1 voices for justice in bulgaria easy-to-read document 1. about the project people with disabilities are sometimes victims of crime. this means other people sometimes abuse them in different ways. victims with disabilities do not get justice as much as other people. that must change. we want to make changes with the project voices for justice: communicating with victims of crime with disabilities. many organisations work on the project. they are called partners. the partners come from 7 european countries: • bulgaria • croatia • czechia • lithuania • romania • slovakia • slovenia 2 important to know: we use a very important document in our project. it is called the european union’s victims’ rights directive. this directive gives rights to all victims with disabilities. one of the rights is the right to information. this means that victims with disabilities have a right to be given information, which they can fully understand and use. victims with disabilities also have the right to be heard and understood by others. if you want more easy-to-read information on the project, click on this link: voices for justice easy-to-read 2. about the reports we did the reports in all 7 partner countries. in the reports, we write about rights of victims with disabilities in the 7 countries. the report is about how needs of victims with disabilities are respected in different countries. society often treats people with disabilities differently than other people. 3 in 7 project countries, we spoke with: • persons with disabilities who are victims of a crime • judges, • lawyers, • prosecutors, • police and • social workers. all 7 countries say there is not enough information. for example, there is not enough information on how many people with disabilities are victims of crime or what type of support they need. in this easy-to-read document, we give the main information from the national research report for bulgaria. 3. report from bulgaria in bulgaria, chance and support association wrote the report. they found out that people follow the european union’s victims’ rights directive poorly. the country does not recognize the rights of victims with disabilities well. this means that victims of crime with disabilities are not respected and protected enough. people often do not report crime against persons with disabilities. 4 people who wrote the report recommend different things: • any abuse against persons with disabilities should be treated as crime, • people who work in the justice system must take trainings to be able to work with victims with disabilities, • victims with disabilities must get the support they need, • the state must make sure that people know about violence against persons with disabilities. project name and number the full name of the project is: information and communication: cornerstones of justice for victims of crime with disability (878604 — infocompwds). disclaimer the content of this report represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility. the european commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. this project is co-funded by the european union’s justice programme (2014-2020)1 voices for justice in croatia easy-to-read document 1. about the project people with disabilities are sometimes victims of crime. this means other people sometimes abuse them in different ways. victims with disabilities do not get justice as much as other people. that must change. we want to make changes with the project voices for justice: communicating with victims of crime with disabilities. many organisations work on the project. they are called partners. the partners come from 7 european countries: • bulgaria • croatia • czechia • lithuania • romania • slovakia • slovenia 2 important to know: we use a very important document in our project. it is called the european union’s victims’ rights directive. this directive gives rights to all victims with disabilities. one of the rights is the right to information. this means that victims with disabilities have a right to be given information, which they can fully understand and use. victims with disabilities also have the right to be heard and understood by others. if you want more easy-to-read information on the project, click on this link: voices for justice easy-to-read 2. about the reports we did the reports in all 7 partner countries. in the reports, we write about rights of victims with disabilities in the 7 countries. the report is about how needs of victims with disabilities are respected in different countries. society often treats people with disabilities differently than other people. 3 in 7 project countries, we spoke with: • persons with disabilities who are victims of a crime • judges, • lawyers, • prosecutors, • police and • social workers. all 7 countries say there is not enough information. for example, there is not enough information on how many people with disabilities are victims of crime or what type of support they need. in this easy-to-read document, we give the main information from the national research report for croatia. 3. report from croatia in croatia, organisation called vwss wrote the report. vwws found out that police officers and other professionals do not have enough knowledge of how to work with persons with disabilities. they do not know how to respect the needs of victims with disabilities well. this is because of lack of training and information on disabilities. 4 police officers, prosecutors and judges must write down the needs of each victim with disability. but that does not work well in practice. in croatia, people with disabilities have trouble coming into buildings such as courts because there may not be any ramps or elevators. safe houses for victims of domestic violence are a problem. the professionals in these houses do not know how to work with victims with disabilities well. some things need to change in croatia. one important change is for professionals to ask people with disabilities what support they need. people with disabilities need professionals to communicate with each other. project name and number the full name of the project is: information and communication: cornerstones of justice for victims of crime with disability (878604 — infocompwds). disclaimer the content of this report represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility. the european commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. this project is co-funded by the european union’s justice programme (2014-2020)1 voices for justice in czechia easy-to-read document 1. about the project people with disabilities are sometimes victims of crime. this means other people sometimes abuse them in different ways. victims with disabilities do not get justice as much as other people. that must change. we want to make changes with the project voices for justice: communicating with victims of crime with disabilities. many organisations work on the project. they are called partners. the partners come from 7 european countries: • bulgaria • croatia • czechia • lithuania • romania • slovakia • slovenia 2 important to know: we use a very important document in our project. it is called the european union’s victims’ rights directive. this directive gives rights to all victims with disabilities. one of the rights is the right to information. this means that victims with disabilities have a right to be given information, which they can fully understand and use. victims with disabilities also have the right to be heard and understood by others. if you want more easy-to-read information on the project, click on this link: voices for justice easy-to-read 2. about the reports we did the reports in all 7 partner countries. in the reports, we write about rights of victims with disabilities in the 7 countries. the report is about how needs of victims with disabilities are respected in different countries. society often treats people with disabilities differently than other people. 3 in 7 project countries, we spoke with: • persons with disabilities who are victims of a crime • judges, • lawyers, • prosecutors, • police and • social workers. all 7 countries say there is not enough information. for example, there is not enough information on how many people with disabilities are victims of crime or what type of support they need. in this easy-to-read document, we give the main information from the national research report for czechia. 3. report from czechia the organisation forum for human rights wrote the report for czechia. in czechia, the professionals in justice system often see victims with mental disabilities only as witnesses. this means they do not see persons with mental disabilities as real victims. 4 victims with disabilities do not get enough support. victims with mental disabilities do not get information they understand. there are some cases in czechia when professionals provide good support and information. for example, some police officers at some police stations provide good support and information. project name and number the full name of the project is: information and communication: cornerstones of justice for victims of crime with disability (878604 — infocompwds). disclaimer the content of this report represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility. the european commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. this project is co-funded by the european union’s justice programme (2014-2020)1 voices for justice in lithuania easy-to-read document 1. about the project people with disabilities are sometimes victims of crime. this means other people sometimes abuse them in different ways. victims with disabilities do not get justice as much as other people. that must change. we want to make changes with the project voices for justice: communicating with victims of crime with disabilities. many organisations work on the project. they are called partners. the partners come from 7 european countries: • bulgaria • croatia • czechia • lithuania • romania • slovakia • slovenia 2 important to know: we use a very important document in our project. it is called the european union’s victims’ rights directive. this directive gives rights to all victims with disabilities. one of the rights is the right to information. this means that victims with disabilities have a right to be given information, which they can understand and use. victims with disabilities also have the right to be heard and understood by others. if you want more easy-to-read information on the project, click on this link: voices for justice easy-to-read 2. about the reports we did the reports in all 7 partner countries. in the reports, we write about rights of victims with disabilities in the 7 countries. the report is about how needs of victims with disabilities are respected in different countries. society often treats people with disabilities differently than other people. in 7 project countries, we spoke with: • persons with disabilities who are victims of a crime, • judges, 3 • lawyers, • prosecutors, • police, and • social workers. all 7 countries say there is not enough information. for example, there is not enough information on how many people with disabilities are victims of crime or what type of support they need. in this easy-to-read document, we give the main information from the national research report for lithuania. 3. report from lithuania in lithuania, organisation called “psichikos sveikatos perspektyvos” did research and wrote the research report. in lithuania, the european union’s victims’ rights directive is respected in some ways. but there is no special support for victims with disabilities. for example, police officers do not check if victims understand their rights or the justice process. persons with disabilities do not get 4 information in easy-to-understand language nor in braille, if they need it. professionals speak with persons with disabilities in a formal, complicated way. sometimes professionals do not hear or see people with disabilities. professionals are not trained to communicate in an easy way. they do not have knowledge about different disabilities. victims with disabilities do not get enough information on what happens next. victims with disabilities do not get the emotional or other types of support they need. professionals who work with victims with disabilities should get good training in communication and understanding disability. victims with disabilities should get good support and information. victims with disabilities say they want a more humane attitude and respectful communication from professionals in the justice system. project name and number the full name of the project is: information and communication: cornerstones of justice for victims of crime with disability (878604 — infocompwds). disclaimer the content of this report represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility. the european commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. this project is co-funded by the european union’s justice programme (2014-2020)1 voices for justice in romania easy-to-read document 1. about the project people with disabilities are sometimes victims of crime. this means other people sometimes abuse them in different ways. victims with disabilities do not get justice as much as other people. that must change. we want to make changes with the project voices for justice: communicating with victims of crime with disabilities. many organisations work on the project. they are called partners. the partners come from 7 european countries: • bulgaria • croatia • czechia • lithuania • romania • slovakia • slovenia 2 important to know: we use a very important document in our project. it is called the european union’s victims’ rights directive. this directive gives rights to all victims with disabilities. one of the rights is the right to information. this means that victims with disabilities have a right to be given information, which they can fully understand and use. victims with disabilities also have the right to be heard and understood by others. if you want more easy-to-read information on the project, click on this link: voices for justice easy-to-read 2. about the reports we did the reports in all 7 partner countries. in the reports, we write about rights of victims with disabilities in the 7 countries. the report is about how needs of victims with disabilities are respected in different countries. society often treats people with disabilities differently than other people. 3 in 7 project countries, we spoke with: • persons with disabilities who are victims of a crime • judges, • lawyers, • prosecutors, • police and • social workers. all 7 countries say there is not enough information. for example, there is not enough information on how many people with disabilities are victims of crime or what type of support they need. in this easy-to-read document, we give the main information from the national research report for romania. 3. report from romania the organisation center for legal resources wrote the report in romania. in romania, adult victims with mental disabilities are very vulnerable. professionals have prejudice against victims with mental disabilities. the procedures are very formal. professionals do not know how to respect the needs of victims with mental disabilities well. 4 in romania, professionals give better support to: • child victims of abuse and neglect, • victims of domestic violence and • victims of human trafficking. adult victims with mental disabilities do not get good support. they do not get easy-to-read and easy-to-understand information. many organisations and professionals do not know how to write easy-to-understand information. professionals work in different ways. some organisations and professionals provide good support. others provide no support. most professionals do not have clear instructions on how to work with victims with disabilities. they do not have clear instructions on how to respect the needs of the victims with disabilities. outside of the cities, the support is mostly poor. laws respect the victims’ rights directive. but in practice, the directive is poorly respected. romania needs national support services that are accessible and adapted to all victims of crime with disabilities. 5 project name and number the full name of the project is: information and communication: cornerstones of justice for victims of crime with disability (878604 — infocompwds). disclaimer the content of this report represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility. the european commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. this project is co-funded by the european union’s justice programme (2014-2020)1 voices for justice in slovakia easy-to-read document 1. about the project people with disabilities are sometimes victims of crime. this means other people sometimes abuse them in different ways. victims with disabilities do not get justice as much as other people. that must change. we want to make changes with the project voices for justice: communicating with victims of crime with disabilities. many organisations work on the project. they are called partners. the partners come from 7 european countries: • bulgaria • croatia • czechia • lithuania • romania • slovakia • slovenia 2 important to know: we use a very important document in our project. it is called the european union’s victims’ rights directive. this directive gives rights to all victims with disabilities. one of the rights is the right to information. this means that victims with disabilities have a right to be given information, which they can fully understand and use. victims with disabilities also have the right to be heard and understood by others. if you want more easy-to-read information on the project, click on this link: voices for justice easy-to-read 2. about the reports we did the reports in all 7 partner countries. in the reports, we write about rights of victims with disabilities in the 7 countries. the report is about how needs of victims with disabilities are respected in different countries. society often treats people with disabilities differently than other people. in 7 project countries, we spoke with: • persons with disabilities who are victims of a crime 3 • judges, • lawyers, • prosecutors, • police and • social workers. all 7 countries say there is not enough information. for example, there is not enough information on how many people with disabilities are victims of crime or what type of support they need. in this easy-to-read document, we give the main information from the national research report for slovakia. 3. report from slovakia in slovakia, forum for human rights wrote the report. the law in slovakia says that persons with disabilities are vulnerable victims. but victims with disabilities do not have good support in the criminal justice system. the law says victims with disabilities can get special professional support but there is not support available. victims with disabilities may not find organisations and professionals to support them in the criminal justice system. 4 victim support is meant mostly for children and women. victims with mental disabilities often have guardians. this is called guardianship. guardians are persons who communicate with authorities in the name of the person with a disability. the person with a disability only testifies as a witness. guardianship is not ok. people with disabilities must speak for themselves. sometimes court says the testimony from a person with a disability is not to be trusted. this is also not ok. people with disabilities deserve the same trust as other people. but some good changes are happening. soon contact points with information for all victims will be available across slovakia. project name and number the full name of the project is: information and communication: cornerstones of justice for victims of crime with disability (878604 — infocompwds). disclaimer the content of this report represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility. the european commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. this project is co-funded by the european union’s justice programme (2014-2020)1 voices for justice in slovenia easy-to-read document 1. about the project people with disabilities are sometimes victims of crime. this means other people sometimes abuse them in different ways. victims with disabilities do not get justice as much as other people. that must change. we want to make changes with the project voices for justice: communicating with victims of crime with disabilities. many organisations work on the project. they are called partners. the partners come from 7 european countries: • bulgaria • croatia • czechia • lithuania • romania • slovakia • slovenia 2 important to know: we use a very important document in our project. it is called the european union’s victims’ rights directive. this directive gives rights to all victims with disabilities. one of the rights is the right to information. this means that victims with disabilities have a right to be given information, which they can fully understand and use. victims with disabilities also have the right to be heard and understood by others. if you want more easy-to-read information on the project, click on this link: voices for justice easy-to-read 2. about the reports we did the reports in all 7 partner countries. in the reports, we write about rights of victims with disabilities in the 7 countries. the report is about how needs of victims with disabilities are respected in different countries. society often treats people with disabilities differently than other people. 3 in 7 project countries, we spoke with: • persons with disabilities who are victims of a crime • judges, • lawyers, • prosecutors, • police and • social workers. all 7 countries say there is not enough information. for example, there is not enough information on how many people with disabilities are victims of crime or what type of support they need. in this easy-to-read document, we give the main information from the national research report for slovenia. 3. report from slovenia in slovenia, three organisations wrote the report together faculty of social work from university of ljubljana social protection institute of the republic of slovenia legal centre for the protection of human rights and environment victims of crime with disabilities have poor access to criminal justice system in slovenia. 4 there is not enough information on the rights of victims with disabilities in criminal proceedings. materials online and offline are not accessible enough. needs of victims with disabilities are not respected enough. special support and accessible information should be provided. professionals need training. organisations that provide services should work with one another and the justice system more. project name and number the full name of the project is: information and communication: cornerstones of justice for victims of crime with disability (878604 — infocompwds). disclaimer the content of this report represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility. the european commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. this project is co-funded by the european union’s justice programme (2014-2020) 5
