{"id":10537,"date":"2021-03-25T17:15:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T15:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crj.ro\/?page_id=10537"},"modified":"2023-07-13T00:40:43","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T21:40:43","slug":"voices-for-justice-communicating-with-victims-of-crime-with-disability","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.crj.ro\/en\/advocate-for-dignity\/voices-for-justice-communicating-with-victims-of-crime-with-disability\/","title":{"rendered":"Voices for Justice – Communicating with Victims of Crime with Disability"},"content":{"rendered":"

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People with disabilities are more likely to be victims of crime and less likely to receive justice. A major challenge for people with disabilities is having the right information presented in the right way, so that they understand their rights, and know how to report a crime and how to engage with the legal process. A challenge for professionals working in the justice system is that they often have little experience communicating with people with disabilities and a poor understanding of their needs. A strong system of law exists at the United Nations and the European Union to address these challenges but it is not always well understood or implemented. This project aims to address these gaps by creating practical guidelines for people with disabilities who are victims of crime, as well as for the judges, lawyers, police, social workers and others who defend their rights. The project will also help policy-makers at EU level be better informed and support the development of international standards to protect the rights of people with disabilities who are victims of crime.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Project description:<\/h4>\n

The project focuses on creating practical tools for people with disabilities who are victims of crime, to help ensure that they can participate actively in criminal justice processes. The EU Victims\u2019 Rights Directive (2012\/29\/EU) guarantees victims the rights, among others, to understand and be understood, to information, and to be heard. Where criminal justice professionals fail to provide victims with disabilities with accessible information, do not have the knowledge and tools to communicate in ways victims with disabilities can understand, or cannot support victims with disabilities to express their needs and experiences, these rights are violated and victims do not receive justice.<\/p>\n

People with intellectual disabilities, people with psychosocial disabilities and people with physical disabilities are the focus of the project, including those who experience multiple and intersecting discrimination because of their disability together with their gender, ethnicity, or other status.\u00a0 The two-year project started in July 2020, is co-funded by the European Commission and is taking place in seven EU countries (Romania, Slovakia, Czechia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Lithuania, Croatia).<\/p>\n

The project builds on the expertise and experience of the Validity Foundation and the Consortium partners. Validity and project partners have previously investigated\u00a0access to justice for children with mental disabilities<\/a>, and developed tools to enhance the skills of legal professionals to represent children with mental disabilities in a project entitled \u2018Innovating European Lawyers to Advance the Rights of Children with Disabilities<\/a>\u2018. In parallel, Validity is coordinating a second EC co-funded project focused on making criminal justice systems child-friendly in three EU countries, by improving how individual assessments are conducted for children with disabilities, children who are unaccompanied, or children who are deprived of parental care. The two projects are being implemented in close cooperation, and it is anticipated that the findings, outcomes and deliverables will be complementary.<\/p>\n

Legal background<\/h3>\n

In terms of the wider international context, the nexus between the obligations set out in the\u00a0EU Directive (2012\/29\/EU)<\/a>\u00a0together with the more recent\u00a0EU Strategy on Victims\u2019 Rights 2020-2025<\/a>, the\u00a0EU Disability Strategy 2010 \u2013 2020<\/a>, and the United Nations\u2019\u00a0Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)<\/a>\u00a0are critical. Although the EU acceded to the CRPD in 2010 and the Convention has been ratified by each of the 27 EU Member States, there is a lack of clarity as to how it applies in combination with existing EU law, and even less what that means in practice for people with disabilities. Further, findings by the European Commission in\u00a0May 2020<\/a>\u00a0illustrate that transposition of the Victims\u2019 Rights Directive has been insufficient in most EU Member States. There has been almost no assessment of whether and how transposition of the Directive into national legal systems has affected the ability of persons with disabilities to access their rights. This project aims to improve access by people with disabilities victims of crime to their rights under the Directive and to inform the development and implementation of the international legal framework with evidence and promising practices.<\/p>\n

Objectives<\/h3>\n

The project aims to:<\/p>\n