Description
The project is justified by the need to consider the victimization of Roma communities and to ensure a better communication between Roma and the police, to facilitate better services for these communities in the field of public order and legal protection. The project is justified by the need to have data regarding the victimization within Roma communities and the cost of crime and victimization for society in order to design and prepare other interventions in order to reduce it and protect the vulnerable groups. This project addresses actions that can be implemented to improve the situation of Roma with respect to their experiences of criminal victimization and their experiences of racist victimization and harassment. It will promote a public service culture amongst law enforcement so that Roma feel able and are encouraged to report their experiences of victimization to the police and police will be better equipped and prepared to investigate such complaints. The specific objectives/outcomes of the project are: increasing knowledge of relevant national/European actors in the field of victimization within Roma communities and the cost of Roma crime and victimization for society, increasing capacity of Roma NGOs to raise awareness of members of Roma communities on crime victimization and to prevent victimization within Roma communities, expertise and best practices transfer in the field of preventing and investigating hate crimes, protection of human and minority rights from international, Norwegian and other European organizations to Romanian Police, with specific focus for Roma communities Target group: vulnerable persons from Roma communities An increased knowledge with regard to Roma victimization and the cost of Roma crime and victimization for society. Also building the capacity of Roma NGOs in the field of preventing victimization and increasing the capacity of Romanian judicial institutions to prevent and investigate hate crime and discrimination.
Summary of project results
The project was dedicated to improve the situation of vulnerable Roma communities. Since there was no clear image regarding victimization in Roma communities- according to the law- Romanian Police is not able to collect data which is ethnically marked the level of knowledge in this field was increased by the development and publishing of the first study conducted in Romania at national level. The findings will be further used and constitute a starting point for new developments. The research was published in 1000 copies distributed in police schools and to OSCE and CoE. Other achievements of the project were linked to the direct support provided to Roma ethnics to obtain identity documents and to understand the importance of having ID documents, but also to increase the consciousness of vulnerable Roma regarding the victimization and prevention of the phenomenon through prevention campaigns performed by the specialized NGO. Also, the need to improve the level of knowledge and to extend the relationship and trust between Roma ethnics and police was addressed by training 127 anti-victimization counselors. Activities to prevent victimization have been carried out, including through 65 local information sessions on legal, economic and social rights with the participation of 2342 people. An informative spot was created and broadcast both online and on TV and had a wide audience (505.342 people informed, the target was 2.000). 4 informative materials (anti-victimization package) were distributed in Roma communities containing information about legal, economic and social rights. In order to facilitate better services for Roma people in the field of public order and legal protection and to promote a public service culture amongst law enforcement so that Roma feel able and encouraged to report their experiences on victimization to the police, courses for police officers were organized: Roma culture and language trainings (4 sessions, 80 officers trained), countering hate crimes (40 officers trained), advanced interviewing techniques (40 police officers trained), combating victimization/hate crime (2517 police officers trained, with 2217 more than target).Romanian police capacity was build in the field of preventing/combating/investigating hate crime through expertise and good practices exchange during the study visits and international conferences (also this indicator was exceeded – 83 participants) that were organized during the project implementation.
Summary of bilateral results