Advancing Victims’ Rights policy in the EU: Insights from the ViSAR Project on Domestic Violence and Cross-Border Protection

• In Event: Securing a Seat at the Policy Table: Advancing Criminology’s Impact on Decision-Making

Abstract

Ensuring the effective and coherent application of EU victims’ rights legislation remains a challenge, particularly in cases of domestic violence and cross-border victim protection. This presentation introduces key findings from ViSAR, a European project that strengthens the practical implementation of Directive 2012/29/EU on Victims’ Rights, Directive 2011/99/EU on the European Protection Order, and Directive 2004/80/EC on Compensation for Crime Victims. Against the background of the Istanbul Convention and the EU Strategy on Victims' Rights (2020-2025), the project fosters cooperation among justice, law enforcement, social services, and civil society organizations.
ViSAR focuses on enhancing access to justice for victims, particularly women, children, and the LGBTQ+ community, addressing definitional inconsistencies and discriminatory barriers that hinder compensation and protection mechanisms. Through multidisciplinary collaboration, the project develops three transnational standard model agreements to improve cross-border victim support and introduces an AI-supported search-and-response platform to facilitate access to services.
This session will explore the interplay between research, policy, and practice, highlighting how ViSAR’s findings contribute to the upcoming update of the European Directive on Victims' Rights. It will also provide insights into practitioner-informed solutions that ensure victim-centered approaches are both legally sound and practically implementable across EU Member States.

Author

• Konstantinos Panagos, NATIONAL KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS, LAW SCHOOL