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 4 – introductory part

4. Member States shall ensure that a victim who does not understand or speak the language of the criminal proceedings concerned shall receive translations if they so wish, free of charge, of the following information, to the extent that such information is made available to the victim:(Does not affect the English version)

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 5

5. Member States shall ensure that a procedure or mechanism is in place to ascertain whether the victim understands and speaks the language of the criminal proceedings and whether they need translation and the assistance of an interpreter. In Member States with more than one official language, this right shall apply to the official language chosen by the victim, even where this is not the common language used in said Member State.

2012/03/06
Committee: FEMM

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Proposal for a directive
Article 7 a (new)

Article 7(a) Right to a lighter administrative burden and reduced bureaucracy The establishment of an efficient, comprehensive victim support system entails combining services provided at various levels of government and by Member States, regions and local authorities. Consequently, mechanisms enabling access to services must be simplified, coordination of information sources must be improved and measures must be taken to streamline the administrative procedures victims have to complete to gain access to these services. The Member States will thus strive to: a) establish a ‘one-stop shop’ for administration and guidance to provide victims with all services offered to them by public administration in a single visit. These facilities must provide victims with effective representation or guidance in the administrative procedures for access to the support or compensation to which they are entitled, whatever the level of administration at which it is effectively provided. b) house the rooms used for these guidance services in or as near as possible to law courts, police stations or basic social service facilities, and entrust their management to the authorities closest to citizens or the level of government most appropriate to the internal systems of the Member States, given the volume of services they provide to victims. c) advocate the principle of single registration to ensure that victims need produce basic supporting documents proving the facts of their condition and the circumstances only once – except when these change – and ensure that the resultant repository of documents will be accepted by any authority involved in providing assistance or services to the victims of crime. d) give priority to victim support services in public authorities’ range of online services. e) ensure that these administration and guidance services – where provided – are available by telephone via 112, the single European emergency number. The Commission shall propose a single European logo to identify these one-stop shops, to be displayed on their buildings and on the Internet.