Advancing Rights of Estonian Victims (AREV)

The AREV project (Advancing Rights of Estonian victims) was brought to life as a result of cooperation between the Ministry of Justice, Victim Support Europe, and the European Union and will last for two years (2021–2023). The project aims to offer better protection for victims of crime and to improve victim support services in Estonia.

Together, during the project, the Ministry of Justice, the Police and Border Guard Board, the Social Insurance Board, the healthcare sector, and other stakeholders will develop and deliver:

  • specific tools for assessing the needs of a victim of crime, for the referral of victims from one service to another, for the better provision of information
  • processes to ensure the protection of victims of crime and to better support them

Project targets:

  • Increase stakeholders’ knowledge about each other’s capacity and capability to deliver services and support for victims
  • Increase stakeholders’ understanding of victims’ needs 
  • Improve referral to support services
  • Improve public awareness of victims’ rights and services available to them
  • Encourage replication of project results in other EU Member States

Activities:

The project consist of six stages:

1.    community needs assessment
2.    stakeholder consultation
3.    proposal for tools
4.    training for professionals
5.    implementation of tools
6.    assessment & evaluation

The outcomes of the projects will be achieved through the following activities:

  • research and data collection
  • mapping of existing victim support services 
  • stakeholder seminars (primarily the police, victim support services and the healthcare sector)
  • development of tools for individual protection needs, referral, provision of required information
  • training of healthcare, law enforcement, and victim support experts 
  • awareness raising campaign to inform public, as well as specific target groups, of project activities 

Neli kätt üksteist hoidmas

Pilot area of the project

AREV is a pilot project that will be implemented in Ida-Viru and Lääne-Viru counties. By piloting the activities in one region, it is easier to supervise the project and implement its activities in a timely, more accurate, manner. The execution of the activities in the pilot area will allow the project team evaluate outcomes at the end of the period and recommend improvements for a potential nation-wide roll-out after the project ends. 
Once the project has been delivered in a specific area, the results will be used to adapt the model for the rest of the country. 

Participation in the project is open to everyone

Project partners in the pilot region

  • East Prefecture (police departments of Jõhvi, Narva, and Rakvere)

  •  Viru District Prosecutor’s Office

  • Viru County Court

  • Victim Support Service of the National Social Insurance Board, Eastern region

  • Ida-Viru Central Hospital, Rakvere Hospital, Narva Hospital

  •  Association of Local Authorities of Lääne-Viru County, Association of Local Authorities of Ida-Viru County

  •  Other organisations

Project management

While the day-to-day operations and delivery of the project will be ensured by the VSE project team, an Executive Committee will be established to provide guidance on the overall implementation of the project. The Executive Committee consists of the Deputy Director of Victim Support Europe, the project manager, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, and the Prosecutor’s Office, and a representative of the European Commission. The Executive Committee will make the decisions on the project’s main activities – approval of key deliverables and other key points in the project delivery. 

The Executive Committee is supported by an Expert’s Panel, an ad hoc advisory board composed of European and global experts in topics relevant to the implementation of the project who will offer views and suggestions on the development of project tools and the delivery of activities.

The project is led by the Europe-wide umbrella organisation for the protection of victims of crime, Victim Support Europe. The organisation has 63 members from 31 countries, and supports more than two million victims of crime every year.

The project for the protection of victims of crime is funded by the EU Structural Reform Support Programme.

contacts:
  • Antonio De Martin, Victim Support Europe, project manager in Brussels 

          [email protected]

  • Anna-Liisa Uisk, adviser of the analysis department, project contact at the Ministry of Justice

         [email protected]

Victim Support Europe logo
Projekti logo (pääsuke ja kiri AREV)
EL struktuurfondi logo

Last updated: 28.04.2023