The European Union policy in the field of protection of the rights of victims of crimes
Authors: Syroid T.L. 
Published: August 2024

The article focuses on the provisions of EU acts in the field of protection of the rights of crime victims. It is noted that the existing regulations of the Union are based on the provisions of the constituent acts of the EU, in particular: the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, the Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU), (art. 82(2) (c)). Attention is paid to specialized acts: Directive 2004/80/EC relating to compensation to crime victims, Directive 2011/99/ EU on the European protection order, Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (the Victims’ Rights Directive), EU Strategy on victims’ rights (2020-2025).
It was established that the EU is constantly working on improving the legal framework in the field of protecting the rights of crime victims, which aims to expand the rights and opportunities of this category of persons taking into account the realities of today, related to the improvement of the forms and methods of committing crimes that have a negative impact on the victims.
This concerns, first of all, Directive 2012/29/EC, the revision of which is part of the aforementioned EU Strategy on Victims’ Rights. The EU Commission is also making significant efforts to improve the legal framework for the protection of this category of persons. In particular, as a result of the consultations, the Commission proposed in 2023 amendments to the Victims’ Rights Directive, which address five main victims’ rights: access to information, improved support and protection, improved participation in criminal proceedings and easier access to compensation.
Attention is paid to the activities of the EU in the development of acts aimed at protecting victims of certain categories of crimes, namely: victims of trafficking, victims of violence, sexual exploitation and child pornography, victims of terrorism. The main provisions of the following normative documents are highlighted: Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims (amended in 2022), EU Security Union Strategy of 8 July 2020, EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (2021-2025), Directive 2011/93/ EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/ JHA, Regulation (EU) No 606/2013 on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters, the EU Strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse 2020-2025, the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, Proposal for a regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse COM/2022/209, Directive (EU) 2017/541 on combating terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA, the Counter-Terrorism Agenda for the EU, etc.
It is emphasized that the norms of the mentioned acts take into account the specifics of the relevant category of victims, their urgent needs and contain specific recommendations for treating them, which in turn has the effect of reducing victim behavior towards this category of people and taking into account their needs. Appropriate conclusions have been made.