Enhancing PROfessionals' capaciTy to dEal with Child vicTims (E-PROTECT II)

E-PROTECT II is designed to build upon the results achieved by the E-PROTECT project with the overarching aim to bring more light in terms of how 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 (Victims’ Directive) has been transposed in 10 EU Member States (MSs) , what Individual Needs Assessment Methodologies (IAMs) exist in the examined MSs and how they are applied. On this basis, the E-PROTECT project team developed its own IAM and Policy Guidelines with view of introducing them to practitioners from Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy & Romania. At the same time, E-PROTECT delivered an innovative online platform which serves not only as a virtual library providing useful resources, but is also capable of hosting online events, and facilitating the consolidation of the E-PROTECT community, as it provides a safe space for communication between professionals in the field of child protection.

Following the achievements of its predecessor, E-PROTECT II focuses on ensuring the practical implementation of the IAM to make existing national systems more compliant with child victims’ rights and needs. Furthermore, it is aimed at strengthening the capacity building & better cooperation between competent authorities, legal practitioners and social service providers, thus bettering the quality of provided services to child victims. The project also recognizes the need for such cooperation to exist in other jurisdictions- to this end, it has planned appropriately such project activities that target this need, namely four twinning visits & two international workshops to bring the IAM to other MSs in the form of capacity building events. What is more, the project plans to further benefit from the developed by E-PROTECT–ChildProtect platform, by continuing to improve the public’s awareness and knowledge about child victims' rights at both EU and national level. The platform will be updated and maintained, using its capabilities to host virtual events. A simulation game will be developed and integrated on the ChildProtect platform to answer the call for more practice-oriented trainings. The game will present the already developed IAM in a more accessible form and will see the practical application of the Methodology against the backdrop of case studies, informed by the capacity building events.

The project is implemented with the support of the JUST Programme of the European Commission under Grant Agreement № 878593.