On the 29th and 30th of September, Victim Support Europe’s member Brottsofferjouren hosted the annual workshop of the Centre of Excellence on 116 006 European victim support helplines and distant support in Stockholm, Sweden.
Participants from victim support organisations across Europe took part in the event: Bílý Kruh Bezpečí (CZ), Crime Victims Helpline (IE), Offerrådgivningen i Danmark (DK), RIKU (FI), Skalbes (LV), Slachtofferhulp Nederland (NL), Social Insurance Board (EE), Victim and Witness Support Service (HR), and Weisser Ring Germany (DE). On top of that, the Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family (CY) has recently joined the Centre and attended the workshop for the first time. Two observers from Victim Support Malta (MT) were also present, as they are planning to implement the 116 006 helpline in their country.
This year’s workshop focused on GDPR, data protection and modern technologies to advance victim support services. On the first day of the event, two speakers from KU Leuven talked about their expertise in the field of data protection and computer science, including the impact thereof on secondary victimisation. Slachtofferhulp Nederland presented its recently developed knowledge database for helpline workers, a showcase of good practice in the field of distant support.
On the second workshop day, the hosting organisation explained how they operate the 116 006 helpline in Sweden. They also mentioned their experiences with (online) fraud through the helplines and how they have approached this challenge so far.
