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Description
Project #Supportforyou unites resources of 3 partner organizations from Kaunas, Vilnius, Kretinga to increase awareness, accessibility, quality, transparency, efficiency of Support Services and state guaranteed support. Although the Law on Support to Victims of Crime was adopted in 2021 aimed at securing that the victims of crime received support according to individual needs, the Support Services were accredited, the victims'' rights to get necessary information and support are not guaranteed de facto. There is no funding for the publicity of the services, so most victims do not seek help; there are no regulations on organization of Support Services and their delivery process; there is no funding for the improvement of support officers'' competencies. The project aims at increasing public awareness on possibility of state-guaranteed support to victims of crime and creating a support delivery system by publicizing support services, increasing accessibility, efficiency, transparency of the support, improving specialists’ competences, submitting proposals to the authorities on practical implementation of the legislation. The target groups are victims of crime, first contact institutions, the public - information about the support possibilities; staff providing services. The project will carry out an information campaign aimed at the public and the first contact institutions; it will also develop description of the support process and recommendations for implementation of the legislation; prepare teaching material for training and conduct training.
It is expectd that information campaign will raise public awareness of about support services by 5% and by at least 10% in the first contact authorities; number of customers of support services among partner organizations will increase by at least 50%.
Summary of project results
Increase public awareness of the availability of state-guaranteed assistance to victims of crime. Increase the accessibility, efficiency and transparency of the assistance provided, improve the competence of specialists, and make proposals to the authorities on the practical implementation of the legislation. Improve the quality of the assistance provided by unifying the process of providing operational assistance. The surveys carried out during the project included: a public opinion survey to assess the public awareness of the assistance provided by the PTs, analysis and publication of the results of the survey; a remote sensing survey of First Contact Authorities (FCAs) on a national scale to identify the FCAs and the visibility of the assistance provided by the FCAs; and a qualitative and quantitative survey of FCA practitioners to analyse the availability, scope, content, recording and record keeping procedures of the assistance provided to the victims of criminal offences.
Public awareness of state-guaranteed assistance to victims of crime was raised to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of the assistance provided. A publicity campaign was carried out, with information about the TA being publicised on social media and other publicity channels. 1 awareness-raising campaign with a video produced and broadcast on social networks; 48 messages produced and published on social networks, reaching 387725 people in the publicity activities of the project partners, 8287 people on the websites of SPTA members. Improvement of the competences of specialists to improve the quality of assistance provided, training and seminars were carried out. A unified description of the Assistance Activity was made to unify the process of providing operational assistance. Recommendations were made to the state institutions responsible for the mentoring and implementation of the Law on Assistance to Victims of Crime on how to improve the legal framework, provide algorithms for the provision of assistance, and promote cooperation to improve the quality of assistance.
The surveys carried out during the project included: a public opinion survey to assess the public awareness of the assistance provided by the PTs, analysis and publication of the survey results; a national remote sensing survey of First Contact Authorities (FCAs) professionals to identify the FCAs and the visibility of the assistance provided by them; a quantitative and qualitative survey of PTs professionals to analyse the availability, scope, content, recording and recording procedures of the assistance provided to the victims of crime. Based on the analysis of the surveys, the needs of victims of crime and the needs of PT and first-contact professionals in order to receive/deliver quality assistance were identified. Following the identification of existing problems, recommendations for legislation on the provision of assistance to victims of crime were made, and a description of the activities of the helpdesks was developed and made available to all PT. This has led to a standardisation of the practice of assistance, improved administration and a standardised system of recording persons, which reduces time costs and improves the quality of assistance. The knowledge gained by the project partners has enabled organisations to develop strategic action plans, setting out the organisation''s objectives and a clear vision of the actions to be taken in order to achieve the objectives. The training organised for PTs increases the competences of the professionals involved, which are maintained in the long term. All the intellectual products developed during the project will be used by SPTA members in their own organisations to increase the quality of assistance, improving and developing cooperation algorithms with first contact institutions. This indicates benefits for all target groups PT organisations/ professionals, first contact organisations for victims of crime. The information campaign on social networks and meetings with audiences provided the general public with detailed information on the possibilities of getting help after being a victim of a crime. A very important factor is the working meetings attended by NGOs and institutional specialists. This allows for a convergence of views on the problems expressed and the search for a common solution, improving communication and cooperation between the NGO sector and the state institutions.