Validity Foundation - Mental Disability Advocacy Centre



Changing the Accessibility of Tools for Victims

101056702 – CHAT for Victims

 

Project description

Access to information and effective communication are essential for persons with disabilities victims of crime to participate effectively in criminal justice process. Directive 2012/29/EU guarantees victims the rights that aim to prevent secondary victimisation, among others, to understand and to be understood, to information, and to be heard. Unfortunately, the existing means of support are usually hard to access or are completely inaccessible to persons with disabilities. So, the project “CHAT for Victims” is created to facilitate access to information and support for victims of crime with disabilities.

The project objectives are to:

  • Provide equal access to justice and information for all victims of crime by developing a chat-based online support tailored to the needs of persons with disabilities.
  • Lay the foundation for providing comprehensive online support via live chat service by conducting research on how to make chat service more accessible.

This project seeks:

  • To conduct research on providing remote support via online live chat, taking into consideration the needs of persons with disabilities. This research will lead to the development of a handbook on providing remote support.
  • To develop the capacities of key national professionals in delivering remote support through live chat services.
  • To develop and implement a live chat service to support victims and witnesses of crimes.
  • To disseminate the project results to enhance good practices in EU countries regarding support services for victims and witnesses with disabilities.

Expertise

Victim and Witness Support Service Croatia (VWSSC) was founded in 2006 in Croatia, its activities are targeted towards advocating for the improvement of legislative and institutional practices regarding victims and witnesses in Croatia. The Official College of Psychology of Madrid (COPM) was founded in 1980 and it has become the largest regional College of Psychologists in Spain and Europe and has managed to achieve recognized social and institutional prestige. PIC – Legal centre for the protection of human rights and the environment provides professional legal support to individuals, vulnerable groups and non-governmental organizations in exercising and protecting their rights and strengthening their position in the society. Victim Support Europe (VSE) is the leading European umbrella organization advocating on behalf of all victims of crime. Validity is an international non-governmental organization established in 2002 as a legal advocacy organization to tackle the generations of isolation, segregation and exclusion faced by people with mental disabilities in Central and Eastern Europe. Centre for Legal resources (CLR) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization, established in 1998 which actively advocates for the establishment and operation of a legal and institutional framework that safeguards the observance of human rights and equal opportunities, free access to fair justice and which contributes to the capitalization of its legal expertise for the general public interest.

Legal background 

 

Consortium Partners 

 

Duration of the project

The CHAT for Victims project commenced on 1 July 2022, and will conclude on 30 April 2025.

 

Full name of the project

Changing the Accessibility of Tools for Victims (101056702- CHAT for Victims- JUST-2021-JACC).

This project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 

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