CHAPTER 4

PROTECTION OF VICTIMS AND RECOGNITION OF VICTIMS WITH SPECIFIC PROTECTION NEEDS

Right to protection
Article 18
Without prejudice to the rights of the defence, Member States shall ensure that measures are available to protect victims and their family members from secondary and repeat victimisation, from intimidation and from retaliation, including against the risk of emotional or psychological harm, and to protect the dignity of victims during questioning and when testifying. When necessary, such measures shall also include procedures established under national law for the physical protection of victims and their family members.

Right to avoid contact between victim and offender
Article 19
1
Member States shall establish the necessary conditions to enable avoidance of contact between victims and their family members, where necessary, and the offender within premises where criminal proceedings are conducted, unless the criminal proceedings require such contact.
2
Member States shall ensure that new court premises have separate waiting areas for victims.

Right to protection of victims during criminal investigations
Article 20
Without prejudice to the rights of the defence and in accordance with rules of judicial discretion, Member States shall ensure that during criminal investigations:
1. interviews of victims are conducted without unjustified delay after the complaint with regard to a criminal offence has been made to the competent authority;
2. the number of interviews of victims is kept to a minimum and interviews are carried out only where strictly necessary for the purposes of the criminal investigation;
3. victims may be accompanied by their legal representative and a person of their choice, unless a reasoned decision has been made to the contrary;
4. medical examinations are kept to a minimum and are carried out only where strictly necessary for the purposes of the criminal proceedings.

Right to protection of privacy
Article 21
1
Member States shall ensure that competent authorities may take during the criminal proceedings appropriate measures to protect the privacy, including personal characteristics of the victim taken into account in the individual assessment provided for under Article 22, and images of victims and of their family members. Furthermore, Member States shall ensure that competent authorities may take all lawful measures to prevent public dissemination of any information that could lead to the identification of a child victim.
2
In order to protect the privacy, personal integrity and personal data of victims, Member States shall, with respect for freedom of expression and information and freedom and pluralism of the media, encourage the media to take self-regulatory measures.

Individual assessment of victims to identify specific protection needs
Article 22
1
Member States shall ensure that victims receive a timely and individual assessment, in accordance with national procedures, to identify specific protection needs and to determine whether and to what extent they would benefit from special measures in the course of criminal proceedings, as provided for under Articles 23 and 24, due to their particular vulnerability to secondary and repeat victimisation, to intimidation and to retaliation.
2
The individual assessment shall, in particular, take into account:
a
the personal characteristics of the victim;
b
the type or nature of the crime; and
c
the circumstances of the crime.
3
In the context of the individual assessment, particular attention shall be paid to victims who have suffered considerable harm due to the severity of the crime; victims who have suffered a crime committed with a bias or discriminatory motive which could, in particular, be related to their personal characteristics; victims whose relationship to and dependence on the offender make them particularly vulnerable. In this regard, victims of terrorism, organised crime, human trafficking, gender-based violence, violence in a close relationship, sexual violence, exploitation or hate crime, and victims with disabilities shall be duly considered.
4
For the purposes of this Directive, child victims shall be presumed to have specific protection needs due to their vulnerability to secondary and repeat victimisation, to intimidation and to retaliation. To determine whether and to what extent they would benefit from special measures as provided for under Articles 23 and 24, child victims shall be subject to an individual assessment as provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article.
5
The extent of the individual assessment may be adapted according to the severity of the crime and the degree of apparent harm suffered by the victim.
6
Individual assessments shall be carried out with the close involvement of the victim and shall take into account their wishes including where they do not wish to benefit from special measures as provided for in Articles 23 and 24.
7
If the elements that form the basis of the individual assessment have changed significantly, Member States shall ensure that it is updated throughout the criminal proceedings.

Right to protection of victims with specific protection needs during criminal proceedings
Article 23
1
Without prejudice to the rights of the defence and in accordance with rules of judicial discretion, Member States shall ensure that victims with specific protection needs who benefit from special measures identified as a result of an individual assessment provided for in Article 22(1), may benefit from the measures provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article. A special measure envisaged following the individual assessment shall not be made available if operational or practical constraints make this impossible, or where there is a an urgent need to interview the victim and failure to do so could harm the victim or another person or could prejudice the course of the proceedings.
2
The following measures shall be available during criminal investigations to victims with specific protection needs identified in accordance with Article 22(1):
a
interviews with the victim being carried out in premises designed or adapted for that purpose;
b
interviews with the victim being carried out by or through professionals trained for that purpose;
c
all interviews with the victim being conducted by the same persons unless this is contrary to the good administration of justice;
d
all interviews with victims of sexual violence, gender-based violence or violence in close relationships, unless conducted by a prosecutor or a judge, being conducted by a person of the same sex as the victim, if the victim so wishes, provided that the course of the criminal proceedings will not be prejudiced.
3
The following measures shall be available for victims with specific protection needs identified in accordance with Article 22(1) during court proceedings:
a
measures to avoid visual contact between victims and offenders including during the giving of evidence, by appropriate means including the use of communication technology;
b
measures to ensure that the victim may be heard in the courtroom without being present, in particular through the use of appropriate communication technology;
c
measures to avoid unnecessary questioning concerning the victim's private life not related to the criminal offence; and
d
measures allowing a hearing to take place without the presence of the public.

Right to protection of child victims during criminal proceedings
Article 24
1
In addition to the measures provided for in Article 23, Member States shall ensure that where the victim is a child:
a
in criminal investigations, all interviews with the child victim may be audiovisually recorded and such recorded interviews may be used as evidence in criminal proceedings;
b
in criminal investigations and proceedings, in accordance with the role of victims in the relevant criminal justice system, competent authorities appoint a special representative for child victims where, according to national law, the holders of parental responsibility are precluded from representing the child victim as a result of a conflict of interest between them and the child victim, or where the child victim is unaccompanied or separated from the family;
c
where the child victim has the right to a lawyer, he or she has the right to legal advice and representation, in his or her own name, in proceedings where there is, or there could be, a conflict of interest between the child victim and the holders of parental responsibility.
The procedural rules for the audiovisual recordings referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph and the use thereof shall be determined by national law.
2
Where the age of a victim is uncertain and there are reasons to believe that the victim is a child, the victim shall, for the purposes of this Directive, be presumed to be a child.