REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA
Date: 2020-05-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: application of EU law, children's rights, crime against individuals, criminal procedure, help for victims, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, right to information, right to justice, sexual discrimination

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.5.2020  COM(2020) 188 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA  
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1. 

Background 

Directive  2012/29/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  25  October 
2012 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 or the Directive) was adopted under Article 82(2) TFEU. It lays down a set of 
rights  for  victims  of  crime  and  corresponding  obligations  on  Member  States.  The 
Victims’ Rights Directive is the major EU level instrument applicable to all victims of 
crime. It is the cornerstone of EU victims’ rights policy.  

The EU has also adopted several instruments that deal with the specific needs of victims 
of  particular  types  of  crime  (such  as  victims  of  terrorism1,  victims  of  trafficking  in 
human beings2 or child victims of sexual exploitation3). These instruments complement 
and build on the Victims’ Rights Directive.   

The Directive is binding on all Member States with the exception of Denmark. 

In  order  to  facilitate  timely  and  correct  transposition  of  the  Directive  by  the  Member 
States, the Commission published in December 2013 a Guidance Document4. 

In  2018  the  European  Parliament  published  a  report  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Directive5, based on a study from 20176. The European Parliament also looked into the 
Victims’  Rights  Directive  in  a  general  study  on  criminal  procedural  law  in  the  EU, 

1 Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on combating terrorism 
and  replacing  Council  Framework  Decision  2002/475/JHA  and  amending  Council  Decision  2005/671/JHA, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32017L0541 
2 Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating 
trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32011L0036 As to its implementation, please refer 
to  the  ‘Transposition  report’  (COM(2016)  722  final);  ‘Users  report’  (COM(2016)  719  final)  and  European 
Commission’s  Progress  reports  COM(2016)  267  final  and  COM(2018)  777  final  and  with  regard  to  the  victim 
centred,    gender  specific  and  child  sensitive  actions:  https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/publications/eu-anti-
trafficking-action-2012-2016-glance_en  and  https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/eu_anti-
trafficking_action_2017-2019_at_a_glance.pdf 
3  Directive  2011/93/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  December  2011  on  combating  the 
sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 
2004/68/JHA, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32011L0093 
4  DG  Justice  Guidance  Document  related  to  the  transposition  and  the  implementation  of  Directive  2012/29/EU, 
European 
2013, 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/13_12_19_3763804_guidance_victims_rights_directive_eu_en.pdf 
5 Report on the implementation of Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and 
protection of victims of crime (2016/2328(INI)), 14 May 2018, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-
8-2018-0168_EN.html 
6 The Victims’ Rights Directive 2012/29/EU. European Implementation Assessment, PE 611.022, December 2017, 
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/611022/EPRS_STU(2017)611022_EN.pdf 

Commission, 

December 

Justice, 

DG 

1 

 
 
 
                                                           
published  in  20187.  In  2019,  various  stakeholders  published  additional  reports  on  the 
implementation and application of the Directive8.  

1.2. 

Purpose and main elements of the Directive 

The objective of the Directive is to ensure that all victims of crime receive appropriate 
information, support and protection and are able to participate in criminal proceedings. 
According  to  the  Directive,  victims  shall  be  recognised  and  treated  in  a  respectful, 
sensitive,  tailored,  professional  and  non-discriminatory  manner  by  all  actors  coming 
into contact with them. Special attention should be paid to victims with specific needs in 
view of protecting them from secondary victimisation, retaliation and intimidation. Such 
victims shall also  have access  to  specialised support services. Moreover, the Directive 
requires  that  where  the  victim  is  a  child,  the  child’s  best  interest  shall  be  the  primary 
consideration.  

The Directive is applicable to all victims without discrimination, independently of their 
residence  status.  It  is  applicable  to  all  criminal  proceedings  taking  place  in  an  EU 
Member State, independently of when and where the crime took place. 

The Directive provides victims with a right to information, a right to understand and to 
be  understood,  a  right  to  access  support  and  protection  in  accordance  with  their 
individual needs, as well as with a set of procedural rights. 

The Court of Justice of the European Union has interpreted the Directive once - in the 
case  Gambino  and  Hyka9.  In  this  case,  the  Court  pronounced  on  the  risks  of 
undermining  the  victims’  rights  to  protection  and  to  receiving  compensation  within  a 
reasonable  time  (Articles  18  and  16  of  the  Directive  respectively)  as  a  result  of 
additional hearings that may be conducted under Italian legislation upon the request of 
the  defendant  if  the  composition  of  the  court  has  changed.  The  Court  clarified  that 
national legislation that allows the defendant to ask witnesses to be heard again in such 
circumstances was compatible with the relevant provisions of the Directive. 

1.3. 

Objective and scope of the report  

As  laid  down  in  Article  29  of  the  Directive,  this  report  assesses  the  extent  to  which 
Member  States  have  taken  the  necessary  measures  in  order  to  comply  with  the 
Directive.  The  Victims’  Rights  Directive  requires  not  only  transposition  into  national 
legislation.  It  also  requires  that  Member  States  take  non-legislative  measures  such  as 
setting up of general and specialist support services and ensuring that practitioners and 
other people coming into contact with victims are effectively trained on victims’ rights 

impact 

they  have  over 

7 Criminal procedural laws across the European Union  – A comparative analysis of selected main differences and 
the 
legislation,  PE  604.977,  August  2018, 
the  development  of  EU 
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/604977/IPOL_STU(2018)604977_EN.pdf 
8 These reports include: a report by  Special Adviser to President Juncker, Joëlle Milquet, on ‘Strengthening victims’ 
rights: from compensation to reparation’ published in March 2019, Four reports by the Fundamental Rights Agency 
on Justice for victims of violent crime, published in April 2019, and VOCIARE synthesis report by Victim Support 
Europe, published in June 2019. 
9 Case C-38/18, Judgment of the Court of 29 July 2019. 

2 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
and needs. The assessment is based on the analysis of the national measures transposing 
the  Directive  that  were  notified  to  the  Commission  and  of  additional  data  that  was 
communicated to the Commission on the basis of Article 28 of the Directive. 

This  report  focuses  on  the  core  provisions  of  the  Directive  that  are  grouped  in  the 
following clusters: (1) scope and definitions; (2) access  to information; (3) procedural 
rights; (4) access to support services; (5) restorative justice; and (6) right to protection. 
The report assess the situation in all Member States bound by the Directive10. 

2. 

GENERAL ASSESSMENT 

Under Article 27, Member States had to transpose the requirements of the Directive into 
their  national  legal  orders  by  16  November  2015.  In  January  2016,  the  Commission 
launched 
that  had  not 
communicated their transposition measures by that date11.  

infringement  proceedings  against  16  Member  States 

As  of  the  date  of  publication  of  this  Report,  most  of  the  Member  States  have  not 
completely  transposed  the  Victims’  Rights  Directive.  Infringement  proceedings  for 
these countries are on-going12.  

3. 

3.1. 

SPECIFIC POINTS OF ASSESSMENT 

Scope and definitions (Article 2) 

The  Victims’  Rights  Directive  provides  for  minimum  standards  on  victims’  rights. 
Member States can and are encouraged to go beyond these minimum standards.  

Article 2 of the Directive sets out the definitions of ‘victim’, ‘family members’, ‘child’ 
and ‘restorative justice’.  

A  correct  transposition  of  the  definition  of  victim  (that  includes  family  members  of  a 
person  deceased  as  a  result  of  crime)  is  particularly  important.  It  defines  the  scope  of 
application of the individuals’ rights provided by the Directive. 

Compliance  with  the  ‘victim’  definition  was  found  lacking  in  several  Member  States. 
The  definition  of  victim  was  either  missing,  or  the  fact  that  family  members  of  a 
deceased victim are classified as victims was not specified, limiting the rights  of such 
family members. 

‘Family members’ of a victim who has not deceased as a result of crime also have rights 
under  the  Directive,  in  particular  a  right  to  support  and  protection.  The  incomplete 
transposition of this definition has also been identified in a few Member States. 

10  The  report  includes  the  UK,  as  it  covers  a  period  during  which  it  was  an  EU  Member  State  and  part  of  the 
transition period during which the Directive continued to apply. 
11 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the 
Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia. 
12 The Commission has 21 on-going infringement proceedings for incomplete transposition of the Victims’ Rights 
Directive against Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, 
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. 

3 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
The  correct  transposition  of  the  definitions  ‘child’  and  ‘restorative  justice’  is  also 
important  as  they  determine  individuals’  concrete  rights.  Compliance  with  the 
transposition of these definitions was found lacking in a few Member States.  

3.2. 

Access to information (Articles 3-7) 

The  Victims’  Rights  Directive  sets  out  broad  provisions  on  the  right  to  access 
information. It includes a right to understand and to be understood (Article 3), a right to 
information  about  victims’  rights  (Article  4),  a  right  to  be  informed  when  making  a 
complaint  and  about  the  case  (Articles  5  and  6)  and  a  right  to  interpretation  and 
translation (Article 7). 

Article  3  requires  Member  States  to  take  appropriate  measures  to  ensure  effective 
communication with victims. Such communication should be in a simple language and 
with a consideration of personal characteristics of the victim, including any disability. 

The  Commission  found  the  implementation  of  the  right  to  understand  and  to  be 
understood to be problematic in a number of Member States. It includes a few Member 
States  that  failed  to  transpose  the  obligation  to  proactively  assist  victims  when 
communicating with them (Article 3). Several Member States failed to  ensure that the 
communication  is  provided  in  a  simple  language  and  with  a  consideration  of  the 
personal characteristics of the victim (Article 3(2)). 

Article  4  requires  that  victims  are  offered  without  unnecessary  delay  a  set  of 
information from their first contact with competent authorities. The transposition of the 
provision has been problematic for a few Member States in particular when it comes to 
the  requirement  that  the  information  must  be  provided  from  the  first  contact  with  the 
competent  authorities.  Moreover,  the  Commission  observed  some  issues  with  the 
practical  application  of  this  provision.  The  effective  implementation  of  the  obligation 
under Article 4 requires that the competent authorities are well trained on how and when 
to inform victims about their rights. 

Under  Article  5  victims  have  a  right  to  receive  a  written  acknowledgement  of  their 
complaint  and  to  complain  in  a  language  they  understand.  Shortcomings  in  the 
transposition  of  this  Article  were  identified  in  several  Member  States.  One  Member 
State  has  not  transposed  the  requirement  giving  a  possibility  to  victims  to  receive  the 
necessary linguistic assistance  when making the  complaint (Article 5(2)). A couple of 
Member  States  have  not  transposed  the  requirement  for  translation  of  the  written 
acknowledgement of the complaint  (Article 5(3)). A few other Member  States  limited 
the provision to victims of specific crimes or make it subject to victims’ request. 

Under Article 6 victims have a right to receive information about their case during the 
criminal proceedings. This provision aims to ensure that victims are able to participate 
in the proceedings and to be informed about possible risks for their security when, for 
instance,  the  offender  is  released  or  absconds.  Compliance  issues  were  identified  in  a 
large number of Member States. In a few of those Member States a clear requirement to 
notify  victims  of  their  right  to  request  information  about  the  decision  not  to  proceed 
with the case was missing. In a couple of Member States no requirement was found to 
provide  this  information  when  the  victim  so  requests.  In  a  small  number  of  Member 

4 

 
 
 
States,  victims  are  not  notified  about  the  nature  of  the  charges  against  the  offender 
(Article 6(1)). A few Member States are not compliant with the requirement to provide 
information to the victims about the state of the criminal proceedings. A couple of them 
have not transposed it and the other few Member States do not ensure the provision of 
such information throughout the whole proceedings. 

A  couple  of  Member  States  have  not  transposed  Article  6(3)  of  the  Directive.  The 
competent authorities in these Member States do not provide victims with the reasons or 
a brief summary of the reasons for the decision on the case. 

The transposition of the obligation that victims should be notified about the release or 
escape of the offender (Article 6(5)) raises concern in several Member States. Most of 
these Member States failed to transpose the requirement that victims shall be informed 
‘without unnecessary delay’ about this issue. In addition, some Member States have not 
transposed  the  requirement  to  inform  victims  about  protection  measures  in  case  of 
release or escape of the offender. 

The right to interpretation and translation for victims who do not speak the language of 
the criminal proceedings, is set out in Article 7. This right must be provided to victims 
free of charge and upon their request. 

Shortcomings  regarding  the  transposition  of  Article  7  were  found  in  the  majority  of 
Member States. In one Member State the transposition is incomplete, as it provides for 
the  interpretation  only  during  court  proceedings  (Article  7(1)).  Compliance  issues, 
related  to  non-transposition  of  Article  7(2)  on  the  use  of  videoconferencing  were 
identified  in  several  Member  States.  Shortcomings  in  the  transposition  of  the 
requirement to provide victims with translation of information essential to the exercise 
of their rights,  were  found in  some Member States  (Article 7(3)). These  shortcomings 
are mostly related to the missing translation of the reasons for the relevant decision.  

A  small  number  of  Member  States  have  not  transposed  the  victims’  right  to  submit  a 
reasoned request to consider a document as essential (Article 7(5)). Transposition issues 
of  Article  7(7)  regarding  the  assessment  by  the  competent  authorities  whether  victims 
need interpretation and translation were found in several Member States. Most of them 
have not transposed this requirement. In addition, some Member States do not provide 
for a possibility to challenge the decision not to provide the interpretation or translation.  

3.3. 

Procedural rights (Articles 10, 11, 13, 16 and 17) 

Several provisions of the Victims’ Rights Directive related to procedural rights refer to 
the  role  that  victims  play  in  the  criminal  justice  system  of  a  particular  Member  State. 
This role varies across the Member States. Thus, the exact scope of procedural rights of 
victims differs from one Member State to another.  

Article 10 of the Directive aims to ensure that all victims have an opportunity to provide 
information,  views  or  evidence  throughout  criminal  proceedings.  The  applicable 
procedural  rules  are  left  to  national  law.  Compliance  issues  were  identified  in  a  few 
Member States. They mainly relate to the lack of necessary safeguards for hearings of 
child victims (Article 10(1)). 

5 

 
 
 
Article 11 lays down victims’ rights in the event of a decision not to prosecute. A small 
number of Member States have not transposed this provision completely. For instance, 
some  Member  States  do  not  provide  for  sufficient  information  to  victims  that  would 
allow them to decide whether to request a review of a decision not to prosecute (Article 
11(3)).  

Article  13  on  access  to  legal  aid  has  been  completely  transposed  by  most  Member 
States.  It  should  be  however  noted  that  this  provision  refers  to  national  law  when  it 
comes to actual determination of the conditions or procedural rules under which victims 
have access to legal aid. Thus, this provision does not harmonise the conditions under 
which victims have access to legal aid. 

Article  16  of  the  Directive  lays  down  a  right  to  decision  on  compensation  from  the 
offender in the course of criminal proceedings. All Member States with the exception of 
one comply with this requirement. Member States are also obliged to promote measures 
that  encourage  offenders  to  provide  adequate  compensation  (Article  16(2)).  Most 
Member States have transposed this requirement.  

Article 17(1) requires that Member States minimise the difficulties for a victim who is a 
resident  of  a  Member  State  different  to  the  one  where  the  criminal  offence  was 
committed. A few Member States have not transposed this requirement. 

Shortcomings in ensuring that the complaint is transmitted without delay to the State in 
which the criminal offence was committed (Article 17(3)) were also identified. Several 
Member States have no provisions to this effect.  

3.4. 

Access of victims to support services (Article 8 and Article 9) 

The  purpose  of  Articles  8  and  9  is  to  ensure  that  victims  have  access  to  general  and 
specialist  support  services  in  accordance  with  their  needs.  The  services  shall  be 
confidential, free of charge and act in the interest of the victims before, during and for 
an appropriate time after criminal proceedings. Family members have access to support 
services in accordance with their needs and the degree of harm suffered. 

When it comes to transposition of Article 8(1) on the right to general support services, a 
number of Member States have not transposed it completely. Many Member States limit 
access  to  such  services  to  victims  of  domestic  violence  or  victims  of  trafficking  in 
human  beings.  In  practice,  however,  victims  of  domestic  violence  do  not  receive 
effective support and protection in several Member States. Furthermore, not all Member 
State provide for a right to support services for victims’ family members.  

Several Member States have failed to transpose the obligation of competent authorities 
to  refer victims  to  support services (Article 8(2)).  In those Member States victims are 
either  not  referred  to  victim  support  services  or  only  a  certain  category  of  victims  is 
referred  (e.g.,  victims  of  domestic  violence).  Similar  problems  of  transposition  were 
found  in  relation  to  Article  8(3),  which  requires  Member  States  to  establish  free  of 
charge and confidential  specialist support services. A number of Member States either 
have  not  transposed  this  provision  or  have  transposed  it  incompletely.  For  instance, 
some Member States provide for such services only to victims of domestic violence or 
child victims.  

6 

 
 
 
Issues  with  the  transposition  of  the  obligation  that  access  to  victim  support  services 
should  not  be  dependent  on  the  formal  complaint  of  a  victim  (Article  8(5))  were 
identified in a few Member States. For example, in one Member State only victims of 
domestic violence have access to support services without reporting a crime to police. 

Article  9(1)  lists  the  minimum  services  that  must  be  provided  by  victim  support 
services. A few Member States have not transposed this provision into their legislation. 
Nonetheless,  the  Commission  identified  non-legislative  measures  implementing  this 
provision.  

On  access  to  shelters  or  any  other  appropriate  interim  accommodation  for  victims  in 
need  of  a  safe  place  and  on  targeted  support  for  victims  with  specific  needs  (Article 
9(3)),  the  Commission  found  implementation  issues  in  several  Member  States.  This 
notably  includes  problems  with  practical  implementation,  such  as  the  availability  of 
shelters for victims of certain types of crime, and an insufficient number of shelters. 

3.5. 

Restorative justice (Article 12) 

This  Article  aims  to  ensure  that  if  a  Member  State  provides  for  restorative  justice 
services, the necessary safeguards are in place for victims to avoid further victimisation.  

The Directive does not  oblige Member States to introduce such services.  Twenty four 
Member States provide for restorative justice services. The below assessment is relevant 
only for those Member States.  

A large number of Member States concerned have failed to transpose completely one or 
more  of  the  minimum  conditions  for  restorative  justice  set  out  in  Article  12(1). 
Examples of incomplete or incorrect transposition include a lack of the obligation that 
victims  give  ‘informed’  consent  to  participate  in  the  process  or  a  lack  of  guarantee  to 
inform the victims on the potential outcomes of the process. 

On facilitating the referral of cases to restorative justice services (Article 12(2)), a few 
Member States were found to have no specific measures in place.  

3.6. 

Victims’ right to protection (Articles 18-24) 

Articles  18-24  aim  to  ensure  the  protection  of  victims,  including  the  recognition  of 
victims with specific protection needs. 

Article 18 requires Member States to ensure that a wide range of protection measures is 
available  to  protect  victims  and  their  family  members  from  secondary  and  repeat 
victimisation,  intimidation  and  retaliation.  It  also  requires  Member  States  to  protect 
victims  and  their  family  members  from  physical,  emotional  or  psychological  harm. 
Article  18  applies  to  all  victims  and  to  all  family  members.  Compliance  issues  were 
identified  in  less  than  half  of  the  Member  States,  mainly  because  of  the  absence  of 
specific measures aimed at protection of family members. In a few Member States, the 
relevant  measures  are  not  available  to  all  victims  or  the  available  measures  do  not 
include protection against the risks of emotional or psychological harm.  

7 

 
 
 
 
The  Directive  requires  that  contacts  between  the  victim  and  the  offender  are  avoided 
and that all new court premises designate separate waiting areas for victims (Article 19). 
Shortcomings in the transposition of this provision were found in more than half of the 
Member  States,  although  a  few  Member  States  fulfil  this  requirement  with  practical, 
non-legislative measures. 

Article  20  aims  to  prevent  secondary  victimisation  of  victims  during  criminal 
investigations.  Over  half  of  the  Member  States  have  either  limited  the  scope  of  this 
Article or have not transposed it at all. Thus, for example, several Member States have 
not  transposed  the  requirement  that  medical  examinations  of  victims  are  kept  to  a 
minimum. In a few Member States, the obligation that interviews are kept to a minimum 
is  available  to  specific  victims  only  (child  victims  or  victims  with  specific  protection 
needs).  

Article  21  aims  to  ensure  victims’  rights  to  have  their  privacy  protected.  A  couple  of 
Member  States  have  not  transposed  this  provision  at  all,  and  less  than  half  have  only 
transposed it partially.   

Article  22  is  particularly  important  as  it  stipulates  that  every  victim  has  a  right  to  an 
individual  assessment  of  their  protection  needs.  Its  purpose  is  to  determine  whether  a 
victim  has  any  particular  vulnerability  to  secondary  and  repeat  victimisation,  to 
intimidation  and/or  to  retaliation,  and  to  protect  them  according  to  their  individual 
needs.  

In  several  Member  States  the  requirement  to  introduce  this  assessment  is  not 
implemented or is only partially implemented. This impacts the overall compliance with 
the provisions on specific protection measures under Articles 23 and 24 that rely on the 
individual assessment. 

In addition, less than half of the Member States have not transposed or have transposed 
Article  22(3)  only  partially.  This  provision  lists  the  situations  deserving  particular 
attention  when  assessing  the  victims’  vulnerability.  For  instance,  in  some  Member 
States the process of individual assessment does not take into consideration that a crime 
has been committed with a bias or a discriminatory motive.  

A few other Member States have not completely transposed the requirement of Article 
22(4),  according  to  which  children  are  always  presumed  to  have  specific  protection 
needs.  For  instance,  in  one  of  those  Member  States  the  law  limits  the  presumption  to 
child victims of certain categories of offences only. 

Article  23  sets  out  specific  protection  measures  for  victims  whose  special  protection 
needs have been identified through an individual assessment. Such protection measures 
must be available to victims during criminal investigations and court proceedings.  

Several  Member  States  do  not  comply  with  this  requirement,  as  they  have  not 
transposed  one  or  more  of  the  envisaged  measures  or  they  have  transposed  them 
incompletely. Such incomplete transposition derives, for example, from the limitation of 
the availability of the special protection to children or to victims of sexual violence. As 
another  example,  in  several  Member  States  communication  technologies  are  not  used 
effectively  during  court  proceedings  as  means  to  avoid  contact  between  victims  and 
offenders. 

8 

 
 
Article 24 lays down special protection measures that must be available to child victims. 
Compliance issues and problems with practical implementation of these measures were 
identified in a few Member States. For instance, provisions for recording interviews are 
limited to children who are victims of certain types of crime (Article 24 (1)). 

Article 24(2) requires that if someone’s age is uncertain and there are reasons to believe 
that the victim is a child, it shall be presumed that this person is a child. A few Member 
States  have  not  transposed  this  provision,  although  some  ensure  this  through  non-
legislative  measures.  Transposition  seems  to  be  problematic  in  a  few  other  Member 
States.  For  instance,  some  only  apply  this  presumption  to  victims  of  the  most  serious 
crimes, such as trafficking in human beings or sexual abuse.  

4. 

DATA COLLECTION 

The  Directive  requires  that  Member  States,  by  16  November  2017  and  every  3  years 
thereafter,  communicate  to  the  Commission  available  data  showing  how  victims  have 
accessed the rights set out in this Directive (Article 28). The data should include at least 
the number and type of the reported crimes and, as far as such data are known and are 
available, the number and age and gender of the victims (recital 64). 

Only 4 Member States provided the relevant statistical data by 16 November 2017. On 
15  November  2017,  the  Commission  sent  a  questionnaire  to  the  Member  States 
requesting  the  above-mentioned  information  for  the  year  2016  by  16  January  2018. 
Twenty Member States replied to the questionnaire, but most of them answered to some 
questions only.  

According to  the statistics for 2016, provided by 18 Member States, a total of 26 304 
808 crimes were reported to the police. The most reported crimes include theft offences 
and criminal damage to property.  

The statistics presented by 18 Member States show that 11 120 123 persons reported a 
crime  in  2016.  The  available  data  shows  that  approximately  40%  of  the  victims  of 
reported crimes are women. France indicates a particularly high percentage of women as 
victims of reported crime (62%). In all Member States who replied to the questionnaire, 
less than 10% of the victims of reported crimes are children.  

5. 

CONCLUSION 

The  2012  Victims’  Rights  Directive  is  the  core  instrument  of  the  EU  victims’  rights 
policy.  It  provides  for  ambitious  rules  that  are  capable  of  improving  the  situation  of 
victims in the European Union. This assessment shows however that the full potential of 
the  Directive  has  not  been  reached  yet.  The  implementation  of  the  Directive  is  not 
satisfactory. This is particularly due to incomplete and/or incorrect transposition.  

This  report  also  raises  numerous  concerns  on  the  practical  implementation  of  the 
Directive.  Shortcomings  in  implementation  of  some  key  provisions  of  the  Directive, 
such  as  access  to  information,  support  services  and  protection  in  accordance  with 

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victims’  individual  needs,  were  found  in  most  Member  States.  It  seems  that  the 
provisions related to procedural rights and to restorative justice are less problematic. 

The  Commission  is  working  closely  with  Member  States  to  overcome  the  identified 
difficulties.  Moreover,  the  Commission  promotes  correct  implementation  of  the 
Directive through financial support13. For example, the European Network on Victims’ 
Rights14, set up under an EU grant, provides a forum of national experts who exchange 
best practices and discuss correct implementation of the Directive.  

Infringements for incomplete transposition are currently on-going against most Member 
States.  If  necessary,  the  Commission  will  open  further  infringements  proceedings  for 
incorrect transposition and/or incorrect practical implementation.  

13 Regulation (EU) No 1382/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing 
a Justice Programme for the period 2014 to 2020, OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 73–83, https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/programmes/just 
14 https://envr.eu/ 

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