VSE members from Denmark, Offerraadgivningen i Danmark (OID) have been more than active in last period. Here is a short overview of their main activities in the first quarter of the year:
European Victim’s Day 2017:
On 22nd February OID used the material from VSE on Facebook and its homepage, translating the press information into Danish, and had also announced Victim’s Day on other occasions to the local leaders, the Ministry of Justice etc.
Advocacy on the Victim Directive:
OID has selected issues from the directive that still need to be strengthened in Denmark, and which we raise in a few advisory fora under the Ministry of Justice and the National Police, and which we also bring up during meetings with the spokespersons on rights within the political parties, and which we last discussed with the new Minister of Justice. OID also participates in hearings on legal issues, relevant for victims.
Education and Development:
OID has planned for a new three-year project on Education and Development 2018-2020, which also includes further Mentor Support, as we have found this extended support very relevant to victims who have little resources to get on with life after a crime or accident. An application is ready for the Council of the Danish victims Fund, “Offerfonden”, which has funded the present project as well as the mentor program.
Meanwhile, OID has had dialogues with “Offerfonden” on general major constraints, experienced over the first three years, and where we now can see some positive response.
The Educational working group held in early March a thematic day on Cyber Crime with two presentations that focused on the types of crimes, the cyber world and the victims, and where we came up with issues, we shall address further. Police from both national and local level also attended and appreciated that OID brought up the theme.
Also in March, the Educational Project Coordinator held a weekend seminar on leadership for the local chairmen and vice-chairmen. It was based on answers from victim advisors who has answered an extensive questionnaire on how they value their local victim support organization in various aspects. This feedback identified issues that the participants should address in their own organization to gain greater organizational and counselling quality and to maintain volunteers.
National Mentoring
OID’s mentoring program is a great success in the local victim support organization. Nationally, the program has over 100 running mentoring cases with victims, witnesses or relatives. The mentors have performed more than 1,000 mentoring sessions since the program started 1st June 2015. The program is composed of personal interviews and telephone counseling, mail correspondence and assessor activity. The project is funded by the Council of the Danish victims Fund.
Annual General Meeting 2017
On 22nd April OID will hold its Annual General Meeting. The Minister of Justice will be the guest speaker. The day before on 21st April, OID will together with the police hold a Thematic Day on Communication and Press Ethics to address the request of the press for victims to make the good story.
Funds for an OID Secretariat leader
We are very excited to tell that we finally managed to get funds for a secretariat leader through the National Police.
