WE THANK FOR SUPPORTING THE PROJECT

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2 WE THANK FOR SUPPORTING THE PROJECT Authors of the study: llze Dzenovska, researcher Andrejs Judins, researcher Anvars Zavackis, researher Editor of the Research Summary Inese Muhka Conference Summary report Sanita Sīle This project has been implemented in the framework of Substantial Support for Victims: Towards a Holistic Response to Crime - Latvia and Beyond supported by the European Commission Criminal Justice Programme. Project Director Nona Kronberga. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and the European Commission is not responsible for any use of the information contained in it. llze Dzenovska, Andrejs Judins, Anvars Zavackis Cover photo by Laura Vectirāne Design by Gatis Vectirāns The private rights issuing from the research are owned by the authors. The ownership rights issuing from the research belong to the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS ISBN Inese Ruka, Head of the Association Skalbes Laila Balode, Expert of the Foundation Centrs Dardedze Alla Spruģevica, Head of the Foundation Talsu krīžu centrs Irina Ļitvinova, Head of the Legal Aid Administration Žanna Dvorecka, Expert of the Legal Aid Administration Diāna Ziediņa, Head of the Settlement Department of the State Probation Service Andris Stepanovs, Deputy Head of the IC Crime Records Department at the Ministry for Home affairs Gints Klāsons, Expert of SIA Fieldex Guna Spurava, Expert of SIA Fieldex llze Gubiņa, Expert of SIA Fieldex Frida Wheldon, Expert of Victims Support Scotland Rokas Uscila, Expert of the Lithuanian Institute of Law Alina Mickevič, Expert of the Lithuanian Institute of Law Sonja Leferink, Expert of Victims Support Netherlands Manon Elbersen, Expert of Victims Support Netherlands Victor Jammers, Expert of Victims Support Netherlands Anita de Lorijn, Expert of Victims Support Netherlands Miriam Sessink, Expert of Victims Support Netherlands Linda Marklund Gabor Veisz, Head of Victim s Support Unit Hungary Jako Salla, Expert of Estonian Ministry of Justice Laidi Surva, Expert of Estonian Ministry of Justice Kaisa Uprus-Tali, Expert of Estonian Social Insurance Agency Edit Torzs, Expert of Victims Support Europe Mafalda Valerio, Expert of Victims Support Europe Tomasz Piechowiak, Polish Crime Victim Support Association Subvenia Victima OPOPP SOS for Family Association (Szczecin, Poland) We express our sincerest gratitude to all people whose energy and participation helped this paper materialize! 3

3 CONTENT INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION 1. CORE VALUES AND METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH 2. VICTIMS AND THEIR NEEDS IN LATVIA AND BEYOND 3. ABILITY TO IDENTIFY, RECOGNIZE AND RESPECT Identification: treating the victim with respect Ability to assess the individual needs of a victim 4. SAFETY AND PROTECTION: PREVENTION OF REPEATED AND SECONDARY VICTIMIZATION 5. ASSESSMENT OF THE TYPES OF SUPPORT REQUIRED BY VICTIMS AND POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT 6. VICTIM SUPPORT SERVICES IN OTHER COUNTRIES: PRINCIPLES OF FORMATION Financing and the institutional framework Victim identification, case management and individual needs assessment 7. VICTIMS RIGHTS TO EFFECTIVE ACCESS OF JUSTICE 8. AVAILABILITY OF COMPENSATION 9. RESTORATION OF JUSTICE Availability of a settlement procedure and the issues and development of practice 10. RECOMMENDATIONS Bibliography and other sources Supporting Victims of Crime in Latvia: Opportunities and Challenges Provision for the needs of crime victims is important not only for individuals but for the public at large. The community and the people that are part of it form a fabric held together by human relationships. We feel hurt by problems between friends and relatives, or even those people whom we hardly know; whereas conflicts and offences that have been recognized as criminal offences by the public lead to physical, mental and emotional sufferings, also fear and a feeling of injustice. Conflicts and the feeling of danger and insecurity they entail, as well as any attempts to ignore their consequences cause the fabric of human relationships to deteriorate and eventually disintegrate. Howard Zehr, founder of the restorative justice approach, has emphasized that with respect to criminal offences the needs of victims should be a priority in the public eye. Victims have diverse needs that have to be satisfied, so that the person who has suffered from a criminal offence should at least remotely feel the presence of justice. Latvia today does not have a comprehensive victim support system, nor is there a single policy that might lead to assume that the development of such a system would be seen as a priority. The government, at most, provides for some tools that may be used for victim support; these tools are available under certain conditions and for some categories of people only. The services of the non-governmental sector too are available only to separate groups of people; moreover, their accessibility is mostly restricted to Riga and some rural districts. In the context of the many needs that we face, the opportunities that are available resemble some sort of a patchwork; however, we need much more than a couple of nice new patches to restore the disintegrating fabric of human relationships. In fact, we have to recognize that we do not have a comprehensive, harmonious inter-sectoral victim support system, which would cover elimination of the consequences of criminal offences, support for victim recovery, preventive activities in all public sectors, and, thus, strengthen the system from the inside. The project Substantial Support for Victims: Towards a Holistic Response to Crime. Latvia and Beyond was launched with the aim to reduce victimization in Latvia by developing a support system for victims of crime and fostering public reaction that would be fairer and more effective in dealing with crime and more balanced in acknowledging the needs and interests of the victim, the offender and society at large. The Project included a study for evaluating the existing mechanism for victim protection and support in Latvia, collecting good practice examples from other countries and developing recommendations for establishing a victim support system in Latvia. The information obtained and analysed in the framework of this study serves both as proof and motivation for the public to develop an experience-based, meaningful and comprehensive victim support model. The results of the study show the necessity to facilitate a sound system of victim support which would be based on internal belief and advised by the understanding of the public and policy makers about what kind of protection, assistance and support is required by the people who have suffered from crime, rather than a formal implementation of EU requirements. Such support should be based on a number of components: regulative requirements, health and welfare services, policing and other law-enforcement work, as well as the resources and experience accumulated in the non-governmental sector. If we wish that people should accept that crime and victimization are not part of a black-andwhite world, where things are strictly divided into good and evil, but are aligned with social and economic causes and consequences which are frequently of a contradictory nature and 4 5

4 demonstrate many shades and gradations, we should allot some time for the Latvian public to get used to this idea. It will take time and effort to cultivate an awareness of the public and individual benefit gained from preventing victimization. The practice of other countries studied shows that the recognition of the needs of the people who have suffered from crime and the provision for such needs relates not only to the fundamental principles of human rights and ethics, but also to the economic gains of every country implementing such an approach 1. Victims have a number of needs that have to be provided for, so that they could recover from the crime committed against them: these include the need to be recognised and treated with respect and dignity; to be protected and supported; to have access to justice; and to get compensation and restoration 2. According to the Eurostat data, the number of registered criminal offences against people and property is around 30 million annually 3. Since many crimes lead to more than one victim and there are also the family members to consider, and in many cases the police are not notified, there is good ground to assume that the number of victims by far exceeds that covered by official statistics. Research 4 shows that the real number might be up to 75 million victims per year, even apart from minor offences. The central issue of the research was to foster an effective system providing for the rights and the needs of the people affected by crime. Latvia lacks a single support system, i.e. a system providing a single victim support service or arrangements for obtaining all types of support; however, there is a substantial need for such a system and the issue should be placed high on the agenda. The study has shown that among the most successfully operating victim support systems are those of the Netherlands and Scotland. In both countries there are strong, independent organizations rooted in civil society with highly qualified core staff and a broad network of well-trained volunteers. A large part of their budget is government-funded. The victims are provided with a broad range of services. Support is based on an individual needs assessment and individual case monitoring which is initiated after the respective case has been entered into the automated national victim data referral system (data have been transferred by the police to the victim support service). Instead of taking a reactive approach, the victim support service contacts the victims on its own accord. Support initiatives for victims of crime in the abovementioned countries initially were civic initiatives. They have been continuously developed and improved over a period of more than forty years, and public attitude has been moulded accordingly. At present, in the Netherlands and in Scotland protection and support for crime victims is among the government priorities that are implemented on a routine bases, and its importance is not disputed. Also our neighbouring country Estonia shows a good example of how to establish a victim support system through effective use of public resources coordinated by the welfare sector. 1 Petersson, F. Do you know how supporting victims of crime is helping Scotland? Victim Support Scotland, Scotland, Commission Staff Working Paper. Impact Assessment SEC (2011) 580 final Available at: europa.eu/ LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SEC:2011:0580:FIN:EN:PDF[Consulted on ] 2 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee of the Regions. Strengthening victims rights in the EU. COM/2011/0274. May 18, Available at: UriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0274:FIN:LV:DOC [Consulted on: ] 3 Ibid 4 Van Dijk, J., Manchin.,R., van Kestern,J., Nevala, S., Hldeg, G. The Burden of Crime in EU. Research Report: A Comparative Analysis of the European Crime and Safety Survey (EU ICS) o20-0/o20the0/o20burden0/o20of /o20crime0/o20in0/o20the0/o20eu.pdf [Consulted on: ] 6 7 Latvia being on the way of developing a comprehensive and effective victim support system has an opportunity to make a smart choice: it can take a short-cut by learning from the experience of the European Union both from its errors and its success stories. The new Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime has to be implemented in Latvia before November 16, It is important that the new victim support system in Latvia would be developed in a way which is both sound and meaningful. 5 Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA. Available in Latvian: and in English: europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=oj:l:2012:315:0057:0073:en:pdf [Consulted on ]

5 1. CORE VALUES AND METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH Provision for the needs of crime victims relates to the fundamental needs of individuals and is rooted in the fundamental human rights protected by Chapter 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (hereafter EU Charter), European Convention on Human Rights (hereafter ECHR) and the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. Human dignity, the right to life, integrity, liberty and security, respect to private and family life, protection of personal data, the right to property, freedom of movement and residence, equality before the law, the rights of the child and the elderly, integration of persons with disability and the right to an effective remedy and fair trial are all fundamental rights which form the basis for providing for victims needs and their rights. The rights of victims are now with increasing frequency discussed in the context of human rights, the emphasis being on the unequivocal need and irrevocable duty of government institutions to respect these rights and provide for their effective implementation. Article 47, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the EU Charter state that everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the European Union are violated shall have the right to an effective remedy and a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal previously established by law. Everyone shall have the possibility of being advised, defended and represented. Assessment of the needs of victims forms the basis of Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA. If we do not want to face litigation with EU institutions involved in effective protection of victims, we too have to think about effective implementation rather than be satisfied by merely transferring the requirements to our Latvian law in a formal manner 6. The rights of victims fall into the following categories: 1. The right to be recognised and treated with respect: guaranteed on a regulatory and institutional level, as well as through practical application of legislation; i.e. through responsive and respectful treatment of the affected individuals by the appropriate professionals. 2. The right to be protected and safe: includes both protection of the victim in the framework of criminal proceedings and outside this framework. Within the framework of criminal proceedings, the victim needs protection from the threat that may issue from the offender, as well as the negative consequences of inappropriately organised criminal proceedings, for example, ungrounded repeated interrogation. Protection of the safety of the victim is related to prevention of recurrent and secondary victimization. 3. The right to be supported: psychological, emotional, practical, administrative, financial and legal support, so that the assistance provided to the victim would be timely and appropriate taking into account that the latter may feel injured, confused, frightened, angry, listless, etc., as a result of the crime; the assistance is important for the victim to recover from the crime and obtain knowledge about further steps. 4. The right to effective protection of their interests: availability of the necessary information, ability to participate efficiently in the criminal proceedings and submit requests for decisions to be reviewed, and experience fair trial. 5. The right to compensation: recompense for the harm inflicted by the offender, as well as the 6 Dearing, A. Taking Victims Rights Seriously. Victims of Crime and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Presentation at the conference Supporting Victims of Crime: Possibilities and Challenges, Riga, February. 8 9 compensation granted by the government. 6. The right to use the tools of restorative justice: possibility to participate in direct or indirect mediation (settlement), settlement meeting, peace circles and other activities outside criminal proceedings for reconciling the parties of the crime related conflict. This research has been focused on the needs of crime victims and supportive policies and practice. In order to obtain an understanding of the victims experience as they face crime and its consequences, and to assess the way different institutions act when resolving crime related conflicts, the following inquiries were carried out:» A representative population survey on issues of victimization in Latvia (2012) developed on the basis of the International Crime Victim Survey methodology and conducted by the research information agency Fieldex;» A needs survey of crime victims (2012) by interviewing the individuals who had claimed compensation from the Legal Aid Administration and the victims who had participated in settlement procedures organised by the State Probation Service;» Interviews with female victims of violence who were receiving support at the crises centre Skalbes and the Talsi crises centre during the research period;» Interviews (25) and four focus groups (26 participants), and a number of discussions with professionals involved in victim protection and support (the police, prosecution and judiciary, Legal Aid Administration and State Probation Service officials, professionals employed by the crises centres, forensic experts, emergency medical care professionals ambulance crew and emergency room staff, representatives from the Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians and the Association of Rural Family Doctors, representatives from the ministries for Justice, Welfare and Health, welfare services and orphans courts);» Review of bibliographical sources, policy planning documents and legislative texts.» Assessment of international practice in reducing victimization and establishing effectively working support centres for victims of crime, which involved, firstly, commissioning expert reports on specific issues covering victimization and the operation of victim support services in seven countries (Scotland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, Estonia and Lithuania) 7, and, secondly, analysing the experience and the opinions shared during the discussions at the conference Supporting Victims of Crime in Latvia: Opportunities and Challenges (Riga, February 21-22, 2013). 7 The specific countries were chosen because Scotland, the Netherlands and Sweden have strong systems for protecting victims rights and within that framework the best developed victim support centres in Europe; in Hungary and in Poland victim support systems have been rapidly developing over the past decade, whereas Estonia and Lithuania are our closest neighbours and easiest to reach for studying any new experience, either positive or negative.

6 2. VICTIMS AND THEIR NEEDS IN LATVIA AND BEYOND In 2011 the number of criminal offences registered in Latvia was with victims 8, and in 2012 there were criminal offences with victims 9. The victimization survey of the Latvian population carried out in the framework of the research (hereafter, VSPL) 10 showed that over the past five years the most frequent types of criminal offences committed towards individuals have been burglary (24 %), fraud (22 %), petty theft (18 %), whereas 14 % of the population have suffered from violence. The VSPL results indicate that criminal offences are extensive underreported in Latvia. Depending on the type of crime, the rate of crime victims who have failed to report the offence committed against them has been between 80 and 40 percent. The criminal offences most frequently notified to the police are home robbery (62 %) and breaking into somebody s property (51 %), whereas other criminal offences are reported by only one third of the victims or even less frequently 11. With respect to bribery, the most frequently mentioned categories have been medical doctors and other medical staff and in 31 % road police officials. With respect to consumer fraud, the largest share of the cases (53 %) has happened in shops, whereas a significantly smaller share (14 %) refers to the open market and (9 %) to services. Violence threatened by strangers has lead to bodily injuries (30 %), bruises (18 %) and emotional & psychological trauma (14 %). Alternatively, the most frequently mentioned consequences of violence suffered from people previously known to the victim were emotional & psychological trauma (27 %) and bodily injuries, and in 25 % bruises. In Latvia there is still a lack of accurate data about victims, especially victims of violence between sexual partners. The situation has not improved significantly since 2007 when the report Vardarbība un veselība (Violence and Health) 12 was published where the lack of data was particularly emphasized. Police data as well as data from the Home Ministry s Information Centre, Ministry of Welfare and records of the amount of assistance provided by the non-government sector and health services give an insight into the extent of violence between sexual partners. For example, in 2011 out of the injuries recorded by Emergency Medical Care in the Riga Regional Centre area were of a criminal nature and 681 of unknown origin; in 2012 the numbers were similar with injuries recorded out of which were of a criminal nature and 880 of unknown origin 13. Part of the injuries relate to the category domestic violence, though more accurate data are not available. Information on patients who have been injured or have suffered from trauma is contained in the diagnoses-related patient register maintained by the Disease Control and Prevention Centre. The Register summarizes data from the trauma/injury record transferred to the Centre by treatment institutions Individuals who have acquired the status of a victim in the course of criminal proceedings. 9 Data from the Home Ministry s Information Centre relating to May Made available at the request of Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS. 10 Victimization Survey of the Latvian Population. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, SIA Fieldex, The full report of the Victimization Survey of the Latvian Population contains information about the numbers of crime victims over the past 12 months, 2-3 years ago and 4-5 years ago. 12 Putniņa, A. Vardarbība un veselība. [Violence and Health] Report on the situation in Latvia. Ministry of Health of Latvia, Public Health Agency and European Regional Office of WHO, 2007, Available at: text/vardarbiba_veseliba.pdf [Consulted on ] 13 Source: Emergency Medical Care data on emergency calls in the Riga Regional service area over 2011 and Some of the treatment institutions file the records electronically, while others do it on paper and send the records by regular mail. The data are not comprehensive, because they are not forwarded by all treatment institutions. Furthermore, since The awareness of government authorities and law-enforcement institutions of crime victims and their needs should be assessed through analysing both qualitative and quantitative indicators. Review of international experience shows that in the old EU Member States awareness of the needs of crime victims and institutionalized provision for such needs is a process which has evolved over a period of more than a forty years. In the Netherlands an institutionalized response to the needs of crime victims was launched as the public and the government grew increasingly aware of the fact that the criminal justice system could not provide for the legitimate needs of crime victims and most of the victims felt re-victimised by the government and its officials. 15 In Scotland among the additional factors facilitating the development of a successfully working system was the powerful NGO network, a strong feeling of community and responsibility, the existing culture of volunteer work and responsiveness demonstrated by the politicians to the demands of their electors. 16 At present in the Netherlands, as well as in Scotland the civic initiatives have been enshrined in law, i.e. in 1995 the Dutch legislators adopted the first Act on Victims (Terwee Act), consolidating all the previously issued instructions that regulated how crime victims should be approached and handled. It also increased the victims eligibility to compensation. In 2010 the status of victim was once again strengthened by adding a separate chapter to the Criminal Code. In Scotland, on the other hand, in view of the new Directive 2012/29/EU there are plans to elaborate a new legislative act on victims and witnesses with the aim of transposing the requirements of the Directive and improving the way the victim support service functions. In the younger EU Member States, for example, Poland institutionalized support for victims has been triggered by EU legislation and facilitated by funding from the European Commission, and the process has been led by the Ministry of Justice. In Hungary, in the early nineties victim support was provided by the non-governmental organization White Ring Association, but since the adoption of the Act on Victim Support in 2005, these functions have been transferred to the Ministry for Public Administration and Justice. The support is implemented through 19 regional Justice Services. Apart from legal aid, probation and mediation services, the Ministry also offers support for crime victims. 17 In the Baltic States the needs of victims are identified and victim support is provided in Estonia, where in 2003 an Act on Victim Support was adopted which was significantly more focussed on victims needs than earlier legislation. The Act provided the legislative framework for a victim support service established in As the regulatory requirements were strengthened and effectively implemented, also data collecting practices improved, and population surveys on victimization became more effective providing realistic feedback and reflecting the efficiency of law-enforcement institutions and other state administrative bodies. Accurate statistical data and quality-based assessment, for example, by considering the merits of the complaints and the opinions shared during victimization surveys rather than merely relying on the number of cases, ensures real and justified identification of the needs of crime victims. Availability of statistics and reliability of data in Latvia is at present unsatisfactory. No positive changes September 15, 2008, the Register receives data only from in-patient institutions (relating to the hospitalized patients), whereas out-patient data are no longer recorded. 15 Leferink, S., Elbersen, M., Jammers, V., de Lorij, A., Sessink, M. Victims support services in the Netherlands. Netherlands, Available at: 16 Wheldon, F. Case study regarding the setting up of a victim support services Experience from Victim Support Scotland. Scotland, Available at: 17 Veisz, G. Report on Hungarian Victim Support. Hungary, Available at: 18 Salla, J., Surva, L., Uprus-Tali, K. Supporting Victims of Crime in Estonia. Estonia, Available at:

7 may be expected unless prevention of violence and victimization of all kinds is given real priority. Victimization causes long-term and continuous emotional trauma, affecting the individual s sense of security and ability to become fully involved in community life; it results in temporary or permanent health problems and financial impact, for example, through treatment costs in an inpatient or outpatient setting, rehabilitation, costly psychological advice (the expenses are shared between the individual and the government, and in some cases the insurance companies) and lost income from the labour market; it is a burden and cost to both the justice and the health systems. There are emotional and financial consequences that affect family members and close relatives, and even the local community. 3. ABILITY TO IDENTIFY, RECOGNIZE AND RESPECT The scope of the work for reducing victimization and providing adequate and meaningful support for victims is much broader than just improving the work of law-enforcement institutions and making criminal proceedings more people oriented. It is important to promote the ability to identify a person who has suffered from harm or experiences ongoing harm and recognize his or her suffering and pain and the victim s needs; an offence, for example, long term domestic violence or a child s sexual abuse by the father, has to be first recognized. The aim is to spot the victim and address him or her in a way that makes the individuals feel that they and the wrongdoings they have suffered matter to the society; the approach should be healing. The economic gains of high quality victim support have been emphasized in a number of reports submitted by national and international organizations on reduction of crime and victimization and prevention of violence. The European Commission, too, has stressed that the harm-related costs of criminal offences can be significantly reduced by providing for the needs of the victims before criminal proceedings have started, during the trial and after the proceedings have been completed. 19 The relevant calculations are based on an analysis of the costs for the economic and health sector as well as for the criminal justice system, and take into account the intangible costs, such as the victim s pain, suffering and reduction of life quality. 20 A rejecting and indifferent attitude towards victims delays their recovery from the consequences of the offence, leading to additional expenses on health care and making it more difficult for the victims to return to work and social life; it does not motivate them towards active collaboration with the investigation so that the crime might be disclosed and the offender punished. 19 Commission Staff Working Paper. Impact Assessment SEC(2011) 580 final, p. 14. Available at: LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SEC:2011:0580:FIN:EN:PDF [Consulted on: ] 20 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, the Economic and Social Committee of the Regions. Strengthening victims rights in the EU.COM/2011/0274. May 18, Available at: LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0274:FIN:LV:DOC [Cosulted on: ] Identification of a crime should not be seen as the sole competence of the police; information or other evidence indicating offence should alert also representatives of other institutions, for example, welfare services, social workers and teachers, orphans court staff, doctors, forensic experts, probation service staff and aid and support organizations in the non-governmental sector. Actual facts show that the police, the orphans court, welfare services and other institutions are not always able to identify a criminal offence and intervene efficiently in the best interests of the victim, whereas by their duty the staff of such institutions should be able to identify the signs and facts indicating possible abuse and take the appropriate steps for handing the case over to the State Police for further examination Identification: treating the victim with respect As individuals are identified as victims and in their interest:» The involved institutions should treat them with respect; it is not enough to establish that the offence committed has harmed the individual the individual s sufferings too have to be recognized;» The professionals involved need appropriate knowledge and skills and adequate experience to recognize a criminal offence and react in a timely and professional way;» It should be recognized that the harm and suffering caused by a criminal offence affects not only those individuals who have been identified as victims in criminal proceedings, but also their family members, friends and people of a specific social group, etc.;» The staff of the involved institutions should be able to assess the individual needs of every victim and take the necessary steps to provide for them; Notably, recognition means an understanding of the pain felt by the victims, accompanied by empathy and a wish to help them; the attitude towards the individuals harmed by the crime should be supportive. Recognition in this respect should be seen as a broader category than the status of a victim formally granted during criminal proceedings. The criterion for assessing whether the victim has been treated with respect and whether there has been adequate ability and effort to identify a criminal offence is the victim s experience and subjective evaluation of the situation, i.e. the victim s satisfaction or dissatisfaction with how the institution has acted and the reasons for dissatisfaction that are shared during public opinion surveys or victim interviews. Statements made by representatives from NGOs and the staff of government institutions in assessment of the conduct of their colleagues are also useful when reflecting on the real situation in Latvia Ability to assess the individual needs of a victim

8 The victims routinely encountered by professionals are very different. The crimes committed and their consequences are varied, and there is a lot of diversity among the victims: they represent different age groups and various social economic backgrounds, and they bear their own life experience. The needs of victims also depend on the relationship between the victim and offender: whether they have or have not previously known each other or relate to each other as spouse, partner or family member. The harm inflicted by the criminal offence may affect also the victim s family who, in this case, also should be seen as victims that require support. Professionals, as they are faced with different groups of victims, should take into account their diversity, and for this purpose they have to be able to identify and assess the individual needs of a specific victim, i.e. to tailor their work for reaching a particular target group and be able to make effective use of the resources available for supporting this specific group 21. A number of focus group participants identified victims of violence and sexually abused children, more particularly women and children, as a specific category of victims. Professionals who regularly communicate with these groups of victims need specific knowledge and skills related to victims needs assessment, awareness of the crisis cycle and ability to recognize it and the specific communicational skills required to work with these victim categories. In Latvia the professionals who face victims of violence have mostly insufficient training to cope with their tasks, with the exception of the staff working at crises centres where there are appropriately trained psychologists and psychotherapists on staff. Notably, the government no more provides for the rehabilitation of adults who have suffered from violence. Many professionals hold that full support should be provided not only to victims of violence, but also to those individuals who have been exposed to theft or home burglary. This view, however, is not widespread, and this group has not been made eligible for government provided support. 21 In Latvia support services are available only to three groups of victims: children who have suffered from violence, women who have suffered from violence and victims of human traffick SAFETY AND PROTECTION: PREVENTION OF REPEATED AND SECONDARY VICTIMIZATION Both in the framework of criminal proceedings and outside that framework it is important for the victim to feel psychologically and physically safe, i.e. to feel protected against further harm, intimidation and revenge. Research conducted in other countries shows that approximately 40 % of the individuals who have reported a criminal offence are repeatedly victimized in the course of one year. 22 It is the responsibility of the State to provide for the safety and effective protection of the victims. The Criminal Procedure Law stipulates the possibility to apply security measures to suspects and defendants in criminal prosecution 23 and to provide for special protection of victims during criminal proceedings. 24 These and other measures contained in the Criminal Procedure Law can significantly reduce the possibility that the offender might repeatedly harm the victim. However, they are not sufficient for effective reduction of the risk of secondary victimization. By disclosing a crime and punishing the offender the State responds to events that have happened in the past, i.e. the offence committed. In order to address future issues for avoiding repeated victimization of the individual, the causes of the offence and the behaviour of the people involved have to be examined and the circumstances leading to victimization of the particular individual analysed. Apart from affecting the victim s health and financial state, crime exposes the victim to psycho emotional insecurity. Victims of violence more frequently than victims of non-violent crimes admit avoiding certain locations for safety reasons. 25 Also 46 % of the Latvian population avoid specific neighbourhoods within their residential area after dark because of safety reasons. 26 The staff of every institution or organization that deals with victims should work towards avoiding secondary victimization. An individual who reports a crime, bears witness in court, takes part in a settlement procedure, requests legal aid or psychological or medical a.o. assistance shall remain free from humiliation and never experience disregard, nor be treated with irony and indifference. Lack of professionalism and the mistakes committed together with the imperfections of the justice system are the factors accounting for the risk of repeated and secondary victimization. Lack of staff professionalism reduces the chances of completing proceedings successfully, and, furthermore, it leads victims to believe that the initiated proceedings have been conducted unfairly and their legitimate rights and interests have not been acknowledged. Information obtained from the Project discloses a high risk of secondary victimization at the time of reporting a criminal offence when the errors committed within the framework of criminal proceedings are rectified at the victims expense, for example, by referring them for additional medical expert examination or repeated interrogation sessions about the same set of facts or circumstances. Feedback received from the Project confirms the hypothesis expressed by a number of professionals that repeated and unprofessional interrogation of children who have suffered from sexual abuse 22 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, the Economic and Social Committee of the Regions. Strengthening victims rights in the EU.COM/2011/0274, p.5, May 18, Available at: LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0274:FIN:LV:DOC [Cosulted on: ] 23 See Section 243 of Criminal Procedure Law 24 See Chapter 17 of Criminal Procedure Law 25 Survey of the clients of Legal Aid Administration and State Probation Service. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, Victimization Survey of the Latvian Population. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, 2012, SIA Fieldex

9 includes the risk of secondary victimization. 27 One of the issues which affects both children and adults is unfit premises for interrogation; this was acknowledged by professionals who mentioned examples of victims heard out in a room with three other investigators. The presence of bodily injuries and their severity may be determined only through expert examination. The project showed that due to poor performance of the prosecution (which has not provided the documents required for expert medical examination) and errors in the documents (frequent inaccuracies and shortcomings) experts often are not able to perform prompt and high quality forensic examinations and make accurate assessment of the harm inflicted to the individual s health. The professionals interviewed stated that there were delays in transferring the medical documentation contained in the victim s file from the police to the Centre for Forensic Medicine, which extended the expertise beyond reasonable time. In 2012 the Clinical Expertise Department of the Centre for Forensic Medicine conducted 387 additional expert evaluations. Lack of professionalism by the medical staff is one more factor leading to a secondary victimization risk: diagnoses are frequently not sufficiently detailed for the forensic medical expert to deliver an opinion. Criminal proceedings that extend over a long time period also expose the victim to secondary victimization. It is unacceptable to have situations when the victim again and again has to go through the traumatic experience of the offence and testify long after the offence has been committed. 27 For example, Dace Landmane, expert of the project Prevention of repeated victimization at the State Police, expert of Dardedze Centre ASSESSMENT OF THE TYPES OF SUPPORT REQUIRED BY THE VICTIMS AND POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT The individuals who have suffered from crime require a full set of support measures for emotional, practical, legal and psychological assistance. The consequences of a criminal offence may have a short-term and a long-term effect on the individual, and sometimes their effect on the individual s physical, psycho emotional and mental health may become irreversible. The victims, their friends and relatives and professionals encountered by the victim may for long periods remain unconscious of the psycho emotional aftermath of the crime, they may suppress and even actively deny it. Interviews with professionals during the Project lead to conclude that the staff of law-enforcement institutions is not always sufficiently knowledgeable to be able to recognize the signs showing that the victim is in a state of crisis. At present professional psychological support is not available for a victim who reports to the police. Such support is available only for children who have suffered from violence or persons who on their own accord have turned for assistance at a crises centre, but even in these cases only a limited number of sessions are available for free. The need for support and rehabilitation for victims of violence is no longer debated, it is mostly recognized as a legitimate need; however, accessible services can not always be provided. Even so, individuals who have suffered material loss, for example, in the case of burglary, are excluded from the categories eligible for support. Notably, however, also theft and burglary can lead to emotional or psychological trauma with further serious consequences that last over the individual s lifetime. The Project led to identifying and analysing cases where individuals experienced fear and helplessness after their apartments had been forced open and rummaged, their personal belongings damaged or robbed or their mobile phone jerked out of their hands. If persons are afraid to return to their homes or to remain inside their homes, this psycho emotional state inevitably affects their life quality and sense of security. The consequences of a criminal offence are by their nature individual; their perception varies over time and space, and frequently becomes stronger after a time period has elapsed. Therefore, individuals who have suffered from an offence not necessarily violent frequently need professional psychological support no less than victims of violence. VSLP data show that among the victims who had mostly needed assistance which nevertheless had not been granted were victims of robbery (46 %), attack (39 %) or burglary (31 %). The victims in need of professional psychological assistance were from 35 to 54 years old. They were mostly Latvian speaking women, housewives or retired women residing in Riga, Kurzeme and Latgale. Only one fourth of the attacked victims had received assistance. The aid and support had mostly come from friends and relatives. In the course of the study it was concluded that the main types of aid required for all categories of offence were as follows:» Legal counselling (39 %);» Professional psychological or psychotherapeutical assistance (30 %);» Information about how to act in a specific situation (26%);» 10 % of the respondents mentioned counselling by other professionals;» 9 % of the respondents mentioned a need for material support, including food, clothing and household goods, and emotional support and empathy;» 6 % of the victims mentioned the need for preventive measures, but 5 % medical assistance and empathy from the involved institutions Victimization Survey of the Latvian Population. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, SIA Fieldex,2012.

10 With respect to the type of offence, the victims needs were as follows:» From the victims exposed to home burglary 47 % mentioned a need for professional psychological or psychotherapeutical assistance, 29 % indicated a need for legal aid, but 15 % - for material support, whereas 9 % mentioned also a need for information of how to act in a specific situation.» From the victims exposed to theft, for example, of their money or mobile phone, 32 % would have needed legal aid, 25 % information of how to act in a specific situation, but 21 % professional psychological or psychotherapeutical assistance; the need for emotional support and empathy was claimed by only 11 % of this victim category, whereas 8 % of the respondents mentioned empathy from the involved institutions.» With respect to bribery, the victims mostly sought for legal aid 53 %, information of how to act in a specific situation 32 %; 22 % would have used professional psychological or psychotherapeutical assistance, should it be available.» With respect to consumer fraud, 42 % of the victims admitted need for legal aid, and 34 % a need for information of how to act in this specific situation. The victims needs survey carried out among the clients who had received compensation from the Legal Aid Administration and the settlement clients of the State Probation Service looked at the consequences of crime. 29 From the victims who had suffered loss and damage of property, 65 % acknowledged that the offence had affected their financial position, 48 % indicated an impact on their psychological and emotional state, and 32 % indicated that the event had left a negative impact on their relationships with other people, but 14 % indicated a negative impact on their health. The majority of the victims of violent crimes acknowledged an impact on all the abovementioned areas of life: 82 % of the victims mentioned impact on their psychological and emotional state, 92 % of the victims mentioned a negative health impact, and 85 % mentioned financial impact and 65 % a negative impact on personal relations. From the 117 respondents interviewed more than half indicated that the criminal offence had left lasting consequences. Assessment of a government funded support system and its efficiency should be based on three criteria, i.e.: 1. Availability of assistance to all victim groups across the territory of the country. 2. Ability of professionals to identify the victim and recognize the physical, emotional and psychological harm inflicted. 3. Harmonized action of the involved institutions when planning or implementing a pro-active or reactive response. In order to establish a victim support system, it is important to know what resources are available from the government and the existing best practice examples. In Latvia, at present support is provided to three groups of victims for which some financing is allocated from the state budget. These groups are victims of human traffic, children who have suffered from violence and victims of domestic violence. 29 All the interviewed respondents had turned to the police and had been involved in different stages of criminal proceedings. The final stage of their experience was either getting the state allocated compensation to victims of violent crimes or a settlement procedure conducted by the State Probation Service. The survey was carried out between June 16 and October 15, The members of the target group had received aid from January 2010 until June The state provides social rehabilitation services for victims of human traffic rendered by the association Shelter A Safe Home, which since 2007 receives some government funding. In the framework of this programme, the individuals who have been identified as victims of human traffic may obtain free counselling by a psychologist and other professionals (social worker, lawyer) to help them go on with their lives. The financing allocated to one victim is approximately lats. 30 Over 2012 such financing covered 24 individuals who had the status of victim of human traffic. In reality, the number of victims is higher, but they do not wish to be identified. 31 Since 2010, rehabilitation of children who have suffered from violence in Latvia 32 has been administered by the Latvian Children s Fund. The 24 hours service is provided by seven specialized crises centres. The centres are organized on a regional basis (in Talsi, Ventspils, Dobele, Zante, Allazi, Valmiera and Balvi). They accept also the mothers accompanying their children, but a limited number of clients can be accommodated. There is no social and psychological assistance programme for the women, but the centres try to involve the whole of the family in the rehabilitation process by obtaining extra financing from project funds. In Latvia, government funded assistance for individuals who have suffered from violence is granted only for children and it includes social rehabilitation for children who have suffered from wrongdoing (within a special programme framework) and counselling by a psychologist at the child s place of residence. There are Cabinet Regulations, 33 to the effect that a treatment institution is responsible for promptly notifying the police and the social services if during medical assistance to a child, potential traces of violence have been detected. If the orphans court suspects that the child has been subjected to parental violence, they are responsible for informing the municipal social services and referring the child, after appropriate treatment and medical rehabilitation, to a psychologist or a social worker who makes an assessment and determines whether further social rehabilitation is required. Social rehabilitation services are provided in the form of counselling at the child s place of residence or an institution (in sessions that do not exceed 45 minutes) or as a course of social rehabilitation in a social rehabilitation institution. Social rehabilitation (lasting up to 30 days) or comprehensive social rehabilitation (lasting up to 60 days) may be extended as required if an application with appropriate justification for prolongation is submitted by the social services provider. Victims of domestic violence are not fully supported, since the issue has not been addressed comprehensively: frequently there is a need to provide rehabilitation for the whole family. Women who have suffered from violence are not provided with government funded 24 hours support. Provision of government funded rehabilitation for women who have suffered from violence has been postponed to At present, such women may access either paid or project-based free services mostly from non-government organizations or else services provided at municipality based centres and covered by municipal funding. 30 Interview with Sandra Zalcmane, Board Chairperson of NGO Shelter A Safe Home. Riga, November 26, Cabinet Regulations No 1613 of December 22, 2009 Proceedure for providing support to a child who has suffered from wrongdoing set the procedure of granting aid to children who are victims of an unlawful act: crime, exploitation, sexsual abuse, violence or other unlawful, cruel or disrespectful behaviour, so that they might recover their physical and mental health and be integrated into society. 32 Interview with Alla Spruģevica, Head of the Talsi District Crisis Centre. Talsi, December 19, Proceedure for providing support to a child who has suffered from wrongdoing, Cabinet Regulations No 1613 of December 22, Available at:

11 According to the information collected by the Ministry of Welfare, Latvia has 37 crises centres. 34 They are compact institutions providing both paid and free services, but frequently are accessible only for a certain project period. 35 The Ministry of Welfare being responsible for implementing social rehabilitation programmes for victims of violence collects and summarizes information about victim support activities provided by non-governmental organizations and gives financial support to projects, for example, support groups for violators. 36 European Social fund resources have been allocated to nine projects focused on social rehabilitation of victims of violence (three projects in Riga, two projects each in Kurzeme and Latgale and one project each in Zemgale and Vidzeme) over the time period between January 1, 2012 and December 31, Altogether support is presently provided to clients, including women and children and the services cover all types of rehabilitation. 38 There are no government funded programmes for men who have suffered from violence. The research leads to conclude that though different types of aid are available for individuals who have suffered from violence, there is no single system for providing the aid, and the government granted financing for victim needs is insignificant. This has been confirmed also by the information shared by the NGOs.. Professional psychological assistance is available free of charge in the framework of government funded programmes, terminated projects or as a first time visit. All other victims can access a psychologist at their own cost. Taking into account that the lowest fee for a visit is in the range between 7 to 10 lats, the complete absence of services provided free of charge should be considered as a major obstacle to access. There are two State Probation Service programmes for violators, but they only cover those individuals who have been referred to the programmes by the justice system. Government covered legal advice, drafting of claim statements for the court or any other applications or petitions in the victim s name to the party initiating the lawsuit, as well as representation before the judiciary is mostly available for low-income groups, since the State Ensured Legal Aid Law 39 states that legal aid in criminal proceedings is granted to victims with the status of a low-income or needy person or to persons who have suddenly been confronted with a situation that prevents them from providing for their own defence (through natural disaster, force majeure or other circumstances beyond the individual s control) or who have been placed in state or municipal care. When faced with litigation, the victim s expectations are that their case will be resolved promptly and fairly: the guilty party will acknowledge the offence committed, incur punishment and compensation will be awarded to the victim. Since victims are not professional lawyers, they frequently do not understand their rights in criminal proceedings, as well as the more particular victims rights and how 34 Information obtained through correspondence after the interview with Viktorija Bolsakova, Senior Desk Officer of Child and Family Policy Department at the Ministry of Welfare. December 3, The list of support institutions identified during the research and the services they offer are included in the main text of the study report. 36 Interview with Viktorija Boļšakova, Senior Desk Officer of Child and Family Policy Department at the Ministry of Welfare. December 3, Agreements concluded by the State Employment Agency cooperation institution on implementation of the European Social Fund project Development of Social Rehabilitation and Social Care Services as Alternative to Institutional Care (second call) [Consulted on: ] 38 Ibid 39 State Ensured Legal Aid Law. Adopted on March 17, Available at: [Consulted on: ] they can be used. Legal aid provided by a qualified lawyer gives the victim a more comprehensive understanding of the details of the proceedings and there is a better chance that the rights set out in the law will be used to the victim s benefit. Apart from that, victims feel greater security: they feel they are not left on their own with their grievance and that there is a person who knows the law and is ready to help them. The absence of adequate legal assistance presents a risk: not all victims can afford the services of a lawyer, and without legal advice and assistance the possibilities for the victim to exercise his rights are significantly restricted. Frequently, absence of professional legal assistance is the initial cause why victims do not receive adequate support; they are simply not aware of their rights, i.e. who to approach and how to act, firstly, in order to be heard; secondly, in order to arrange for their protection and, thirdly, to obtain psychological and other support. Legal aid is provided not only by the Legal Aid Administration, but also by the Bar and by NGOs. However, the NGOs do not have the resources to ensure all the services required for all the victims over a long time period. Some assistance can also be obtained and, in reality, should be granted by the party initiating the lawsuit, for example, by responding to the victims inquiries, informing them of their rights, providing clarifications about the procedure and advice for further action. However, the scope of such assistance directly depends on the initiating party s desire to help and its ability to explain to the victims the procedural issues relevant to them. With due acknowledgement of the work performed in clarifying the rights of the victims and advising them on their use, it is, however, important that these rights be effectively used in practice rather than stay on paper: i.e. it would be advisable to extend the obligations of the party initiating the proceedings by stating in the Criminal Procedure Law the responsibility of the initiating party not only to inform the victims of their rights, but also to supply them with extracts from legislation defining victims rights and explain these texts in simple and accessible language with clear and unambiguous indications about the actions performed and the schemes for future action (what is going to happen now, what has to be done, who to approach, what each institution has to offer, what support is available and where to reach it, etc.). There is a need for guidance materials clearly reflecting the steps of the procedure with a description of the typical activities at each step and the victim s rights corresponding to that step. The research leads to conclude that in most cases individuals who have suffered from crime need immediate emotional support and empathy they want to be heard out; they may need medical assistance or practical support, for example, somebody who would take them home from hospital, fetch their food supplies, look after their children or pay their bills. For deciding to report the case to the police and choosing a course of action after the police has been notified, many would need a guide, i.e. information that is simple to understand, and legal assistance to lead them through the criminal procedure and enable them to use of the rights enshrined in the law. On the other hand, professional psychological or psychiatric support is required for identifying psycho emotional trauma and coping with it.

12 6. VICTIM SUPPORT SERVICES IN OTHER COUNTRIES: PRINCIPLES OF FORMATION 6.2. Victim identification, case management and individual needs assessment Analysis of the experience in victim support accumulated in the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, Estonia and Poland shows three different approaches: 1. A strong centralized NGO based victim support service that provides support on a national scale, is largely government funded and uses volunteers for rendering the services (the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, and Portugal). 2. A decentralized network of NGOs which competes for government granted funding, while the government sets the minimum standards of services (Poland) 3. Centralized government provided victim support implemented through a single national scale scheme (Estonia, Hungary) Financing and the institutional framework Government granted financing as an essential condition for successful implementation has been stressed both by the Netherlands and Scotland. The Dutch and Scottish services receive substantial funds from the government, yet they have maintained their independence. In the Netherlands, a Compensation Fund for victims of violence was established in 1976, but government financing was insufficient; thus, in 1989 a Victim Support Fund was established to attract private resources, so that financing would be more diverse and lead to greater stability of the Dutch Victim Support Service. In Scotland, the Victim Support Service receives a regular annual allocation from the government budget. In Hungary and Estonia victim support services are completely government controlled and receive guaranteed government financing. This model has been developed in the countries which lack a strong and sustained tradition of civic activity in victim support. The Estonian victim support service is integrated in the Estonian National Social Insurance Board controlled by the Ministry of Welfare. Support is coordinated and provided in 15 support centres with a staff of 27 professionals who are trained to give all types of emotional, psychological, practical and informational support. The Swedish Victim Support Association has around 100 local centres across the country, and they are closely connected with the municipalities. Support is mostly organized through trained volunteers; when the locally based volunteers lack knowledge or are not available, support is provided through the National Call Centre. 40 In Poland the base financing for victim support presently comes from the European Commission Criminal Justice Programme support project initiated by the Ministry of Justice. The financing is intended for supporting the network organizations so that they might develop their services through cooperating with EU Member States and train volunteers and law-enforcement staff. 41 Alternatively, the Victim and Post-Penitentiary Support Fund established in 2012 provides financing to those organizations that demonstrate appropriate capacity in providing free care for victims. 40 Marklun, L Country Report Sweden. Sweden, Available at: 41 Brazkowska, О., Debinska, К., Gawenda, A., Toporowski, J., Piechowiak, T. Assistance to Victims in Poland - selected issues. Poland, Available at: The Dutch Victim Support Service contacts crime victims on its own accord. Eighty percent of the victims have become clients through reporting to the police. The police automatically transfer the victim s contact data with additional comments depending on the severity of the crime to the Service. However, data are not transferred if the victim objects to it. In case of minor criminal offences, the police forward the victim s data to the Victim Support Service only if the victim has expressed a willingness to have the data shared. Only 15 % of the victims have sought assistance on their own accord. In most cases the Victim Support Service contacts the victim by phone within two days after receiving the relevant information in order to find out the initial needs of the victim. Depending on the severity of the crime, a case manager or a rank member of the staff (a volunteer) is appointed to look after the case. A case manager ensures long-time support on a broad scale. Poland since 2010 has a Blue Card procedure for reducing domestic violence; this procedure enables any institution (law enforcement staff, doctors, social workers, etc.) to notify victim support centres about a potential victim, thus, triggering the procedure of addressing the victim s needs. Polish experts acknowledge that implementation of a national scale victim management scheme is presently a top priority for Poland. In the Dutch Victim Support Service both paid staff members and trained volunteers start with the victim s needs assessment. Work is organized around the stepped care principle where clients receive support that is best adapted to their needs: the most effective and least intervening measure is chosen; the measure should be the best for addressing the victim s problem in terms of cost and time. If more support is required, the victim support service refers the client to a specialized support service provider for psychological, medical or legal assistance. A similar principle is implemented also in Scotland. Communication with the victim takes place over the telephone and or face to face. The support person in Scotland contacts the victim in a location that is convenient and safe for the client, for example, a cafe, a park or an office. In Hungary there is no automated victim data transfer system: the reason is personal data protection which has not been ensured. As a result, for example, in 2012 only 8 % of the victims registered at the police became clients of the Hungarian Victim Support Centre. 42 The Hungarian example is a good illustration of the poor results of entrusting victim referral to the police. The Hungarian centres have two client categories: those who have reported to the police and consequently been registered as victims and other clients. The registered victims are eligible for immediate emergency financial assistance. The decision to grant financial assistance is taken within a period of 5 days and the maximum amount is 314 euros Veisz, G. Report on Hungarian Victim Support (The report has been written in the framework of the research Ensuring the needs of crime victims: support for prevention of victimization in Latvia. Available in the annex of the electronic version: 43 Ibid.

13 7. VICTIMS RIGHTS TO EFFECTIVE ACCESS OF JUSTICE Effective access to justice is seen as provision of support to the victims, awareness of victims of their rights and responsiveness of law-enforcement institution staff to the needs of victims as they make use of their victims rights. Effective access to justice and law enforcement means that victims are aware of their rights and know them. Victims should be able to exercise their rights through active participation in criminal proceedings within an open and responsive environment. They should be able to access information about their rights, the relevant dates and decisions taken during the proceedings easily, and any such information should be provided to the victims in an accessible way. 44 The aim of the European Convention on Human Rights is to guarantee such rights that are practical and effective rather than theoretical and evasive, whereas the EU Court of Justice emphasizes the effet utile principle, i.e. the practical and effective applicability of EU legislation. The research included a number of focus group discussions among law enforcement professionals where judges, prosecutors and police officers could express their opinions on the role of victims in criminal proceedings. The discussions showed a number of judges coming up with statements to the effect that criminal proceedings are at present focused on evidence against the guilty party and punishment, whereas the victim is mostly seen as serving a purpose in this framework. Some of the judges interviewed admitted that there was insufficient time and space for hearing the victim s opinion, though there were also other judges who thought that if the victim was present in the court room his or her opinion was given due attention. 45 The judge meets the victim in those cases when the victim is invited for examining the evidence if the defendant does not admit being guilty. In the court-room it is easy to see whether the party initiating the proceedings has been sufficiently clear in explaining the victim s rights, for example, the right to apply for compensation. The information obtained from the focus group discussions leads to conclude that there are two completely opposite opinions among professionals: either the victim has a good chance to achieve a just settlement, if he or she really wants to do so 46 or the victim has no role to play, and he or she only hampers the procedure. The participants of the focus groups acknowledged that the victims frequently expect the prosecution to provide for the protection of the victim s interests and assist him or her during criminal proceedings, even though provision of such assistance is not part of the prosecution s competence. Individuals have to be aware of their rights before they can exercise them. Therefore, the victim should be initially informed about his or her rights and what should be done to make use of them. During the victim survey conducted within the project framework, 88 % of the respondents stated that they knew where to seek support immediately after the offence. Those who were not sure were mostly elderly people above 75 or individuals with elementary education residing in Latgale. 47 The research showed that the individuals who had reported the offence and had been in contact with the Legal Aid Administration or the State Probation Service had obtained information about the services available to crime victims from the police (87 %). Mass media was least frequently mentioned source 44 Dearing, A. Taking Victims Rights Seriously. Victims of Crime and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Presentation at the conference Supporting Victims of Crime: Possibilities and Challenges, Riga, February. 45 Interview with Judge Baiba Jēkabsone. Rīga, lnterview with Judge No1. Riga, April 17, Victimization Survey of the Latvian Population. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, 2012, SIA Fieldex of information. From all the 177 respondents interviewed only four had obtained information about victim support on the internet, three from the press, two from the radio and one from TV. 48 The provisions of Directive 2012/29/EU state that access to information should be provided to all individuals with due respect to their personal situation and immediate needs, age, gender, possible disability and maturity. For example, in view of the special needs of individuals with visual impairment or hearing impediment information and communication with them before and during the criminal proceedings should be organized in a way that would protect them from secondary victimization during contacts with law enforcement institutions and other public authorities involved in providing social benefits or other types of aid or rehabilitation. 48 Survey of the clients of Legal Aid Administration and State Probation Service. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, 2012.

14 8. AVAILABILITY OF COMPENSATION Availability of compensation is considered to be among the fundamental needs of victims. As indicated by the European Commission, compensation aims at repairing immediate and long-term financial damage, and it may also act as a form of acknowledgement through a symbolic payment. 49 The victim notifies the extent of the loss and applies for moral and financial compensation using his or her procedural rights and with due account to the moral injury, physical sufferings and material damage inflicted. According to Section 350 of the Criminal Procedure Law, compensation is an amount of money that a person who has caused harm through a criminal offence pays to the victim as atonement for moral injury, physical suffering, or financial loss. It is further stated that a victim has the right to submit an application regarding compensation for an injury at any stage of criminal proceedings up to the commencement of a court investigation in a court of first instance. The application shall justify the amount of the requested compensation for financial losses, whereas the amount of compensation for moral injury and physical suffering shall only be indicated. An application may be submitted in writing or expressed orally. Failure to ascertain criminal liability shall not be an impediment for submission of a compensation application. A victim has the right to recall a submitted compensation application at any stage of criminal proceedings up to the moment when the court retires to make a judgment. The refusal of compensation of a victim may not be grounds for the revocation or modification of prosecution, or a justifying judgment. However, obtaining compensation is not easy in Latvia. The process is rather aptly described by the following comment made by a judge: When the ruling comes into force, in most cases there is nothing to collect. Those defendants who acknowledge that they have to compensate the victim, in most cases will not pay and nobody has explained that to the victim. 50 Respondents of the victims needs survey mention the abovementioned reason among the four principal causes of their dissatisfaction with criminal proceedings, i.e. dissatisfaction with the outcome, since no compensation for the harm inflicted was obtained. 51 According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, the Court shall send the writ of execution to a bailiff serving the residence area of the convicted person or the area where his or her property is located, or else hand it over directly to the victim if the latter has requested so. In practice the Court waits until the victims themselves take out the writ of execution which they hand over to the bailiff. There are plans to change this routine, but what matters most is the actual possibility of collecting the compensation. 52 The statistics of the Board of Sworn Bailiffs of Latvia shows that the chances of the victims to obtain compensation are negligible because for the most part the debtors either are in penitentiary or have disposed of their property during the long process of litigation. 53 The procedure 49 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, the Economic and Social Committee of the Regions. Strengthening victims rights in the EU.COM/2011/0274, p.5, May 18, Available at: LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0274:FIN:LV:DOC [Cosulted on: ] 50 Intervew with Judge Baiba Jēkabsone, Riga City Kurzemes District Court. Riga, April 17, Survey of the clients of Legal Aid Administration and State Probation Service. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, Interview with Iveta Kruka, sworn bailiff. Riga, May 14, Ibid whereby the victims can obtain compensation from the government and the amounts compensated from the budget are stated in the Law on State Compensation to Crime Victims. 54 This law sets out the procedure by which the Legal Aid Administration pays out government compensation to victims, as well as the amounts of such compensation. The victim is entitled to government compensation, if an intentional crime has resulted in:» death of the victim;» severe or moderate physical injury;» violation of the victim s chastity or sexual integrity;» human traffic;» contamination of the victim with HIV, hepatitis B or C. The victim is also entitled to government issued compensation in the event when the perpetrator or participant in the violent crime has not been identified or if the perpetrator or participant cannot be brought to trial under Criminal Law, for example, because he or she has been ruled incapable or has not reached the age of criminal liability. The maximum amount of government compensation that may be paid to a single victim of a violent crime is equivalent to four minimum monthly salaries according to the valid rates in the Republic of Latvia, i.e. 800 lats. From January 1, 2014 the maximum amount of government granted compensation will be increased to five minimum monthly salaries. However, these amounts should be seen in context of the initial version of the Law (2006) when the amount of maximum compensation was set at five minimum monthly salaries with transitional provisions providing for an increase to 10 minimum monthly salaries to be reached by With all the cuts and adjustments on account of the economic crisis these amounts are very small even if compared to the amounts of compensation offered in Estonia, where the average compensation paid out to a victim in 2012 was around euros. 55 Government compensation for victims of violent crimes is presently available only if the crime has been intentional, even though the consequences of, for example, carelessness may be as grave for the victim. In a situation when the victim has but a remote chance of obtaining compensation from the offender, a symbolic government granted compensation should be considered at least for the next couple of years. One of the most frequent reasons for the refusal to pay out compensation to crime victims is belated submission of application. The law states that the term for submitting the application is one year; however, the party initiating the proceedings frequently fails to inform the victim about his or her right to apply. As compared to other EU Member States, the term of one year is the shortest term defined for submitting an application. Given the short overall history of the compensation institute, the term for submission should be extended to two or three years. One way of increasing victims awareness is to have pro-active information campaigns and place brochures in the waiting rooms of emergency medical care wards crises centres, orphans courts, regional libraries and all police stations and probation units throughout Latvia. 54 Law on State Compensation to Crime Victims. Law of the Republic of Latvia. Adopted on June 6, Available at: likumi.lv/doc.php?id= [Consulted on: ] 55 Salla, J., Surva, L., Uprus-Tali, K. Supporting Victims of Crime in Estonia. Estonia, Available at:

15 A survey of the Legal Aid Administration staff revealed one more problem, i.e. gaps in victim data records; for example, 86 % of the data were fully or partly absent in The situation has now improved; nevertheless, it is still evident that data recording is primarily focused on registering the offender s data. 56 Entry of accurate and detailed information is very essential, since this data base is the principal source of information for deciding on an application for compensation. The parties initiating criminal proceedings have expressed a number of different views about compensation to victims of violent crimes. The victims themselves were dissatisfied with the amount of the compensation: 65 % of the victims who spoke about the proportionality of compensation saw it as disproportionate. 57 Also the staff members of the Administration were uncertain whether the compensatory amounts were fair and proportionate. 58 Professionals do not know much about the right of victims to compensation, and there is room for significant improvement; for example, the orphans court should be particularly responsible for monitoring that the legal representative of a juvenile victim submits the application for compensation within the appropriate time. 56 Interview with Zanna Dvorecka and Iveta Grinberga, Legal Aid Administration staff. Riga, January 20, Ibid. 58 Ibid RESTORATION OF JUSTICE Restoration of justice involves ending the conflict resulting from the criminal offence and resolving its consequences in a way that is considered fair and just. For justice to be restored, the offender should take responsibility for his or her behaviour, so that the process of restoring justice would lead to a solution eliminating the harm caused by the crime or compensating for it, and in an ideal case the outcome would be seen as just by both parties involved in the conflict the victim and the offender. The victims needs survey revealed the main causes of victim dissatisfaction with criminal proceedings: victims are left with a prevailing feeling of injustice after the proceedings; victims are dissatisfied with the punishment imposed on the offender; victims have not regained a feeling of safety and victims are not satisfied with the outcome of the criminal procedure because there has been no compensation for them. 59 The restorative justice approach to conflicts resulting from a crime differs from the traditional approach to conflict resolution. Both the victim and the offender are assigned a more active role and have a greater influence on the process of conflict resolution and its content. Restorative justice offers a new service by providing for a settlement procedure between the victim and the offender which in Latvia is organized by the State Probation Service. The possibility of a dialogue between the victim and the offender and the active role of both parties is what makes settlement different from the traditional approach. The organizers of the settlement procedure emphasize this difference, whilst admitting that the importance of intercourse between the victim and the offender is sometimes underestimated. Certainly, the services of restorative justice may not fully replace the traditional approach to justice, but they may become part of the formal process or its alternative for resolving only some of the conflicts resulting from a crime. There is every reason to agree with the statement of David McKenna, President of Victims Support Europe, to the effect that States, including Latvia, have yet to resolve issues of how the traditional approach could co-exist with restorative justice. 60 With respect to the role of settlement in the system of criminal justice and the practice of arranging settlements in Latvia, there is ground to admit that the settlement procedure does not always serve its legitimate purpose and there are still drawbacks that have to be eliminated. There are still cases when a settlement is seen as a means for avoiding punishment rather than for restoring justice. This perception is partly strengthened by imperfect legislation and the resulting gaps in practical application the settlement procedure is considered complete from the moment when the settlement has been signed with no supervision over how the settlement conditions are fulfilled. If the offender fails to fulfil his settlement conditions, the victim is subjected to repeated victimization. Such settlements have a negative effect on the victim; they are not restorative and discredit the concept of settlement. They lead to a negative attitude of victims towards settlements and are demotivating for the mediators arranging for them, decrease other institutional support and undermine the trust of the broader public in the added value of a settlement. Until now there have been no tools for supervising the fulfilment of the settlement conditions. If the settlement conditions include a compensation amount to be paid out to the victim in instalments over a longer period of time, there is a good chance that the offender will not pay. The offender might 59 Survey of the clients of Legal Aid Administration and State Probation Service. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, McKenna, D. Prioritizing Victims Needs and a Balanced Response. Presentation at the conference Supporting Victims of Crime: Possibilities and Challenges, Riga, February.

16 go unpunished, whereas the victim would be additionally victimized. The potential solution proposed to the Ministry of Justice by the State Probation Service for amending the Criminal Procedure Law presumes that in the case when a settlement arranged by a State Probation Service mediator is underway, the party initiating the proceedings should suspend them for a period of 6 months. If the parties fail to reach a settlement or the offender does not fulfil the settlement conditions, the criminal procedure is renewed. 61 The State Probation Service has also imparted that parties initiating proceedings have been inquiring whether the State Probation Service might be involved in crimes without a victim (for example, if the minor has been using or storing drugs). The answer is evident from the definition of a settlement, i.e. a settlement is a process of negotiation between the victim and the offender, so in the absence of a victim there may be no settlement. 62 As restorative justice services are provided for victims, the primary focus should be on the interests and needs of the victim; however, there are also the interests and needs of the offender that have to be taken into account and respected. Even in the framework of a settlement this balance is difficult to attain, and mediators admit that in many cases the victims have disproportionate demands and there have been cases when victims have abused the offender s wish to seek an out-of-court solution. There are also situations when settlements have been concluded and the offender has truthfully expressed regret for his or her behaviour and has been fully conscious of its consequences Availability of a settlement procedure and the issues and development of practice Section 381 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Procedure Law states that if the party initiating the proceedings determines that a settlement is possible and involvement of a mediator might be useful, this party may contact the State Probation Service. When the criminal offence has been committed by a minor, the State Probation Service is informed in all cases, except if the settlement has already been concluded. If the criminal offence involves a minor (irrespectively whether in the capacity of a victim or an offender), the party initiating the proceedings has an obligation to inform the State Probation Service, so that the mediators of the Service could contact the minor s representative and advise him or her about the possibility to participate in a settlement negotiation. State Probation Service staff, however, indicate that the party instituting proceedings frequently has a rather formal approach to this obligation; for example, according to the documents a minor has been involved in the criminal proceedings, but the information required for the settlement has not been included. The mediators of the Service have to make an additional effort to request the information for arranging the settlement, even though Section 8 of Cabinet Regulations No. 825 of December 4, 2007 The Procedure in which the State Probation Service Organizes and Conducts a Settlement through Mediators initially require much broader information about the case. The parties initiating the proceedings frequently make a mistake by turning to the State Probation Service also when the victim from the very beginning of the proceedings has refused to enter settlement negotiations. This results in additional work for the State Probation Service and an unpleasant experience for the victim, as the Service s staff approach him or her again with a settlement offer. The Law provides for forwarding such information only in those cases when a settlement is possible. The particular stage in the criminal proceedings during which the State Probation Service has to be informed about a possible settlement has not been defined. In practice this has led to situations when the police have failed to give timely information to the State Probation Service and the Prosecution has forwarded the request only after the case has been handed over to the Court. Such situations are inadmissible because minors are involved in criminal proceedings without using the possibility to close the case much faster, more effectively and with greater consideration. 61 Correspondence with Gunta Tetere, Senior Desk Officer of Mediation, Presentence Reports and Community Service Department. Riga, May 14, An ongoing concern is whether any work performed by an offender for the benefit of the victim should be regarded as subject to labour regulations. Taking into account the restorative justice approach and the practice of other countries the Law on the State Probation Service should be amended so as to eliminate the legal obstacles that complicate settlements in these circumstances. There is a need for a derogation stating that work performed for the victim s benefit is not subject to labour regulations. Currently, a proposal to this effect has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice. 62 Consultations with Diana Ziedina, Head of the Settlement Department and Senior Desk Officer Gunta Tetere of the State Probation Service. Riga, May 13, 2013.

17 RECOMMENDATIONS 1. There should be a single broader understanding of the victim, i. e. the victim is an individual harmed by a criminal offence irrespectively of whether he or she has reported the offence to the police or whether criminal proceedings have been initiated and the individual has the standing of a victim in criminal proceedings. 2. There should be a legislative document regulating the protection of victims rights and victim support. This document should set the standards for taking care of the victims needs by all the responsible government institutions, it should also establish the principles of inter-institutional cooperation and the mechanisms of surveillance. 3. Surveillance over law enforcement and support policies might be entrusted to an existing institution, for example, the Legal Aid Administration, by extending the scope of its obligations and its mandate. 4. There should be a national scale Intersectoral Board for effective provision for the rights of crime victims. 5. Law enforcement staff should have regular scheduled training for better ability to identify different victim categories and their needs with respect to the crisis cycle, and also to foster greater openness in communication and collaboration among all the responsible institutions involved in protecting and supporting the victim. 6. For higher capacity of dealing with victims, there should be mechanisms for preventing professional burnout. Staff should be provided with appropriate professional advice and practical training sessions for learning how to control and deal with emotions when communicating with victims who are aggressive and in a borderline state. 7. There should be equal support to victims irrespectively of their place of residence (local accessibility). Victim protection and support in the regions requires particular attention and additional solutions, for example, setting up regional work groups for strengthening inter-institutional cooperation and sharing information among management and mid-level staff. 8. There is a need to change the attitude underestimating the consequences of the offence the victim has suffered; the individual s perception of the harm inflicted by the offence should be respected, and the psychological and social and economic factors should be taken into account. 9. Academic programmes in Law should include victimology as a mandatory course; whereas knowledge about the values of restorative justice and its practices, settlement and mediation, etc. should be integrated in the basic curriculum and offered as elective courses in the study programme. 10. Legislation that states that in case of actual or potential infringement of an individual s rights the judge or the judiciary may decide on providing for the protection of the individual s rights upon a reasoned application by the individual or an application submitted through the police has been under discussion for some time. It will be the legal basis for more effective protection of women who are exposed to violence from their spouse or sexual partner. An important precondition for implementation is training and capacity building among the police staff, so that protection of the interests of victims would in actual fact be seen as a priority: at present there is still a lack of empathy and respect in the police force for victims of domestic violence and a wish to avoid registering such offences and initiating criminal proceedings. 11. An effort should be made to ensure that the medical files of victims are sufficiently accurate and promptly received by forensic medical experts. Sound and transparent circulation of records results in fewer gaps in expert evaluations, and makes the victims eligible for government granted compensation. 12. There is a need for improving the arrangements around victim interrogation: adequate premises should be provided, lengthy and repeated interrogation of both victims and witnesses over a long period of time should be avoided. 13. Most of the victims have a need to be heard out directly after the offence they have suffered; therefore victims are ready to speak out without giving due consideration to the consequences that may ensue. Secondary victimization frequently takes place after the victim has talked to a journalist, when the journalist through his message has made the victim s experience public giving details about his or her personality and family members. Therefore, it is important to educate mass media representatives about the very fragile borderline between support, the wish to hear out an individual and offer assistance and secondary victimization. The information made public in the mass media in many cases is more detrimental to the victim than no public information altogether. Representatives of the mass media have to feel the line and maintain neutrality also for the sake of smooth criminal proceedings, so that investigation and collection of evidence would not be impeded. Mass media should be responsible for what they do, and effective compliance with ethical and moral standards should be provided by the sector. 14. Dramatic and selective reflection of violent crimes in mass media does not, in fact, serve public interest. The result is often a misconception of the criminal situation by the public with insufficient focus on prevention of crime. Mass media is a tool which, if used in a professional way, may benefit all the parties involved: the victims, the staff of law enforcement institutions and the public at large. Mass media have a lot of influence which, appropriately focussed, and should be used to develop a responsive, supportive and participatory public environment. 15. There is a need for offering special support to women and children who have suffered from violence, since these two victim categories are the ones most exposed to the risks of repeated and secondary victimization (mostly intimidation and revenge). The network of night support centres has to be strengthened through increasing the number of such centres and diversifying their services (for example, they could be used as night shelters in case of a crisis when preventive measures are unwelcome or impossible, as rehabilitation centres, a.o.) and on a regional basis making them available not only for children and the women that accompany them, but also to other categories of adults, especially women who have suffered from domestic violence. 16. When a victim support service is established for emotional, practical, legal and other assistance to cover all the victims of crime, it is important to remember that Latvia lacks a single set of NGOs dedicated to supporting and protecting crime victims (as it is in Scotland or in the Netherlands). The government has to take a leading role in setting up the support service and network either by fully integrating it into state administration or by delegating some of the support measures to NGOs complying with the appropriate criteria. 17. In parallel to a victim support service integrated in state administration, there is a need to strengthen public involvement and establish a separate platform for organizations that support specific victim categories; for example, this might be an association integrated in the European network of victim support organizations and strategically supported by the international movement for victim support (Victim Support Europe). 18. The research showed that the number of criminal offences that remain unreported to the police is very high in Latvia. This means that the police are not able to identify all the victims that might require support and have to develop additional arrangements for identifying and supporting also those victims who do not have the standing of a victim in criminal proceedings. 19. A continuous and stable funding is a precondition of a strong and effective victim support system. At present, Latvia has no single system and concept of government granted funding for victim support. The financing awarded by the government is fragmented and insufficient, and, therefore, systematic development and extension of the services is hardly possible. The solution proposed is to 32 33

18 establish a Victim Support Fund. The Fund s income might be based on a fee levied on the offenders, or a certain percentage of any other fee collected by the government. There should also be a separate budget line for establishing a victim support service. The funding should be diversified by gradually attracting financing from the EU. Municipal resources should also be made more available. However, given the unequal distribution of resources among the municipalities, there should be a mechanism for central government intervention, if for a valid reason the municipality cannot ensure the required funding. 20. At present, the victims protect their interests largely on their own. Government granted free legal aid is available only for the low income groups, with some limited aid additionally available in the crises centres. Free legal aid should be granted to all the victims involved in criminal proceedings, and at least one free session of advice should be available for those individuals who do not know how to handle certain situations, for example, whether to report or not and where, to whom and how the reporting should take place, etc. 21. Psychological and legal support should be provided also for those victims who participate in the proceedings in the status of a witness. 22. Provision of victim support in the regions is an issue that requires immediate attention. A possible solution might be a one stop mobile support service or clinic. 23. Victims should be aware of their rights and make use of them; this includes requesting and receiving adequate support. Firstly, most of the victims suffer from a feeling of guilt that stops them from requesting and seeking aid; secondly, they are not informed about their rights and entitlements. The support system should be organized in a way which ensures that support is offered to the victim and provided irrespectively of whether he or she is aware of his or her rights and entitlements. 24. There should be a victim identification and case management system that ensures prompt exchange of information among the institutions that primarily come into contact with the victim. Preferably, the contact details of a victim who has been brought to the attention of the police should be automatically made available to the support services, except when the victim has clearly expressed his or her unwillingness to share the information. (The appropriate data protection measures should be assessed.) 25. The work of the victim support service should be based on individual needs assessment and stepped care. The cooperation mechanism through which victims can be easily referred for specialized support should be strengthened. 26. If a certain minimum amount of services is delegated to NGOs, it may be expedient to use volunteer work, on condition that there is adequate financing for employing administrative staff, experts, training staff and other professionals and effective volunteer training programmes, as well as supervisions. Volunteers should be trained as first advisers and case managers for the victim; they should carry out an individual needs assessment, hear out the victim with empathy, provide emotional support, give answers to urgent legal questions and, if appropriate, refer the victim to a professional. 27. From the time of the first contact, every party initiating proceedings should explain to the victim the meaning of the procedural decisions, his or her rights and possibility of participating in the proceedings. 28. There should be information material for victims giving information about victims rights and available support, and how to act when communicating with the police, the prosecution, social services and the judiciary, a.o. bodies, if they have suffered as a result of a criminal offence. Such information in clear and accessible language (clarifying procedures step by step, with the help of charts) should be freely available at schools, police stations, institutions, publicly available locations, mass media, etc. The abovementioned information and support should be made better available also to those individuals who do not know the official state language. 29. The maximum amount of government granted compensation should be gradually increased. 30. The one year term within which victims who have suffered from intentional crime may apply for government granted compensation should be extended to three years. 31. There should be a Victim Compensation Fund serving to resolve situations when effective collection of a civil claim in a criminal case is impossible because of the limited financial resources of the defendant. The amount of compensation and the eligible victim categories should be defined. 32. The parties initiating the proceedings should take better care of informing the State Probation Service about settlement possibilities in specific criminal cases, so that the latter would not further injure the victim by proposing settlement negotiations which the victim has already turned down without the Service knowing about it. 33. The parties initiating proceedings and the public should be further educated about the settlement procedure implemented by the State Probation Service and its positive aspects. The victim support service in Latvia may be organized in one of the following ways: a) By maintaining it within government administration; b) By delegating it to one central NGO; c) By maintaining the administrative functions within the government, while delegating specific functions to the NGO network. Any changes in the protection of victims rights should be implemented in a structured way; the appropriate legal framework which has to be developed should be supported with the required financial and human resources within the context of criminal proceedings and beyond. A research based assessment of the resources available for the protection of victims in Latvia leads to conclude that: 1) The presently available resources for support are insufficient; 2) They are not organized so as to form a single system; 3) Because of the fragmented nature of the support tools, victims find it difficult to access even such support that is available

19 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OTHER SOURCES Research and reports 1. Brazkowska, О., Debinska, К., Gawenda, A., Toporowski, J., Piechowiak, T. Assistance to Victims in Poland selected issues. Poland, Available at: 2. Commission Staff Working Paper. Impact Assessment SEC(2011) 580 final. Available at: eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=sec:2011:0580:fin:en:pdf [Consulted on: ] 3. Commission Staff Working Paper. Impact Assessment SEC(2011) 580 final Available at: [Consulted on: ] 4. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for United States Department of State. Bureau of Democracy. Human Rights and Labor. Available at: organiza-tion/ pdf [Consulted on: ] 5. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, the Economic and Social Committee of the Regions. Strengthening victims rights in the EU.COM/2011/0274. May 18, 2011, final, and Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime COM (2011) 275 final /0129 (COD) (2012/C 43/09). Available at: LV:PDF [Consulted on: ] 6. Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. 2011/0129 (COD).Available at: com_ COM (2011)0275_lv.pdf [Consulted on: ] 7. Explanatory Report to Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Available at: bernu_tiesibas/ep_konvencija2.pdf [Consulted on: ] 8. Final report on implementation of the programme for reduction of domestic violence Ministry of Welfare, Available at: [Consulted on: ] 9. Data of the Ministry of Home Affair s Information Centre as of May Made available at the request of the public policy centre Providus. 10. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, the Economic and Social Committee of the Regions. Strengthening victims rights in the EU. COM/2011/0274. May 18, Available at: V:DOC [Consulted on: ] 11. Victimization Survey of the Latvian Population. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, SIA Fieldex, Leferink, S., Elbersen, M., Jammers, V., de Lorij, A., Sessink, M. Victims support services in the Netherlands. Netherlands, Available at: Manchin, R. et. al.the Burden of Crime in EU. Research Report: A Comparative Analysis of the European Crime and Safety Survey (EU ICS), Marklun, L. Country Report Sweden. Sweden, Available at: Victim survey of the clients of Legal Aid Administration and State Probation Service. Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, Review on the situation of children in Latvia in Ministry of Welfare, Available at: www. mk.gov.lv/doc/2005/lmzino_050213_berni.2680.doc [Consulted on: ] 17. Reviews on social rehabilitation services provided to children who have suffered from wrongdoing in Ministry of Welfare, Available at: [Consulted on: ] 18. Petersson, F. Do you know how supporting victims of crime is helping Scotland? Victim Support Scotland, Scotland, Commission Staff Working Paper. Impact Assessment SEC(2011) 580 final Available at: FIN:EN:PDF [Consulted on: ] 19. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating the sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, repealing Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA. Available at: eu гора.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_ europeenne/com/2010/0094/ COM_COM%282010%290094_EN.pdf [Consulted on: ] 20. Programme for reduction of domestic violence for Ministry of Family and Child Affairs. Available at: [Consulted on: ] 21. Putniņa, A. Vardarbība un veselība. [Violence and Health] Report on the situation in Latvia. Ministry of Health of Latvia, Public Health Agency and European Regional Office of WHO, 2007, Available at: [Consulted on ] 22. Statistical data of the Disease Control and Prevention Centre, Section Trauma and Injuries. Records in the diagnoses related patient register of patients with traumas and injury. Recorded traumas in 2011 related to age groups. Available at: [Consulted on: ] 23. Report from the Commission pursuant to Article 18 of the Council Framework Decision of 15 March 2001on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings (2001/220/JHA). Available at: eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=com:2009:0166:fin:en:pdf [Consulted on: ] 24. Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States: Violence against Women-Victim Support. Report by European Institute for Gender Equality. European Union, Available at: Support-Report.pdf [Consulted on: ] 25. Salla, J., Surva, L., Uprus-Tali, K. Supporting Victims of Crime in Estonia. Estonia, Available at: Uscila, R. Selected Case Studies: EU best practices victims support mechanisms. Lithuania, Available at: Crime%20in%20the%20EU.pdf [Consulted on: ] 27. Domestic violence against women. Recommendations for specialists in reproductive health on patient examination and aid. WHO Regional Office of Europe, Ministry of Health of Latvia, Latvian Association of Gynecologists and Obstetritians, Available at: vardarbiba_gimene_rekomendacijas.pdf [Consulted on: ] 28. Veisz, G. Report on Hungarian Victim Support. Hungary, Available at: Wheldon, F. Case study regarding the setting up of a victim support services - Experience from Victim Support Scotland. Scotland, Available at: Legislation 30. Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. United Nations General Assembly. A/RES/40/34, 29 November 1985, 96th plenary meeting. Available at: [Consulted on: ] 36 37

20 31. European Convention on Human Rights. Rome, November 4, Available at: echr. coe.int/documents/convention_lav.pdf [Consulted on: ] 32. EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (2007/C 303/01) version after the Treaty of Lisbon. Available at: C LV htm [Consulted on: ] 33. Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Available at: konven-cijal.pdf [Consulted on: ] 34. Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. Available at: [Consulted on: ] 35. Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA. Available in Latvian: Lex-UriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:315:0057:0073:LV:PDF and in English: UriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:315:0057:0073:EN:PDF[Consulted on: ] 36. Constitution of the Republic of Latvia. Law of the Republic of Latvia. Available at: likumi.lv/doc.php?id=57980 [Consulted on: ] 37. Council Directive 2004/80/EC of 29 April 2004 relating to compensation to crime victims. OJ L 261, 06/08/2004, pp Available at: ri=celex:32004l0080:lv:html [Consulted on: ] 38. Council Framework Decision of 15 March 2001 on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings. 2001/220/JHA, OJ L 082, 22/03/2001. pp Available at: [Consulted on: ] 39. Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on combating terrorism. 2002/475/JHA). OJ L 164, 22/06/2002, pp Available at: do?uri=celex:32002f0475:lv:html [Consulted on: ] Conference proceedings 40. Dearing, A. Taking Victims Rights Seriously. Victims of Crime and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Presentation at the conference Supporting Victims of Crime: Possibilities and Challenges, Riga, February. 41. McKenna, D. Prioritizing Victims Needs and a Balanced Response. Presentation at the conference Supporting Victims of Crime: Possibilities and Challenges, Riga, February. Interviews and focus group discussions 42. Interview with Žanna Dvorecka and Iveta Grīnberga, Legal Aid Administration staff. Riga, January 20, Interview with Juris Dilba, Lawyer at the women s resource centre Marta. Riga, November 26, Interview with Viktorija Boļšakova, Senior Desk Officer of Child and Family Policy Department at the Ministry of Welfare. December 3, Interview with Alla Spruģevica, Head of the Talsi District Crisis Centre. Talsi, December 19, Interview with Andrejs Grišins, Chief of the Criminal Police division of the State Police, Vice Chief of the State Police. Riga, April 16, Interview with Sandra Zalcmane, Board Chairperson of NGO Shelter A Safe Home. Riga, November 26, Project Support System for Crime Victims: in Latvia and Beyond. Focus Group 1. Riga, December 17, Interview with Judge Baiba Jēkabsone, Riga City Kurzemes District Court. Riga, April 17, Interview with Jana Feldmane, Head of the Public Health Department Environmental Health Division of the Ministry of Health. Riga, April 17, lnterview with Judge No1. Riga, April 17, lnterview with Oļegs Javerbaums, Acting Head of the Forensic Clinical Expertise Division of the State Centre for Forensic Medical Examination. April 18, Project Support System for Crime Victims: in Latvia and Beyond. Focus Group 2. Riga, April 18, Project Support System for Crime Victims: in Latvia and Beyond. Focus Group 3. Riga, April 19, Interview with Aiga Rūrāne, Head of the Latvian Representation of WHO Regional Office for Europe. Riga, April 23, Interview with Arvīds Kalniņš, Chief Prosecutor of Prosecutor General s Criminal Department. Riga, April 24, Interview with Pēteris Tomiņš, Head of Emergency and Patient Admission Clinic of the Riga Eastern Clinical University hospital. Riga, May 2, Interview with Aija Tipāne, Deputy Head of the Emergency Medical Assistance Service Riga Regional Centre. Riga, May 3, Interview with Sarmīte Villere, Senior Doctor on Duty of the Emergency Medical Assistance Service Riga Regional Centre, cardiologist. Riga, May 3, Telephone interview with Ieva Baidekalna, representative of the Latvian association of Gynecologists and Obstetritians. Riga, May 10, Telephone interview with Līga Kozlovska, President of the Latvian Association of Rural Family Doctors. Riga, May 10, Consultations with Diāna Ziediņa, Head of the Settlement Department and Senior Desk Officer Gunta Tetere of the State Probation Service. Rīga, May 13, Interview with Iveta Kruka, Sworn Bailiff. Rīga, May 14,

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22 CONFERENCE REPORT Supporting Victims of Crime in Latvia Possibilities and Challenges Opening of the Conference Panel I: Prioritizing Victims Needs Way Towards Restoring Justice and Adopting a More Balanced Response to Crime Panel II: Supporting Victims Snapshot of Latvia and European Best Practices and Lessons Learned Panel III: Noticing and Understanding Victims Needs in Latvia Panel IV: Future Prospects for a National Policy for Protection and Support of Victims of Crime in Latvia Conference Findings Summary Theses Opening of the Conference In 21 February 2013 during the opening of the conference Supporting Victims of Crime in Latvia Possibilities and Challenges participants were addressed by officials and leading specialists whose have the closest contacts or responsibility for people - victims of crime in their daily work: Vita Tērauda, Director for the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS Ilze Viņķele, Minister of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia Juris Jansons, Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia Guntars Marķitāns, Deputy Head of the State Police of the Republic of Latvia Aleksandrs Dementjevs, Director of State Probation Service Jānis Bordâns, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Latvia Denisa Fikarova, representative of the European Commission Directorate-General for Justice It is easy to punish and be punished as it enables some to manifest power and others to buy themselves out of the offence. However, responsible treatment of the most vulnerable people victims - requires a certain degree ofmaturity from the society itself. One of the aims of the conference was to demonstrate to the society and law enforcement specialists that in any country the establishment of a support system for victims of crime and targeted activity in providing this support in daily life was closely related to the ability of institutions, agencies and nongovernmental organisations to collaborate in an inter-institutional environment and for the benefit of one goal. There is no doubt that crime prevention is one of the basic tasks of the internal security of a country to ensure that every person feels safe and secure in the state of Latvia. However, irrespective of the above crime as a social phenomenon exists in every society thus, it is not possible to completely eliminate its adverse consequences. There is a view that if a criminal offence has been committed the state has failed to guarantee the right of the member of the society to protection against harm that the person has suffered. In this case there should be state-guaranteed compensation mechanisms in place that make it possible to eliminate the adverse consequences incurred by the criminal offence to the victim and the society at large. V. Tērauda pointed out in her address: We are well aware that no system can be ideal. However, it is important that everybody has the knowledge, certainty and confidence in our law enforcement system. Knowledge how to act if a criminal offence has been committed. Certainty that it is possible through this action to transfer the situation management to professionals and know that now everything will be fine. Confidence that the system works for the benefit of the victim from the moment of notifying the police till the review of the case at the highest court instance. At present we cannot yet speak of knowledge, certainty and confidence in Latvia there is no comprehensive victim support system. At present support is accessible only for some groups of victims: the state has at its disposal some support instruments and separate forms of support provided by the more active non-governmental organisations. During the conference today we hope to provoke specialists to change the customary point of view and to seek an answer to the question: what should our national victim support system be so that we could really say that the victim stands in the centre of the Latvian law enforcement system? To do in a way that the actual goal is restoration of justice for a specific person who has 42 43

23 suffered from a criminal offence, so that the victim is not marginalized in a system where the criminal procedure and other legal procedures have started to dominate while the victim has become only a supporting actor and the leading parts have been given to those who punish and those who deserve to be punished. It is easy to punish and be punished as it enables some to manifest power and others to buy themselves out of the offence. However, responsible treatment of the most vulnerable people victims - requires a certain degree of maturity from the society itself and that is our challenge. The thinking of specialists and the society should change so that the victim finally stands in the centre of our law enforcement system: from focusing on the search and penalisation of the guilty party to compensation of the harm incurred to the victim, at the same time understanding that such compensation is not only of material character but it includes also recovering the emotional and legal balance. The change of thinking has always been a long-term process it is the result of long discussions and small but still regular changes. If the society has the desire then changes is only a matter of time: There have always been many sceptics and people who do not believe, however, the fact that over the last twenty years Latvia has experienced a series of revolutions in thinking gives us hope. Since the restoration of independence we have discussed the revocation of the capital punishment in Latvia that resulted in amendments to the Criminal Law enacted by the Saeima in December 2011 that deleted death from the law as a legitimate solution of criminal law. Fifteen years ago we started speaking about the fact that a prison term was neither the main nor the only type of penalty; moreover, it was not at all successful thus forming motivation for the implementation of alternative penalties. This idea materialized in a new institution the State Probation Service and today penalties without isolation from the society are not rare, they have become our common daily life, Vita Tērauda added at the end of her address. Physical and emotional traumas caused by violence play a significant role in the further development of the personality therefore people should be told and taught already now that violence, cruelty and suffering should not be tolerated, that it is not a norm that has to be reconciled with but a situation where no one should be ashamed to seek assistance. Changes in the society and human thinking are not always related to changes in some legal norm often changes are determined by quite simple human needs, for example, the need to be heard, noticed. When crime and evil it has brought about gain an upper hand over legality and justice, it hurts all people at the same time the society at large: denigration of those values of communal life, including rights and societal norms as well as separate people who are exposed to suffering due to the illegal behaviour of other people. Suffering caused by the damage resulting from crime must not become a norm in the society as it readies the soil for harmful behaviour in future. It is no secret that Physical and emotional traumas caused by violence play a significant role in the further development of the personality there have been cases also in Latvia when former victims have failed to get to terms with their traumatic experience and become criminals at a later stage and even cause the death of other people. Therefore people should be told and taught already now that violence, cruelty and suffering should not be tolerated, that it is not a norm to be reconciled with but that there are situations where no one should be ashamed to seek assistance. For this to be possible, such assistance must exist and should available to everybody who needs it, pointed out I.Viņķele in her address. Planned and needs-related social work for the more vulnerable groups of the society, among them also victims, is responsible and sustainable action taken already now to bring closer the tomorrow where there would be less violence, suffering and punishment, more responsibility and cooperation. On the whole, this is a suitable moment for the establishment of a victim support system in Latvia Latvian specialists have, at their disposal, their own experience, recommendations of specialists from international organisations (the Council of Europe, the United Nations Organisation and other institutions) as well as examples of the best practice from foreign colleagues. However, we should be aware that a victim support system for needs of Latvia can be established only by investing our own efforts as the specific system will have to operate in Latvia. It is a complicated taskas it, actually, requires the development of a model for inter-institutional cooperation where representatives of various professions: policemen, prosecutors, social workers and others would work together to ensure that support reaches the victim in the right time and in the right place and on a scale that each victim requires to satisfy his needs. At the end of her address I.Viņkele emphasized that social work did not mean only allocation of benefits and social work was not exhausted by the receipt of benefits. Planned and needs-related social work for the more vulnerable groups of the society, among them also victims, is responsible and sustainable action already now to bring closer the tomorrow where there would be less violence, suffering and punishment, more responsibility and cooperation. Police specialists play a significant role in the inter-institutional model as they are the first who come into contact with the victim, immediately after the criminal offence has been reported. Professionalism of police specialists is directly related not only to criminal persecution of the offender but also to the initial support to victims. Police is one of those internal security service institutions that work without interruption. It is to ensure that the population is protected against criminal intentions at all times. The State Police and the Municipal Police, often together with emergency medical aid specialists are those public agencies, which are first to arrive at the site of the accident or crime, see consequences caused by the offender, including the harm caused to the victim and victim himself/herself. In view of the above, the police has the most important role to play in communication with the victim in respect of the quality of initial testimonies of victims and if they are recorded at all, the inspection of the crime site, recording of evidence to be able to call the offender to justice prescribed by law as well as if the victim is going to come to the police station at all and file the application after the call to the police. G.Marķitāns emphasized: The first contact with the police may be at the basis of a successful legal solutions and serve later interests of the victim and public safety, however, it can also give rise to latent crime that is outside the control exercised by the state it happens in cases when the victim already has or acquires negative experience of contacts with policemen. A policeman cannot be a substitute for all specialists in providing support to victims there should be a well-formed support system that the police could cooperate with. The task of the State Police immediately after harm has been inflicted to the victim, is to provide support to this person until competent specialists arrive or the victim is taken to them. The police have sizeable tasks to perform in the victim support system to explain the role of the police and procedures of criminal proceedings; to explain it to the victim how to preserve evidence; to accompany the victim to a medical institution; to explain victim s rights and possibilities of receiving

24 compensation; to provide emotional support. However, the policeman cannot substitute for all specialists in this process. In victim support there should be a well-formed support system on the part of other involved institutions that the police could cooperate with in performing these complicated tasks. The main task is to act in a way that reduces the adverse consequences of illegal action to provide emotional as well as material support to the victims at the same time diminishing the risk that the person could be hurt again to avoid secondary and repeated victimisation during as well as outside the criminal proceedings. In order to change the emphasis in the national criminal policy the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia has drafted large-scale amendments to the Criminal Law. As a result the aim to restore justice has been placed in the foreground of the area of the security of the society. In its essence this aim is inter-institution and will require much closer cooperation in the subsequent planning of work from agencies of the law enforcement and social areas than ever before, J. Bordāns emphasized in his address to participants of the conference. Already now the Latvian Criminal Procedure Law envisages a set of options for restoring rights of the victim in this process. However, this area should be developed further, providing more protection for victims against repeated and secondary victimisation and the adverse consequences of violence, in particular by developing mechanisms for applying legal norms in practice. It is essential that special protection is envisaged for the most vulnerable groups of the society children and people with special needs who have become victims of crime. At the beginning of 2013 the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia established a work group entrusted with the task to assess the situation in the area of victim support with particular care, to draft proposals for expanding legal acts and for improving the practice of enforcing rights so that system worked for the victims and our society became safer in general. In 25 October 2012 the Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and Council of 25 October 2012 took effect, establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime for member states of the European Union, including Latvia. The Directive prescribes that Member States will bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 16 November 2015, and will report to the European Commission about progress in implementing the Directive by 16 November The position of the European Commission and the support strategy for the implementation of the Directive was explained to participants of the conference by Denisa Fikarova, the representative from the European Commission Directorate- General for Justice. The framework of the Directive prescribes that, irrespective of the presence of specific mechanisms in the national systems of law and practice, it is of paramount importance that a victim support system is developed that has a comprehensive character, namely, a system that responds to victims needs. Another factor, no less important for the implementation of the given Directive is the crossborder character of victim support systems so that EU nationals could receive support and protection in any of the member states The representative of the European Commission D.Fikarova emphasized that the implementation of the given Directive was not possible by applying the traditional imperative approach: by posing demands to member states and controlling the execution of conditions. A quality process is needed for the achievement of the set goals therefore promotion of cooperation among member states themselves and active communication among member states and European institutions are to play a significant role. The Directive sets only the common goals to be achieved by the European Union member states as well as the timeframe, leaving the choice of forms and methods applied in achieving the goals to the discretion of each member state. 1 Individual people become victims of crime and it is due to this reason that is essential that they are treated as individuals with their needs for respectful treatment, recognition, protection and support. A particular assessment should be made if victims have sufficient access to judicial institutions and other public institutes required for the restoration of their rights. The Directive is only one step closer to an organised victim support system in Europe. The extent to which the identified goals will be achieved and the quality of the outcome in each country are directly dependent on the individual efforts of each country. The victim support and protection system should be capable of providing a complex and comprehensive response to the adverse consequences of the criminal offence: it can focused only on a narrow range of persons or only separate victims, it must provide support to everybody who has become a victim of illegal actions, focusing in particular on the most vulnerable groups of the society. It should be taken into account that the adverse consequences of the criminal offence affect not only victims, they bring suffering to their relatives as well spouses, children, siblings and parents. Special protection is required for people who themselves are incapable of sufficiently effective protection or restoration of their rights, namely, children and people with special needs. D.Fikarova emphasized that: The victim support system must ensure at least the state-provided minimum of services that individuals can apply to restore their rights: information about practical issues and procedures, the possibility of seeking advice and receiving emotional support, access to specialists and shelters. Member states of the European Union have different legal traditions and forms of justice systems, understanding of organisation of support mechanisms for victims. In some countries victim support systems are sufficiently developed already now while others still have to cover a long way of development; that is why the implementation of the aims laid down by the Directive is flexible and equipped with support mechanisms by the European Commission: guidelines, exchange of opinion among specialists and possibilities of implementing pilot projects. This is an excellent moment to achieve real changes for victims. 1 Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. Available: UriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:315:0057:0073:EN:PDF

25 PANEL I Prioritizing Victims Needs Way Towards Restoring Justice and Adopting a More Balanced Response to Crime The task of participants in the first panel discussion was to outline a range of victim-related aspects, including: needs of various groups of victims, significance of support for victims of crime to reduce the adverse impact of consequences of crime on the society at large and tolerance of the society towards consequences of crime. Participants of the panel discussion paid particular attention to the implementation of various victim support models. Participants discussed ways how restorative justice methods and instruments could be applied to a set of victims needs, in particular when addressing the conflict between individuals that has arisen as a result of criminal offences and prevention of cases of secondary and repeated victimisation. The leading European specialists in the area of victim support participated in this discussion: >> David McKenna, President of the organisation Victim Support Europe : Prioritising Victims Needs and a Balanced Response >> Albin Dearing, the Programme Manager Research - Criminal Law and Criminal Justice - of the Freedoms and Justice Department at the Union Agency for Fundamental Rights: Allowing Victims of Crime to Access Justice >> Daniela Bolivar Fernandez, PhD in criminology (KULeuven), European Forum for Restorative Justice, coordinator of the research project Victims and Restorative Justice : Prioritizing Victims Needs: the Victims and Practitioners Perspective Assistance to victims must be provided by an independent institution working in close cooperation with the public administration and involving resources of voluntary work. The selection of volunteers must follow certain principles and they should be provided sufficient training for work with victims to enable them to provide independent and fee support respecting confidentiality in work with victims of crime. According to the data at the disposal of the organisation Victim Support Europe, 75 million people in Europe annually suffer from criminal offences. Ten out of every 1000 people die as a result of criminal offences while several million have been robbed or burglared, David McKenna said in his presentation. This are sufficiently serious evidence to conclude without any doubt that in Europe masses of people suffer from the adverse consequences of criminal offences and they need help. To reduce adverse consequences of criminal offences as well as to provide quality support to victims, the organisation Victim Support Europe unites more than three thousand specialists from 22 European countries. The work of the organisation is supported by more than 20 thousand volunteers providing their contribution in organisation support activities for victims. The experience of using voluntary work in Europe shows that there is no difference quality-wise between functions provided by volunteers and paid staff; it is the motivation of these people that is essential: if people are convinced about the significance of the task to be performed, it has quality at all times. Assistance to victims should be provided by an independent agency. Independent institutions is something that I believe in! Namely, the system of justice must establish independent institutions that are at an arm s length from the government. Whether it is a victim support service or a probation service, it does not matter that much, David McKenna notes. Victims still have not become a priority for the criminal justice system: at present offenders have much more rights and opportunities when involved in the criminal proceedings than victims of crime whose protection is the duty of every country. Failure to recognise the priority of victims in criminal proceedings and outside proceedings continues to be a serious problem in very many countries. It manifests itself in all areas of human communal life: in the depiction of sensitive information in the mass media where journalists interest in conveying sensational information to the society about criminal offences prevails over the right of the victim to private life; at the moment when financial resources are allocated from the national budget for the construction of a museum while nothing is earmarked for the victim support system due to the above reason; when funding is provided for the rehabilitation of substance addict offenders failing to take into account the fact that victims also suffer from such addictions however, they have no one to turn to. At present the proof that has been acquired shows that timely assistance to victims of crime enable them to sooner recover from emotional and physical traumas and not to become victims repeatedly. Often victims feel guilt, fear, insecurity; they lack information about possible action that would be in their best interests. In this situation a person who has become a victim faces the possibility of becoming a victim of crime again. It is necessary to pay more attention to precluding the possibility that a person who has already suffered from a criminal offence becomes a victim repeatedly. Practice shows that if a child has suffered at school there is a ten times higher probability of suffering repeatedly from a criminal offence; a person who has suffered from a theft, has a four times higher probability that he will be exposed to a theft again; for example, the elderly who have suffered from thefts, more often become victims of thefts again, points out David McKenna. The main challenges to providing for victims needs are sustainability of support systems, implementation of restorative justice instruments and provision of support to victims that is similar in scope and quality to support 48 49

26 that is currently provided to offenders. It is high time to learn to perceive benefits from assistance to victims, not treating it only as an additional burden for the budget or organisation of work. Thus, for example, provision of support to victims: reduces crime, repeat offending and repeated victimisation, increases confidence and trust of people in the criminal justice system, reduces the demand for health care services and related costs, diminishes fear of crime as a result the criminal justice system becomes more effective, also cost-wise while the society at large becomes more affluent and safer. Crime as a social phenomenon and ensuing problems have to be taken into consideration and they should be treated seriously. The right of the individual to safety and security is a fundamental human right and the first duty of the state to its inhabitants, namely the first duty of the state is to respect rights of each individual while the second duty is to protect the fundamental rights of individuals. If the state fails to fulfil its first and second duty, it faces its third duty to compensate for damage incurred to the individual. The criminal procedure serves two rights of victims: the right to effective protection and the right to compensation. According to fundamental human rights, it is the duty of each state to recognise and protect rights of the individual, however, in the event of the state s failure to fulfil this duty it is the duty of the state to compensate for the damage incurred to the victim. If a criminal offence has taken place, in order to protect the fundamental rights of the individual, it is the duty of the state to undertake a comprehensive investigation of the offence and to guarantee the individual s rights to a fair trial and compensation. However, there is no uniform opinion concerning the actual status of the victim in the criminal procedure: more of a witness or an active participant of the proceedings. From the point of fundamental human rights the victim is an active participant of the proceedings and it is stipulated by the victim s right to effectively participate in the criminal proceedings during the whole process. If the victim is considered to be only an equivalent to a witness, a risk appears that the role of the victim in the criminal proceedings may be reduced to serving the best interests of the society within the frame of criminal proceedings penalisation of the guilty party, proving the person s guilt and in performing similar criminal legal procedures. However, rights of victims do not depend on their readiness to support investigation or criminal prosecution. The right of the victim to a fair trial and participation in criminal proceedings should be enshrined not only in the written norms of law; these rights must be exercised in practice. It means: a) these rights must be exercised in practice not only in cases when under the law the person has already been recognised to be a victim in the specific criminal proceedings as well as b) the responsibility and active action of the state to help potential victims to become aware that they have rights. When assessing the current victim support systems and their failings Albin Dearing pointed out that there are significant differences in existence in European countries that are related to several indicators: accessibility of victim support; tasks of victim support services are closely related and dependent on the scope of victims rights, in particular the scope that has been prescribed by the criminal procedure; the role of the state in providing financial support and in coordinating support measures for victims; the involvement of volunteers in the victim support system, the existence of non-governmental and charity organisations in the country; division of work between charity organisations and special service providers; accessibility of support for specific groups of victims, for example, victims of traffic accidents, hate crimes; the approach followed in organising support for victims and offenders by separating these functions; the availability of support at the request of the victim and the existence of proactive intervention; cooperation among public agencies and their mutual trust; availability of financial resources during the crisis period. Currently it is possible to identify several features revealing a trend that monitoring of victim support initiatives starts moving from the private sector to the competence of the state. It is determined by the increasing need for victims to receive legal assistance. At the same time the role of non-governmental organisations and volunteers should be retained in providing other forms of support to victims and an independent victim support system monitoring that should be linked to harmonized standards and quality monitoring criteria. One of the most widely practiced approaches in providing victim support is restorative justice. At present a wide and well developed range of methods is available within the frame of restorative justice that is focused on preventing the conflict that has arisen as a result of the criminal offence. Even though restorative justice is a philosophically homogenous system of instruments, practice in applying restorative justice in various European countries differs there are countries where these methods are more often applied to offenders while in other countries these methods are applied for victim support. Instruments of restorative justice are significant in restoring justice for victims. However, this method should be applied in cases of less serious offences when the harm inflicted to victims is not too grave, Daniela Bolivar Fernandez pointed out during her presentation. Views of restorative justice and victim support specialists on the role of this particular method in the victim support system vary: if victim support specialists hold the view that this method can be applied in reaching conciliation between the offender and the victim to address petty conflicts of criminal character, and more in-depth intervention is required in more serious cases, then restorative justice specialists believe that, for example, the method of conciliation can be applied irrespective of the severity of the harm done to the victim. If restorative justice is focused on needs of victims but not implementation of procedures in criminal proceedings this method is useful for addressing absolutely all conflicts that have arisen as a result of criminal offences. Insecurity and vulnerability of the victim does not always depend on the nature of the criminal offence a significant emotional trauma for the victim can be caused even by an offence which is not overly serious

27 PANEL II Supporting Victims Snapshot of Latvia and European Best Practices and Lessons Learned The tasks of the second panel were to disclose the impact of a comprehensive support system for victims of crime as well as challenges that participants of the discussion encountered in their respective countries. To identify benefits and failings in the cooperation among policy makers, law enforcement specialists, victim support services and other parties involved in the said process. Participants of this discussion were as follows: >> Andrejs Judins, a Member of the Parliament of Republic of Latvia and a researcher of the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS and Ilze Dzenovska, a researcher of the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS: Way Towards Substantial and Coordinated Protection and Support System for Victims of Crime in Latvia ; >> Ilona Michailoviè, a Research Fellow of the Criminological Research Department, the Law Institute of Lithuania: Existing Support Mechanisms for Victims of Crime in Lithuania ; >> Kaisa Üprus-Tali, the head specialist of the Victim Support Service, the Estonian National Social Insurance Board : National Victim Support Service in Estonia ; >> Jaanus Kangur, a researcher of the Baltic Institute for Crime Prevention and Social Rehabilitation and a board member of the organisation Victims Support Estonia : Bridging Victims Support and Restorative Justice Approach - a More Holistic Response to Crime in Estonia ; >> João Lázaro, the President of the Portuguese Association for Victim Support: Make it Happen for Victims of Crime in Portugal ; >> Frida Wheldon, the Head of the Policy Division of the organisation Victim Support Europe : How helping Victims of Crime is helping Scotland new perspective for Latvia. At present the legal system of Latvia faces simultaneously a challenge as well as a necessity: there is an objective necessity to establish a system that would ensure that people do not become victims of crime and would also provide support to those who have suffered from the criminal actions of other people. At present the set of victim support services that exist in Latvia cannot be called a purposefully developed victim support system. In Latvia there are several instruments for victim support state compensations for victims of crime, in some non-governmental organisations there are support circles that are available for victims, better support is provided to specific categories of victims: children and victims of human trafficking. Yet at the same time there is the need to formulate a comprehensive national victim support policy in the country to assess the current instruments and to develop new instruments that would operate through complementing each other in an inter-institutional environment. In order to record the situation in the summer of 2012 a survey was conducted among victims in Latvia that revealed that one third of individuals who had become victims of crime had not reported the violation of the law to the police. I.Dzenovska and A.Judins pointed out during their presentation that the establishment of a victim support system required concurrent complex action in several areas and that it was related to the improvement of cooperation among various law enforcement institutions: It is necessary to assess the efficiency of the current system and to formulate a set of research-based recommendations for the development of a comprehensive longterm national victim support policy, to improve the accessibility of information required by victims, to amplify understanding of the potential of restorative justice in eliminating adverse consequences caused by criminal offences, to increase the responsiveness of law enforcement agencies and the media as well as an understanding of victims needs and to develop cooperation between public institutions and non-governmental organisations in ensuring the protection of victims rights and victim support. The development of the victim support policy is obstructed by lack of information about the actual needs of victims as well as quantitative indicators concerning the actual number of victims of crime and types of criminal offences. Not infrequently an obstacle is also the perception of the society about priorities in restoring justice in cases when a criminal offence has been committed: an opinion still prevails among people that justice is restored at the moment when the guilty party is punished but not at the moment when the moral and material damage of the victim is compensated for. Undoubtedly, the criminal policy of a country reflects values of the society and law enforcement agency specialists as well. Traditionally in the event of a criminal offence people expect a repressive reaction from the state that manifests itself in the identification of the guilty party and in the manner of penalisation and the state identifies this penalisation policy as a priority. Under such circumstances it is absolutely logical that the victim is not included in the penalisation policy. If the criminal policy focused on the prevention of adverse consequences brought about by the criminal offence and the restoration of justice, then the victim would play the main role in such a policy. In actual fact, restoration of justice has nothing in common with the capture and penalisation of the offender it should be undertaken only for the purpose of putting an end to illegal action and for starting the resettlement of the guilty party within the frame of the enforcement of the punishment, but most importantly for the guilty party to compensate damages incurred to the victim and to understand the adverse consequences of the offence. The problem is present in the narrow and simplified understanding of the criminal procedure: even though the law emphasizes that the purpose of the criminal procedure is to achieve a fair 52 53

28 regulation of criminal legal relations, the victim often becomes a supporting actor in the criminal procedure with the sole task of helping to facilitate criminal proceedings. Needs of victims are not the point of reference in determining the criminal procedural rights of victims. Data of victims surveys show that not more than one fourth of victims have received assistance after the criminal offence. However, they have not received this support from specialists provided by the state or local governments but from their own friends, acquaintances and relatives. The analysis of results of the victims survey allows concluding that there is a distinctly high proportion of victims who have indicated that they would have needed support and assistance however, they have not received it, in particular in cases of robberies, assaults and burglaries. What victims have needed most of all has been a consultation from a lawyer, professional help of a psychologist or a psychotherapist. Likewise it is often mentioned that they have needed information what to do in the specific situation. According to date of the 2012 survey on needs of victims of crime: in Latvia victims need legal aid most of all - 39%, assistance of a psychologist, psychotherapist would be required in 30% of cases while 26% of victims need information how to proceed in the specific situation. Among the three Baltic States the situation of Latvia in the area of victim support resembles the situation in Lithuania. In 2009 new legal norms took effect in Lithuania prescribing the procedure and scope of compensations paid by the state to victims of crimes. Financial support to victims is paid from the Victim s Compensation Fund where payments are made by individuals who have violated the law. In Lithuania the amounts payable to the Victims Compensation fund are established by court. In Lithuania support to victims consists of two components: victims can receive legal aid and state compensation for harm incurred by violent criminal offences. In Lithuania conciliation between the victim and the offender is applied, however, it should be treated more as a legal procedure which does not have elements of restorative justice. Under the Criminal Law of Lithuania, conciliation of this kind resembles conditional release from criminal liability rather than a conflict resolutions method. Restorative justice as a body of methods and as an alternative to traditional justice is only at the implementation stage in Lithuania the Lithuanian Police implements a project focused on preventing violations of the law by minors by applying restorative justice methods. At present the Law Institute of Lithuania is in the process of implementing a project Perspectives of Restorative Justice in Lithuania to achieve a more extensive application of restorative justice methods. A victim support model that is an organisational success has been established in Estonia where there are 15 victim support centres operating in the territory of the country and which are mostly located in the police premises thus ensuring support to victims already after the commission of the criminal offence. These entities employ 27 specialists. The Victim Support Service in Estonia is under the Ministry of Social Affairs however, the work of the service is directly organised by the National Social Insurance Institution. The Estonian Law on Victim Support took effect in 2003 but the provision of services to victims of crime started in 1 January 2005 when the Department of Victim Support was established. The purpose of the Estonian National Victim Support Service is to preserve or improve the ability of people when have become victims of negligence, bad treatment, physical, mental or sexual violence. The Estonian National Victim Support Service has very diverse functions and they are closely related to the needs of victims themselves. Victims are provided assistance of various kinds: for example, the Centre helps victims to file an application and contact the police. Upon receiving assistance the victim may choose to remain anonymous. Likewise the Service joins the police in cases when it is necessary to inform family members about the death of the victim. Specialists work not only with victims of crime they visit schools and conduct preventive work with children informing them about ways how to evade violence. The Victim Support Centres cooperate with the police, the Mediation Service and probation in providing services. Cooperation with volunteers has not proved to be successful in Estonia. In order to provide assistance, assistance providers themselves should be sufficiently well prepared professionally, for example, it is necessary to have education in psychology or social work as well as certain skills. It was very complicated to find such volunteers; that is why at present there is no volunteer involvement system. The Estonian Victim Support Service uses various methods in its work and also invites the required specialists from other areas to improve the situation of victims. In Estonia the basket of victim support services includes the state compensation as well as legal aid and psychological emotional support. When the system is established anew, thought should be given also to the people who will work in the system. Each specialist of the service must have the right to receive paid supervision twice a year, however, if a specialist works on a very difficult case, there should be a possibility of receiving additional supervision, emphasizes Kaisa Üprus-Tali. In Estonia victim support specialists deal mostly with cases related to sexual, physical and mental violence, however, in some cases specialists work proactively with individuals who tend to be suicidal. In Estonia cooperation among public agencies, non-governmental institutions and research institutions is very important in the area of victim support. Still the system encounters some problems that are related to shortage of human resources, lack of understanding in the society about the significance of support measures, laying emphasis on penalising offenders. What are the solutions? Small, professional and dynamic teams of specialists are needed. Offenders should be given more options to compensate for and revert the damage incurred to the victim and the society, the mechanisms of 54 55

29 compensation that exist at present are very limited, explained Jaanus Kangur. In Portugal victim support functions are performed by the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV). It is a charity organisation with the aim to inform, protect and support victims of crime. By involving specialists and voluntary workers, the APAV provides free confidential support that is provided to victims in person and in a sensitive manner. The Portuguese Association for Victim Support does not concentrate only on providing support but it also stimulates cooperation with partners and decision-makers, participates in research studies, maintains the topicality of the victim support theme and promotes the understanding of the society about it as well as participates in formulating legislative amendments. Work with volunteers is considered to be relevant 250 volunteers are involved in providing support to victims. Support is organised by a total of 15 support centres, two shelters for women with children while two support institutions are intended for immigrants who have suffered from crime or ethnic discrimination. Institutions and agencies working in the area of the protection of rights, for example, the police as well as institutions that are not directly related to justice, for example, the Association of Gays and Lesbians are involved in providing support to victims in cooperation with the APAV. The development of the victim support system is related to the training of specialists and promotion of their professionalism who work or come into contact with victims. The Association provides internal and external training: the external training covers institutions of the justice and social sectors as well as health and education. To generate a more favourable attitude to provision of support to victims and ensure support for the victim support system itself, it is necessary to explain the most essential issues of this support system to the society, in particular, through visualisation and advertising campaigns. If a victim support organisation is established as an independent association, it has some advantages it is possible to attract funds of the state, local governments as well as foundations and sponsors for victim support. Cooperation and partnership at the local government, national and international level is essential for its successful implementation. As concerns support to victims of crime, it is important to emphasize that it is not the matter of a one-time crisis intervention. Experience of the APAV shows that long-term work with victims is required that is also related to long-term support and counselling, the development of security strategies and promotion of social integration. Careful, planned and continuous daily work is necessary to achieve lasting changes in human lives. Therefore support provided to victims of crime always involves a multidisciplinary approach, João Lázaro emphasizes and continues: Psychology, social work and jurisprudence are those areas where volunteers work on daily basis performing their basic duties. They are the driving force of the organisation as well as the main reason for its success. It is of paramount importance that victim support specialists are capable of explaining various legal issues and finding their way in them, otherwise the victim cannot take decisions that are based on the understanding of their essence and potential consequences. Psychological support of the APAV starts with focusing of the worries, symptoms or other matters of victims that cause them suffering that have originated as a result of the adverse consequences of the criminal offence. Victim support specialists apply various methods in their work however, all of them are applied with due respect and a comprehensive approach to the living environment of the victim. The Scottish victim support system has been in operation since 1974, providing support to victims and witness, at the same time organising the protection of interests of these people. The organisation Victim Support Scotland has developed over a long period of time. At present the organisation provides assistance to tens of thousands victims annually, however, such a result needs time, emphasizes Frida Wheldon. In Scotland support services are provided in line with needs of victims and without any time limit. In the course of establishing a new victim support system the aim should always be kept in mind what the developers of the system want to achieve by the given system. It is essential that support activities encompass the whole victimisation spectrum. The first question that should be answered is how the victim comes within the field of vision of the support service? What services will the victim support service offer and what services should be offered? How will specialists acquire skills to be capable of helping victims? How will communication be maintained with victims will it be an open dialogue, a feedback, a needs assessment? Another matter to be considered is values that will be at the basis of the victim support institution. The Scottish victim support organisation takes a broad view on groups of support recipients these are not only victims themselves who need support but likewise their family members and witnesses who need help. Earlier support to victims was organised in Scotland at the local level, however, now there are attempts to automate the process to exclude the human error, negligence or omission of a specialist, at the same time improving the quality of the system and making it safer. A significant part of the support is assessment of victims needs. In the Scottish practice the needs assessment has three parts: the preliminary research to acquire information before the victim has arrived; the initial examination which includes conversation with the victim and the drafting of the support plan, as well as research during the process finding an answer to the question if needs of the victim are satisfied in each individual case. Frida Wheldon notes: For the support system to function successfully, training for specialists and support in their professional performance should not be forgotten. Likewise it is important to recognise that the victim support system constitutes a significant part of the justice system. Therefore the recommendation for Latvia is first to think over what you want to achieve, namely, to think about support victims need and only then to think about what institution would be best for performing this work. First to think over what you want to achieve, namely, to think about support victims need and only then to think about what institution would be best for performing this work

30 PANEL III Noticing and Understanding Victims Needs in Latvia Participants of the third panel discussion focused on the situation in the victim support area in Latvia. Participants of the panel discussion identified the potential of Latvia as well as challenges on the path to developing a comprehensive victim support system, emphasizing needs of victims and seeking possibilities of developing the existing victim support instruments and opportunities for developing new approaches and methods for work with victims in Latvia. Participants of the panel discussion were as follows: >> Laila Balode, the Centre Dardedze and Inese Ruka, the Crisis Centre Skalbes : Helping Victims of Crime in Latvia: Notes from the Field ; >> Irina Ļitvinova, Director of the Legal Aid Administration of Latvia: Implementing State Compensation Mechanism for Victims of Violent Crime in Latvia What it Reveals about the General Situation of Victims in Latvia >> Andis Rinkevičs, the State Police of Latvia, Project director Preventing Repeat Victimization in the State Police : What Police Can Do Better to Ensure Victims Needs. Who Benefits? >> Aleksandrs Dementjevs, Director of the State Probation Service: Victims Needs a New Perspective for State Probation Service in Latvia An effective victim support system contains a high potential of benefits for the Latvian society itself and for each individual. In order to use this potential, there is a need for a change of the point of view concerning goals of the justice system: from offenders the punishment to offenders restorative justice. Persons who have become victims of crime are part of our society the same as people who violate the law are also part of the society. In actual fact, in cases when the law has been violated the society and the individual have the same needs: the society needs that justice is restored, namely, there are legal norms in place that protect the society and they are applied. The victim needs a fair and legitimate regulation for these relations that have been infringed by the violation of the law. However, if there exists an understanding of the victims need for legal regulation in the practice of applying Latvian law, then there is no understanding of the need of the victim and the society at large for a fair regulation of relations that encompasses, as far as possible, prevention of all adverse consequences of the offence. The adverse consequences of this violation of the law are related not only to the restoration of the legal equilibrium and normal legal relations but likewise a full restoration of the social function of the victim at least of the quality it had before the violation of the law. The victim support system may provide more security for the society by not only undertaking interventions in cases when harm has already been inflicted to a person; it should be proactive: for people not to commit criminal offences and for people not to become victims of criminal offences. The philosophy at the basis of restorative justice is the understanding that in cases of crimes both parties suffer the offender as well as the individual whose rignts have been violated as a result of illegal action. Harm is inflicted on the victim while the life of the offender is influenced by the imposition and enforcement of the punishment; moreover, relatives of the offender as well as the victim also get indirectly involved in the process. Thus there are grounds to conclude that, in actual fact, crimes result not only in the damage to the victim and the interests of the society to live in a lawbased environment but also to other people who are related to the event of the offence (for example, witnesses) or persons closely related to the victim or the offender (for example, relatives of the victim and the offender). In view of the above many of the above mentioned people might require a body of support measures the same as victims to reduce the consequences of the traumatic experience. Latvia has some good examples of organising victim support where the state has delegated support functions to non-governmental organisations: there are seven crisis centres where support is provided to children victims of violence. However, a more extensive range of free support measures for adults is not available. Practice of crisis centres already operating in Latvia allows concluding that cooperation among various agencies, institutions and organisations still proceeds with considerable difficulty as functions of these institutions are not included in a uniform scheme of services or regulation. On the one hand, there are services for victims that have developed successfully: the round-the clock hotline; consultations of psychologists and lawyers, support groups and circles as well as training programmes for specialists. Still, on the other hand, it is clear that these services should be made more accessible for a larger range of groups of victims, moreover, these services should be free of charge and more accessible for people who live in rural areas. Free support for adult victims is undulatory and depends on the funding of projects and coming from foreign foundations; yet at the same time there is no contribution of the state to the support of these target groups. Operation of the existing crisis centres is obstructed by lack of specialised shelters for victims of violence, for example, women. Problems encountered by victims are related to the future challenges of the victim support system. Often victims experience a feeling of guilt for what has happened to them an opinion prevails in the society that a person who has become a victim can be blamed for it himself/herself. It means that the society must be educated about these issues (a). The attitude of professionals not always people working at agencies and institutions understand what impact one or another of their decisions has on victims. The above means that an extensive training should be provided to specialists of the law enforcement and other institutions for work with victims (b). The thirst of the media for scoops and their understanding of the consequences caused by the way how information about criminal offences is reflected. Thus the media require training and understanding of various ways for presenting information as well as consequences that arise when information of various types is made publicly accessible (c). Challenges for Latvia in developing a victim-supporting environment information of the society, including the media and specialists; recognition and identification of problems; development of understanding and a change of the attitude. Persons who have been made victims of crime in the Republic of Latvia, are eligible for compensation however, the range of recipients of compensations is limited. In Latvia the mechanism of compensations 58 59

31 for victims of crime is based on two directives - the Council Directive 2004/80/EC relating to compensation to crime victims: all member states ensure that their legal norms prescribe a system of compensations payable to victims of intentional, violent crimes that have been committed on their respective territories that guarantees a fair and commensurate compensation to victims (a) and the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing the Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA: victims of human trafficking must be provided access to the existing schemes that prescribe compensations to victims of intentional, violent crimes (b), as well as the Law on State Compensation to Victims that became effective as of 20 June (c). The application for a state compensation is submitted to the Legal Aid Administration within a year s time from the day when the person was recognised to be a victim or has learnt about facts that entitle the said person to apply for a compensation. A state compensation can be received by a natural person who has been recognised a victim under the procedure laid down in the Criminal Procedure Latvia; if an intentional criminal offence has resulted in the person s death; the person has died; the victim has sustained grave bodily injuries or bodily injuries of an average degree; the morality or sexual inviolability of the victim has been compromised; the victim is a victim of human trafficking; the victim has been infected with the HIV, hepatitis B or C. The compensation can be received from the state by a victim recognised under the procedure prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Law if the criminal offence has been intentional and it corresponds to criteria for the receipt of the compensation. The victim has certain time restrictions during which he should claim the compensation in the course of one year after the victim has been recognised to be a victim or during one year after the victim has received at his disposal facts that enable him to claim the compensation. The actual situation is that every year in 50 cases the decision is taken to reject the application for the payment of the compensation. Are the reasons for such rejections the delayed application for the compensation by the victim or the fact that institutions have been late in submitting information about the right of the victim to receive information? I.Ļitvinova asks and notes: One of the reasons for rejection is that the victim has been late in claiming the compensation. Victims do not understand what a criminal offence means, what an intentional criminal offence means they lack legal id that could enable to make use of the modest compensation mechanisms that exist in the country. In a formal sense victims have access to compensation and assistance however, as they do not know about their rights and the existing mechanisms, sometimes assistance is not used at all. There are specific support mechanisms that operate; however, they are not simultaneous and coordinated in one system. The basic assumption for normative acts regulating the compensation system is that the state has a system in place that guarantees fair and commensurate compensation to victims. The views of the society and among specialists continue to differ whether the existing system guarantees principles of justice and commensurateness in applying the compensation mechanism to victims. The first contact the police makes with the victim influences the satisfaction of people with the police work on the whole. Victims who have gained positive experience during their first encounter with the police, are later more satisfied with the police work in general even though the police has failed to resolve the case. The first experience of cooperation between the victim and the police immediately after the criminal offence influences the readiness of the victim to cooperate during the further investigation of the case as well as to report criminal offences to the police in future, remarks Andis Rinkevičs. The quality of the first contact of the police with the victim is influenced not only the type and success of communication but also by the speed of the police reaction and its action on the crime site. It was pointed out in the description of the ability of the State Policy to satisfy the victim s needs during the first contact that the police is more successful in listening to the person (72%) that in providing information (51%) and ensuring the safety of victims (41%). This assessment of communication varies depending on the type of the criminal offence and the ensuring needs of victims in the case of such crimes as robbery the victim s needs are reduced to safety, in the case of thefts more on information and listening to the person. The State Police recognises the significance of the first contact with victims of crime because the first contact is related to the needs of the victim and influences the victim s satisfaction as well as because the first contact plays an essential role in ensuring successful subsequent procedural activity and investigation. Due to this reason the State Police has focused on the assessment of the situation and the staff training to improve the communication of the police with victims. The quality of the firs contact with the State Police has a significant impact on the satisfaction of victims. It is a pre-re quisite for the victim s readiness to cooperate during the further investigation, his readiness to go the State Police repeatedly as well as his readiness to cooperate with the State Police at all. Every law enforcement institution starting with the police, the prosecutor s offce and ending with the court and penitentiaries has, in actual fact, its own role to play in communication with victims. Besides, undervaluation of this role leads to ignoring very specific victim needs. In this respect Latvia still faces a whole range of challenges as only some law enforcement institutions point out that they consider their role in contacts with victims and potential benefits for improving professional work important. The State Police in communication with individuals reporting criminal offences or who are victims of these offences, and the State Probation Service through proactive work and organisation of the conciliation process with a mediator in criminal proceedings. The State Probation Service cooperates with victims of crime mostly within the frame of two functions of the State Probation Service in preparing the pre-sentencing report and in ensuring conciliation between the victim and the offender. The pre-sentencing report provides an opportunity for the victims to be heard and ensures the restoration of the violated rights of victims as well as representation of their interests. The information and the opinion expressed by victims are included in the pre-sentencing report. The opinion of the victim may be taken into consideration upon the submission of the pre-sentencing report to court or to the prosecutor: in taking the decision on the punishment that should be imposed on the offender, the form of executing the punishment and the decision on release on parole; upon formulating tasks for the conditionally sentenced offender or the convict released on parole for the probation period. For example, court may take into consideration the opinion of the victim by imposing the ban on the offender to approach or to communicate with the victim, when determining damages for the victim. In the process of formulating the pre-sentencing report the victim and the offender are given the opportunity to address the conflict caused by the criminal offence and to reduce its negative 60 61

32 consequences, namely both parties are offered the option of participation in conciliation. Conciliation is a voluntary negotiation process between the victim and the offender facilitated by a mediator and where the outcome is acceptable and a fair solution for both involved parties. Conciliation is not only an opportunity to resolve the conflict between victims and offenders but likewise an opportunity for the society to actively participate in reducing the adverse consequences of crime. An example of such community involvement is voluntary mediators; moreover the conciliation meeting gives more opportunities for cooperation. According to results of the survey conducted among participants of conciliation, involved parties give it a positive assessment. However, to achieve a more extensive application of conciliation, more extensive use should be made of the examples of successful conciliation and positive references to stimulate a more positive attitude of the community towards conciliation as well as to promote a more active participation of the community and to advertise the restorative justice approach and values. Problems and areas of development: failure to monitor the enforcement of conciliation conditions is one of those aspects that contains risks of secondary victimisation. A situation should not be allowed to develop that the offender does not fulfil conditions of conciliation while the victim is left all alone with this problem. Namely, failure to monitor the enforcement of conciliation conditions stimulate the appearance of the situation when victims may be hurt repeatedly. The existence of such practice does not highlight the idea of restorative justice but rather diminishes it. There are several institution challenges for the more extensive application of the conciliation process: the conciliation through a mediator should be applied on a wider scale by improving cooperation with facilitators of criminal proceedings as well as the insufficient understanding of the possibilities offered by conciliation that still prevails in the community. To make the conciliation process effective the following steps should be taken: to amend the Criminal Procedure Law concerning the supervision of the enforcement of conciliation conditions and the suspension of criminal proceedings for the period of enforcement of conciliation conditions (a). To improve cooperation with process facilitators in the area of a more extensive application of conciliation (b). To form a better understanding of the community about restorative justice values and conciliation possibilities at the State Probation Service (c) PANEL IV Future Prospects for a National Policy for Protection and Support of Victims of Crime in Latvia Participants of the fourth panel identified the existing problems, prospects of Latvia in establishing a victim support system as well as potential resources for new solutions. During the conference it was already established that several development models were possible for the establishment of a victim support system in Latvia, however, the decision-making process must be based on the actual needs of victims and public security. Participants of this discussion included: >> Denisa Fikarova, the European Commission Directorate General for Justice; >> Albin Dearing, FRA the European Agency for Fundamental Rights; >> David McKenna, President of the organization Victim Support Europe ; >> Andrejs Judins, a Member of Parliament of the Republic of Latvia, a researcher of the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS; >> Dimitrijs Trofimovs, Director of the Sectoral Policy Department at the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Latvia, >> Indra Gratkovska, Director of the Department of Criminal Law at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia, Head of the Criminal Law Department At present Latvia has to make its first steps towards establishing a victim support system: - the priority of the victim must be recognised in the criminal procedure; - a basket of state-guaranteed services focused on the basic needs of victims must be developed for victims; - the victim support system must be established as a body of coordinated measures; - integrated training should be provided to specialists of law enforcement agencies and other institutions as well as information should be provided to the society that would enhance the understanding about benefits of the society from the operation of the victim support system. Priority of the victim in the criminal procedure: - The attitude of the state towards victims as a sensitive group of the society and recognition of the priority of victim support. It is necessary to reconsider priorities of the current policy and to define new policy priorities. - What is understood by the existence of a directive in Latvia? Until now no answer has been found to the question: Do we really want to implement this directive or are we forced to implement? Are we capable of recognising that absence of a victim support system is a problem of Latvia? - Lack of sustainable thinking or lack of information? Participants of the discussion recognised that the justice system as well as the society at large are currently more preoccupied with taxes and heating bills but what about the victim? Who cares? The society is not interested in victims becoming more visible and active participants of criminal proceedings. It was mentioned during discussions that a similar characterisation was given to politicians who improved their rating in the eyes of the

33 electorate by turning against the offender rather than by developing a victim support system. How to develop the Latvian victim support system? - It must be developed gradually. Participants of the discussion expressed doubt that a uniform support system for victims with a wide range of services could be developed in a short stretch of time. Therefore an agreement should be reached about the most urgent necessity and during the initial stage it could be the coordination of the support while the basket of services for victims should be developed step by step in respect of the scope of services as well as the time. - At present the actual available support for people victims of criminal offences - is compensations to victims of violent crimes. Participants of the discussion pointed out that perhaps victims should have access not only to compensation in cash. For example, money and psychologist s consultations. - The problem of the fragmentation of services at present types of services accessible for victims are dispersed among systems of health, welfare, justice, interior which leads to a situation when victims have to come into contact with various institutions. Participants of the discussion indicated that work should be started following a one-stop-agency principle. Moreover, another issue that should be resolved is how to ensure the accessibility of information in one place. Participants of the discussion gave a positive evaluation to the Estonian experience where victim support specialists and the police are located in the same premises which, in its turn, stimulates the accessibility of services for those who need them. This experience should be assessed and discussed when contemplating the Latvian victim support model. Development and strengthening of the professionalism of specialists. Participants of the discussion gave a positive assessment to the police initiative to improve the first contact with victims of crime. Participants of the discussion emphasized that training of this kind should be continued and further refined. Moreover, the idea about criteria for selecting police specialists who work in close contact with the population should also be developed. Is the ability to develop supportive relationship with the victim taken into consideration in the selection of policemen? It was recognised that a significant prerequisite to ensure the victim gets to the service provider at all is the knowledge of the policeman about the available services and their professional competence not only in investigating a case but also in helping the victim to reach the necessary support in the place where it is available. Today people expect more than quality work from the police. The organisation of the working time of the State Police, when going out on calls as well as during the time spent on call should include a sufficient period of time for the policeman to be able to communicate with victims and not only file the records in a hurry and then move to the next call. The discussion of specialists focused on such issues: - The moment when assistance is started to be provided to the victim is clear, however, when is the moment when the decision is taken to terminate assistance? Who takes the decision to stop providing assistance specialists, victims themselves or nobody of them, namely, has the scope of services been established by law? When can the state say that the amount of provided assistance has been sufficient? - Similar events may have different consequences. How can individual needs of people be incorporated in the system? The discussions revealed that consequences of similar criminal offences and the perception of the victim could be very diverse. Does it mean that in the case of a theft one person would be satisfied to have compensation while another person would need psychological help? How to take into account these individual needs? - How can the whole scope of the required information be provided in one place? - What support is provided to the victim s family and relatives as well as other people? - Would the Estonian victim support model be suitable for the situation in Latvia? Conclusive theses of the discussion: Which is the first step to start to implement conditions of the directive? - In view of the fact that an extensive representation of views is needed, it is necessary to establish multifunctional work groups which would include specialists who work in contact with victims or are ready to do it. The system should not be developed by looking at problems of agencies or professional desires but proceeding from the needs of victims. Victims needs are the main goal therefore answers to the following questions should be found as soon as possible: How many victims are there in Latvia in reality? What are they? What are their needs? The victim support system should not, by any means, be perceived as primitively structured social services where everybody is entitled to everything a large part of victims will not need any assistance at all, however, it is important to know that such assistance exists. - At present there is a very favourable situation for the establishment of the victim support system as many countries have accumulated rich experience in this respect. There is no need to create what has already been created a look should be taken at the methods and experience that can be taken over and developed. It is essential to acquire expertise from other countries, at the same time remembering that the largest share of support can be received from non-governmental organisations which already operate in Latvia. - It is of paramount importance that a purposeful discussion is developed in the society and at public agencies to clearly show the benefits that the society stands to gain from the victim support system. Certainly, use must be made of those advantages that are provided by the cross-border cooperation model. - One of the most important issues is the change of attitude: the directive is an external stimulus, however, it does not supply answers to all questions. The state must seek solutions and ways how to protect victims and potential victims. There are two restrictions the short timeframe for the implementation of the directive and the financial resources. - A question was voiced during the discussion: Why don t the victims report criminal offences and do not seek assistance? Lack of resources at the disposal of the police is one of the answers. If the victim believes that the police have not resources to address his problem, there is no sense in reporting and communicating with the police. - To develop a victim support system, the most important issue is the people who will work with victims in future. Such people should be sufficiently motivated for work with victims as the perception that this work may be very rewarding is misleading. People whose only motivation is the remuneration not feelings and welfare of the clients must not work with victims. In order to develop services that are focused on the needs of the victim, it must be remembered who is the main element in this interaction between the specialists and the victim it is the victim

34 CONFERENCE FINDINGS SUMMARY THESES - It is easy to punish and be punished as it enables some to manifest power and others to buy themselves out of the offence. However, responsible treatment of the most vulnerable people victims - requires a certain degree of maturity from the society itself. - The thinking of specialists and the society should change to place the victim in the centre of our law enforcement system: from focusing attention on the search and penalisation of the guilty party to the compensation of damages to the victim; understanding at the same time that such compensation is not only of material character but includes also the recovery of the emotional and legal balance. - Physical and emotional traumas caused by violence are significant for the future development of the personality, that is why people should be told and taught already now that violence, cruelty and suffering are not be borne patiently, that these are situations when no one should be ashamed to seek assistance. - The main task is to act in a way that the adverse consequences of the illegal action are diminished in the emotional as well as material sense, simultaneously also reducing the risks that the person may be hurt again to evade secondary and repeated victimisation during and beyond the boundaries of the criminal proceedings. - The victim support and protection system should be capable of a complex and comprehensive response to the adverse consequences of the criminal offence: it cannot focus only and solely on a narrow range of individuals or only on specific victims who have suffered as a result of illegal actions, it should provide on all those who have suffered from crime, in particular focusing on the most vulnerable groups of the society. - Assistance to victims should be provided by an independent institution what works in close cooperation with public administration and uses resources of voluntary work. - It is high time to learn to perceive benefits of assistance to victims, not to treat it only as an additional burden on the budget or organisation of work. Thus, for example, provision of victim support: reduces crime, recidivism and repeated victimisation, increases the trust and confidence of people in the criminal justice system, reduces the demand and costs of health care services, diminishes fear of crime resulting in an increasingly more effective criminal justice system that is also cost-effective while the society at large becomes more affluent and confident. - If restorative justice is focused on needs of victims but not on the implementation of procedures of criminal proceedings, this method is applicable to absolutely all cases of conflicts that have arisen as a result of criminal offences and where efforts are dedicated to their resolution. Insecurity and vulnerability of the victim does not always depend on the type of the criminal offence a significant emotional trauma can be caused even by an offence which is not so serious. - At present the Latvian legal system faces a challenge as well as a necessity: there is an objective necessity to establish a system that would try to prevent people from becoming victims of crime and provide support to those who have suffered from criminal activities of other individuals. - Often the obstacle is the perception in the society about priorities of restorative justice in cases when a criminal offence has been committed: an opinion still prevails among people that justice is restored at the moment when the guilty party has received its punishment not at the moment when the moral and material damage is compensated to the victim. - First and foremost, it is important to think what you want to achieve, namely, to think about support required by victims and only then to consider which institutions might best suited to perform this task. - An effective victim support system has a considerable potential of benefit for the Latvian society and for each person individually. To be able to use this potential, it is necessary to change the point of vision concerning goals of the justice system: from the violation of the law punishment to the violation of the law restored justice. - Challenges faced by Latvia in developing a victim-supportive environment include information of the society, including the media and specialists, the recognition and understanding of problems; development of understanding and change of the attitude. - The assumption at the basis of normative acts that regulate the compensation system is that there must be a system in the country that guarantees fair and commensurate compensation for victims. The society and specialists are still divided in their opinion if the current system guarantees principles of justice and commensurateness in applying the compensation mechanism to victims

35 Frida Wheldon is the Head of Policy for Victim Support Europe, providing policy guidance, recommendations and expert advice on victim issues and practical implications of European legislation. She also serves as the Senior Policy & Research Officer for Victim Support Scotland, where she is developing an internal victimology capacity while advocating to ensure that new Scottish legislation and public policy reflects the needs of people affected by crime. In her current role, she took part in the drafting and negotiation of the new EU Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. Following the adoption of the EU Directive in November 2012, her focus is now providing input and practical options for its implementation and how the new rights impact on victims ability to access protection and services in the aftermath of crime across Europe. Kaisa Üprus Tali has worked as a Project Manager of NGO Civil Courage which purpose is to enhance society through civil movements. She has also been a Trainer for Fagligt Internatiolnalt Center for uddannlese trainer for Danish Trade Unions and trainings took place in Georgia (former SU republic). Since 2006 K. Üprus Tali hs been working in Estonian National Social Insurance Board s Victim Support Department as a Victim Support Head Specialist. K. Üprus Tali is a founder and Member of Board of NGO Pärnu s Centre of Gender Based Violence, training Provider on the issues of Abused Children and Dating Violence and a member of Crisis Management Committee in case of school shooting in her area (Pärnu). Daniela Bolivar is a researcher at the Leuven Institute of Criminology. Her PhD focused on the role of victim-offender mediation in victims processes of restoration. During 2012, D.Bolivar was the project coordinator of the research project Victims and restorative justice and from March on (2013), she works as senior researcher and project officer at the research project Developing integrated responses to sexual violence: An interdisciplinary research project on the potential of restorative justice. D.Bolivar holds degrees in Psychology and Community-Psychology from the Catholic University of Chile and worked during eight years as a practitioner of victims support services. In addition, she gave lectures on the topic of victimology at different universities in her home country (Chile). Albin Dearing currently is working as Programme Manager Research - Criminal Law and Criminal Justice European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA); worked as a lawyer in various Austrian ministries and positions (Federal Chancellery, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Interior). For the EU Commission he implemented projects relating to fundamental rights, policing and the judiciary in Poland, Croatia and Turkey. From 2009 to 2011 he was legal assistant at the CJEU before joining FRA in September Denisa Fikarova is Seconded National Expert in the European Commission (DG Justice, B- Criminal justice, B 1 - Procedural Criminal Law) seconded by the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic since July Her main tasks include contribution to the co-ordination, definition and implementation of EU policies in the area of judicial cooperation, with particular reference to victims rights, which in particular implies the implementation of the Budapest Roadmap on victims. Before her current position, D. Fikarova worked as Justice and Home Affairs Counsellor (judicial cooperation in criminal matters, substantive criminal law, criminal procedural law, Czech Presidency of the EU 2009) in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and provided Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union. D. Fikarova holds a Master Degree in law (University Passau, Germany). Jaanus Kangur has master degree from Tartu University and a diploma in Restorative Justice from Queens College in Canada. He has worked in several prisons and initiated RJ program for inmates called The Way. He is a coauthor for three books about RJ. J. Kangur has been a chairman of Victim Support Society in Estonia and at the moment is the member of that organization. He has lectured in Tallinn University and in Estonian Academy of Security Science. Ilona Kronberga is one of the leading Latvian experts on criminal/penal sanctions, penitentiary and penal systems. I.Kronberga has long-standing experience in policy planning and legal drafting relating to enforcement of criminal punishment/criminal sanctions, including introduction of probation, community service and other alternative sanctions in Latvia. Since 1998, I.Kronberga has been a Lecturer on criminal sanctions implementation at the University of Latvia. Since 2007, I.Kronberga is a Criminal Justice Policy Researcher and Project Director at the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, she is also adviser to Minister of Justice. In the last two years, she has participated in a range of projects as project director, including Support for Victims: Towards Holistic Response to the Crime. Latvia and Beyond, , and Keeping Youth Away From Crime: Searching for Best European Practices, Irina Ļitvinova, M.iur., is Director of Legal Aid Administration. She had a longstanding experience in working for The Information Centre of the Ministry of the Interior, ensuring the development of state s information system, elaboration of its legal framework as well as providing training and coordinating cooperation of law enforcement authorities. In June of 2005 I. Ļitvinova was appointed head of newly established Legal Aid department in Ministry of Justice. She has been working in Legal Aid Administration since the date it was created in I. Ļitvinova ensures management of state budget resources that are allocated to legal aid and to state compensations for victims of crime

36 Dimitrijs Trofimovs is Head of Sectoral Policy Department in the Ministry of the Interior. D. Trofimovs also carries out the duties of National Coordinator for the Human Trafficking Prevention and Combating Policy. Support system for the victims of human trafficking can be considered as one of the clear examples when thinking of national support mechanisms for victims of crime in general it complies with Latvia s international obligations and is proportional to national possibilities to provide for victims needs within investigation process and beyond it. Indra Gratkovska, M.iur., has held various leading positions in Ministry of Justice since As of 2007 I.Gratkovska is Director of Criminal Justice Department in Ministry of Justice. Objective of department s activities is to develop strategy and policy within the areas of criminal justice, criminal procedural law, criminal/penal sanctions system and other areas of public law, as well as to organize the implementation of the abovementioned policies. Those activities are closely linked with carrying out the victims rights policy. Dr. Andrejs Judins has national reputation as leading specialist of Latvian Criminal law and Criminal Justice. He is in 1993 graduate of the Faculty of Law of Latvian University and in 2007 he received his doctorate in the Latvian Police academy. From 1994 to 2009 A. Judins was a lecturer and associated professor of the Latvian Police academy, where he has taught criminal law and criminal policy courses. Since 2011 he is visiting professor in Riga Graduate School of Law, where he teaches comparative criminal law. From 2001 to 2011 he was leading researcher of the Centre for Public policy PROVIDUS. Since 2010 Dr. A. Judins is an expert of the Latvian Council of Science (Humanities and Social Sciences Experts, scientific discipline - Legal Science). A. Judins actively participated in more than 20 research projects, evaluated and generalized Latvian courts practices as well participated in the working groups of the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of the Interior with a purpose to expertise and prepare amendments of the Criminal Law and other laws and regulations. Andrejs Judins is also is the author of more than 100 publications (monographs, books, scientific articles). Andis Rinkevics holds a Master Degree in Public Management (Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences). Since 2004 A.Rinkevics works in State Police, paying specific attention to improvement of work s quality system, including promotion of work methods that are focused on the victims. A.Rinkevics has organized cooperation on international level, he is experienced in project drafting, project management and has worked with issues related to quality management system. A.Rinkevics is National representative of Latvia within European Crime Prevention Network which joins the experts from Euro- Anvars Zavackis holds a bachelor s degree in psychology, a master s degree in sociology and at the moment he is also writing his doctoral theses in sociology (the topic of dissertation Prediction of recidivism and prevention of risks within the field of criminal justice). A.Zavackis is researcher and educator he is the leading researcher at State Probation Service of Latvia and a lecturer at Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia. A.Zavackis major research interests are sociological theories of deviance, analysis of both policy and practice on crime control and resocialization of offenders, as well as evaluation of risk assessment and recidivism prediction theories and practices. By being involved in PROVIDUS projects, A.Zavackis has expanded his research interests to needs, rights and protection of victims as well as prevention of secondary victimization Inese Ruka is clinical psychologist, Mag.Psych, trained Jungian analytical Psychotherapist. I.Ruka works for Crisis and Consultation Centre Skalbes for 10 years and has specialized to work with people in crisis situations and victims of violence. I.Ruka is experienced both in leading individual consultations as well as in leading support and de-briefing groups for victims. She also leads trainings for professionals and other stakeholders. By representing Skalbes, I.Ruka has participated in work groups under Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Welfare as an advocate for victims rights. During the last several years she has participated in various projects, including Violence Against Women in the Workplace: Let s Talk About it (2010), European Union in Comparative Perspective Consultative Services for Victims of Domestic Violence (2013), I.Ruka also participated in activities of the project Support for Victims: Towards Holistic Response to the Crime. Latvia and Beyond ( ). Laila Balode is social worker, Board Member of establishment Centre Dardedze and head of consulting centre. L.Balode has worked in social field for almost 20 years and has gained experience in both state and local government institutions, her work has always been related to children and families. L.Balode has been working in Centre Dardedze for 12 years it is a team of dynamic and creative professionals who are truly interested in children, subjected to violence, and their wellbeing in families as well as outside the families. I lze Dzenovska was a researcher in PROVIDUS project Support for Victims: Towards Holistic Response to the Crime. Latvia and Beyond ( ), she also led the pilotprojects of support circles for victims of crime. Since 2004 I.Dzenovska has managed projects on state compensation mechanisms for victims of violent crime and introduction of societyfocused police work in Latvia, from 2008 to 2010 she has been a writer and coordinator of project Greening Borders: Cooperation, Security and Diplomacy within the Women Peace Makers Program (University of San Diego). I.Dzenovska holds a master s degree in Peace and Justice Studies (Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego), a lawyer s qualification (University of Latvia) and a bachelor s degree in Political Science (Rīga Stradiņš University), she is an accredited mediator and an independent expert in the field of Restorative Justice and peacebuilding.

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