National Strategy for the Rights of Crime Victims (ENDVC)
The Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 2/2024, published on 5th January, approves the National Strategy for the Rights of Crime Victims (ENDVC) for 2024-2028.
The ENDVC seeks to guarantee crime prevention and effective responses to all situations of victimisation, without neglecting the specific needs of particularly vulnerable victims.
To this end, a plan is set forth to increase the territorial deployment of Victim Support Offices and reinforce the national victim helpline. There is also a plan to create a digital application which will provide access to information on rights and services and allow reporting in several languages.
Additionally, the ENDVC includes the establishment of referral protocols between police forces and victim support services and the development of circuits for action in health establishments and schools in cases where a crime victim is identified, with reporting being mandatory.
The Resolution also provides for a reparation fund for victims, to be funded by a portion of the fines paid as a result of criminal convictions, and the adoption of police and judicial protocols which prevent physical and/or visual contact between victim and offender during procedural steps.
It is also worth highlighting the pilot project which aims to operationalise the removal of the offender from the family home, namely in the case of domestic violence, because although this measure is already provided for in previous legislation, it is still common practice for the victim to leave the house.
Furthermore, it is proposed to set up centres for victims of sexual violence in hospital emergency rooms and to guarantee a user number in the National Health Service for undocumented victims.
There are also plans to develop adequate support for the multidisciplinary training of judicial members, criminal police bodies and multidisciplinary court support teams on re-victimisation, secondary victimisation and victim interview techniques.
The ENDVC will also include a national survey on victimisation in order to promote knowledge, funding, monitoring and evaluation of the specificities of the Portuguese reality in this field.
The Council of Ministers appointed a structure for national coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the ENDVC, which will run until 30th June 2029 and will be supported by a Technical Monitoring Committee.
The Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 2/2024 came into force on 6th January.