On the 19th of September, the final seminar of the Infovictims III project, “Innovate to Humanise the Justice System for Victims”, took place in Lisbon (Portugal). Victim Support Europe’s Executive Director Levent Altan was invited to speak about the Facility Dogs Europe project and the way forward for victims’ rights in Europe.
The Infovictims III project, led by the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV), builds on the results of two previous editions of project. The first Infovictims project was launched in 2011 with the aim of contributing to the quantity and quality of information available to victims of crime – and to society in general – about the criminal justice system, their rights and how to exercise them. In each edition, the Infovictims project has expanded in partnerships and prospects, having this third edition included partners from Portugal, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland and Czech Republic.
After the success of the first two editions, the conference marked the end of the third edition of Infovictims. The teamwork between all partners allowed the development and dissemination of information tools with essential contents to the full exercise of the rights of victims of crime. The project resulted in the development of victim-sensitive information materials such as brochures, online websites where victims of crime can find adapted information about their rights, the justice system and support services among others.
The conference brought the 2-year project to an end by reuniting project partners from 9 Member States and Victim Support Europe, together with policy makers and experts from the justice, victim support and academia sectors. The event allowed fruitful exchanges on best practices to better inform and communicate with victims of crime, enhance the support and information provided to victims at court and discuss ways forwards for victims’ rights in Europe. To find more information about the event, please visit the conference website.
VSE Executive Director Levent Altan participated in a panel discussion on innovative ways to provide information and support to victims at court. He presented the VSE-coordinated FYDO project – Facility Dogs Europe – a unique project funded by the European Justice Programme, which aims to train and place justice assistance dogs to work with vulnerable victims of crime on their journey to justice. To find more information about the FYDO project, please visit the dedicated project webpage. You can watch the speech in the video below!
