Last night, the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the revised Victims’ Rights Directive, the most significant reform of EU victim-protection legislation in over a decade. The agreement delivers a series of major improvements championed by Renew Europe, strengthening victims’ rights, access to justice and protection across the EU.
The key improvements Renew Europe managed to secure include:
- Stronger access to justice, with clearer procedural rights
- Enhanced protection during court proceedings
- Improved data privacy and confidentiality for victims
- Safe reporting channels in closed institutions, such as care homes, hospitals and detention facilities
- Securing a right to review, allowing victims to challenge key decisions
- EU-wide helplines and online reporting systems
- Stronger legal aid provisions
- Securing a right to be heard throughout criminal proceedings
- Free, trauma-informed psychological support for as long as necessary
Throughout the negotiations, Renew Europe worked to ensure the access and information of sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRHR) for victims of sexual violence, including abortion care, in accordance with national law. While the Council refused to include abortion in the binding articles, Renew Europe succeeded in keeping a reference in the recitals.
“This Directive delivers meaningful progress for victims across the EU. It strengthens their rights, improves protection during proceedings and helps close long-standing gaps in access to support. We worked to ensure that reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, remains recognised in the text, because it is a critical part of the care victims of sexual violence may need. Even if the reference appears only in the recitals, it still matters because this is the first Victims’ Rights Directive to explicitly mention reproductive healthcare, and that acknowledgement sets an important precedent.”
Lucia YarRenew Europe MEP, Slovakia, Progresívne Slovensko