Activities of Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT related to 2016/2328(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime PDF (727 KB) DOC (83 KB)
Amendments (51)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Convention on the Right of the Child;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- Having regard to the European Parliament Resolution on the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence of 12 September 2017;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/800 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
- Having regard to Directive 2011/92/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children online and offline and to the European Parliament Resolution on the implementation of the Directive of 14 December 2017;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
- Having regard to the study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) entitled ‘Child-friendly justice -Perspectives and experiences of children involved in judicial proceedings as victims, witnesses or parties in nine EU Member States’, published in February 2017,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 b (new)
Citation 15 b (new)
- Having regard to the FRA Fundamental Rights Report 2017, published June 2017
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. Whereas victim support groups encompass the needs of victims, amongst their legal support, into four necessities: the right to justice, dignity, truth and memory, by which the later stands for rebuking terrorism unconditionally
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas there is still a systematic underreporting of incidences or perpetrators of domestic violence in the EU, particularly in cases involving minorities, LGBT persons, antisemitic offences, child sexual abuse and gender- based violence;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas victims are all too often unexpectedly informed of the release of an offender through media or other external factors, instead of being informed by competent authorities;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. Whereas in a considerable number of cases the victim is also the most important witness in the trial and needs to be protected from possible retaliatory or threatening behaviour from the offender; therefore the need for security should be extended to include prevention of repeat or secondary victimisation;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
G b. Whereas victims and family members are not sufficiently informed about their rights when a crime has occurred in a Member State other than where the victim resides; Whereas different definitions of the concept of 'victim' exist across Member States where national legislations extend coverage to differing degrees, e.g. to family members;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas the ratification and full implementation of the Istanbul Convention provides a coherent European legal framework to prevent and combat violence against women and to protect the victims;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I – indent 4
Recital I – indent 4
- ensuring equal accessibility for all victims to victim support services, particularly in the cases of child victims, LGBT victims and victims of hate crimes and honour- related crimes;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. Whereas victims of terrorism have suffered attacks that are intended ultimately to harm society or a larger group they represent. They therefore need special attention, support and social recognition due to the particular nature of the crime that has been committed against them;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Deplores that the Commission has not submitted a report to Parliament and to the Council on the application of the Victims’ Rights Directive by November 2017, in accordance with Article 29 of the directive; calls on the Member States to cooperate and send all relevant data and statistics to the Commission in order to facilitate its assessment on the implementation of the Directive;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – indent 2
Paragraph 4 – indent 2
- the fact that clear information is often not provided in more than one language, making it de facto difficult for victims to seek protection abroad in another Member State;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Notes that Article 4 on the Right to receive specific information in simple and accessible language without unnecessary delay from the first contact with a competent authority is one of the strengths of the Directive, as it helps to enable victims to exercise their rights to available support and protection as set out in the Directive;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Encouragescalls on the Member States to promote access to justice, as this contributes greatly to breaking the silence and increasing the victim’s sense of justice, decreases the possibility of impunity and allows the victim to begin the process of psychological recovery;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Underlines that the lack of providing information to the victim before, during and after criminal proceedings results in a poor enjoyment of victim’s rights, dissatisfaction towards the justice system and discourages the victim to actively participate in the criminal proceedings;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 27 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on Member States to assure that, if the victim does not reside in the Member State where the act of terrorism took place, this Member State should cooperate with the Member State of residence in order to facilitate assistance for the victim;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that one of the most important objectives of the Victims’ Rights Directive wais to improve the position of victims of crime across the EU and to place the victim at the centre of the criminal justice system;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls on the Member States to step up criminal procedure law measures guaranteeing the protection of child victims throughout the entirety of criminal proceedings and thereafter to ensure that they receive assistance and support, thereby avoiding that child victims are exposed to secondary victimisation;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States to properly implement in their legislation the individual assessment of the victims, this being an essential procedural step to detect and identify the specific needs of a victim, and consequently to grant specific protection in accordance with the victim’s needs; the individual assessment needs to be reviewed on a regular basis to determine on-going support needs, and a follow-up review within an appropriate period of time after the crime happened, based on existing knowledge of trauma reactions, shall be provided to victims.
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 11 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Recalls that some victims have specific needs based on the type or on the circumstances of crime they are victim of. Individual assessment is particularly needed for victims of trafficking in human beings and child victims of sexual abuse, given the social, physical and psychological repercussions of these crimes;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 11 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Regrets the difficulties experienced by victims to access support services; Deplores that in some Member States, victims support services have still not been set up; Highlights that victim support services should be accessible even when a person has not proven yet that he or she is victim of a crime, or before any official procedure or act has taken place;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States to pay particular attention to the individual assessment of minorschildren and of child victims of human trafficking, child sexual abuse and exploitation; recalls that child victims shall be always considered to have specific protection needs due to their vulnerability as foreseen in art.22 par 4 of the Directive;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Highlights the fact that individual assessments are crucial as they help the victim realise that he or she has certain rights, and the right to make decisions, in the proceedings they are involved in and, if a child, the right to have access to the specific procedural safeguards that would apply to them from the very beginning of the legal proceedings;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 14 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on the Member States to provide specific training for persons responsible for assisting victims of terrorist acts, as well as granting the necessary resources to that effect;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide training programmes and guidelines for law practitioners, police officers, prosecutors and judges to ensuring that they are better able to execute individual assessments without delay once a crime has taken place, to avoid further victimisation or secondary victimisation experienced by victims of crime and to empower victims, as a means of reducing post-traumatic stress; recalls that particular attention should be given to training professionals dealing with victims of child-related crimes, especially in cases of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation; stresses that such training should also be included in education programmes and that compulsory training should be available, on a regular basis, to all professionals involved in dealing with victims of crime, in order to develop a victim-oriented mind- set;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on the Member States to ensure they comply with all obligations on training for police officers and to include in their training how to conduct the individual assessment of victims in a timely manner while ensuring its efficient and flawless implementation
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 17 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on Member States to provide training to a wide range of healthcare professionals including general practitioners, doctors specialized in emergency assistance, nurses, medical assistants, clinical social workers and reception staff with a view to providing an effective response to the victim, particularly in relation to gender-based violence ; recommends placing a duty on medical staff in hospitals to report suspected crimes to the police and provide victims with information on their rights and access to support;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Reminds the Member States of the requirement to provide translation and interpretation services free of charge, noting that lack of information in other languages may constitutes an obstacle for the effective protection of the victim and a form of discrimination against the victim;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Urges the Commission and the Member States to engage actively in information campaigns to increase awareness about the rights of victims as established by EU law, including the specific needs of child victims;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 20 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on Member States to exchange best practices related to a victim-oriented approach for police officers in their daily work;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 20 – point 1 (new)
(1) Encourages Member States to adequately use EU funding aimed at adequate judicial training which is key to ensure that victims are well aware of their rights and are treated in a respectful manner;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Member States to exchange best practices on establishing mechanisms to encourage and facilitate for victims to report the crimes they have suffered; Calls on the Member States to step up specific measures to protect more effectively child victims of child sexual abuse by also improving the role of national helplines, given that self- reporting of children is limited;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Commission to counteract the judicial and practical flaws in the implementation of this directive by a proper interplay of the various EU victim- protection instruments, such as Directive 2011/99/EU of 31 December 2011 on the European Protection Order, Directive 2011/36/ EU of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, Directive 2011/93/EU of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and Directive 2014/42/EU of 3 April 2014 on the freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of crime; calls on the Member States to implement these important instruments, including the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and girls, with coherence in order to ensure that victims in Europe fully enjoy their rights;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Member States to put in place measures to ensure that written and oral communications comply with simple language standards taking in consideration vulnerable groups such as children and people with disabilities, so that victims can be kept informed in an adequate and targeted manner before, during and after criminal proceedings;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 25 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on Member States to ensure that where the exercise of rights is bound by time limitation periods, delays resulting from translation and interpretation difficulties shall betaken into account;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the seven Member States that have not yet done so to consider stalking a criminal offense on the basis of the relevant provisions in the directive on the right to protection of privacy, the right to protection and, in particular, the right to avoid contact with the offender and as called for under art.34 of the Istanbul Convention to prevent and combat violence against women and girls;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls on the Member States to guarantee assistance to victims from victim support services before, during and after criminal proceedings, including psychological support; deplores the fact that in some countries, governments rely heavily on NGOs to provide key support services to victims (‘volunteerism’)underlines the important role of civil society in victims support; considers nevertheless that governments shall not rely only on NGOs to provide key support services to victims (‘volunteerism’) and shall build capacity to develop victims support mechanisms, involving law enforcement authorities, health and social services and civil society;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 28 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on Member State to provide specialists' support to victims of terrorism in emergency response-planning to ensure delivery of appropriate support services immediately after an attack as well as in the long term.
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on all Member States to tacklecombat impunity at all times asnd ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice, so that victims can feel protected; not doing so could have a severe impact the psychological recovery process of the victim;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 32 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on the Commission to highlight the use of the EU-funded Project called ‘InfoVictims’ as a tool to inform victims on criminal process by using different communications means such as brochures and posters to reach out to them; this project enhances the sharing of good practices for informing victims of crimes;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 33 – point 1 (new)
(1) Calls on the Commission to turn the current e-Justice portal into a more user-friendly platform that will provide concise and understandable information to victims about their rights and the procedures to be followed;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Regrets that, compared to the Istanbul Convention, the scope of the Victims’ Rights Directive is more limited as regards protection of victims of gender- based violence (including persons affected by FGM); at the same time welcomes the Victims' Rights stronger accountability mechanism and stresses that the two instruments should be promoted together to maximize the protection offered to victims of gender-based violence.
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 35 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on the Commission to present a legal act to support Member States in the prevention and suppression of all forms of violence against women and girls and of gender-based violence;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 35 – point 1 (new)
(1) Calls on the Member States to establish a national network of victim support services to enhance cooperation between these organizations and to launch working groups to share good practices, develop training and improve communication between authorities and victims of crime;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35 a. Underlines that it is vital that Member States respond to victims of crime in a respectful, sensitive and professional manner in order to trigger encouragement for victims of crime to report to law enforcement or medical staff;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35 a. Calls on all Member States and the EU to ratify and fully enforce the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention to prevent and combat violence against women and girls and protect victims;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36 a. Calls on the Commission to submit a legal act to support Member States in the prevention and suppression of all forms of violence against women and girls and of gender-based violence;