October 2022 – News from Weisser Ring Germany
We proudly present our „#OEGreport” to you! Weisser Ring launched the report related campaign in June 2022 on our magazine and website (forum-opferhilfe.de) and are still publishing content in Social Media and are placing information in politics and journalistic media.
The #OEGreport is a deep investigation about the “Opferentschädigungsgesetz” (OEG), a Victim Compensation Act in Germany. What does this mean? The state promises its citizens to protect them from violence. If this does not succeed, victims should receive compensation, for example pensions or the assumption of medical treatments. In our opinion it’s a good law – The WEISSE RING played a leading role in its creation -, with a big BUT.
The journalistic investigation of our press team revealed some big issues. The main facts:
- Our exclusive representative survey shows that hardly anyone knows the law (76% never heard about it)
- Only ten percent of people who have been victims of a violent act submit a request under the OEG
- The state denies most applications. In 2020, 46.6 percent of applications received the “Rejected” stamp. This is the worst figure in more than 20 years.
- The procedures are a burden for victims. Victims often perceive communication from authorities as insensitive. Some report that they are retraumatised by authorities and grueling expert opinions.
That is why we have given our main text the title: `How the State abandons Victims of Violence.’ The publication is supplemented by numerous articles with background information and reports from those affected.
Numerous major media outlets picked up on our research, including leading magazines, local newspapers, radio stations and famous podcasts. There were also several programs on television, including “Tagesschau” – one of the most popular news programs in Germany.
On social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, hundreds of people affected commented on our reporting and told their own stories of suffering. This proves that these are not isolated cases, but a systemic failure.
We also confronted politicians with our research results. The Prime Minister of Saxony promised to put the issue on his agenda. Numerous other politicians contacted us after the publication.
We hope to achieve improvements for victims with our #OEGreport and that the theoretically good law is also well implemented in practice.
