Main Conference programme

DAY 1: The evolving drivers of victimisation in unstable times


09:00 – 10:00 Registration


10:00 – 10:35 Opening Addresses

      • Welcoming remarks
        • Geraldine Hanna, President, Victim Support Europe
      • Live testimony
        • Colm Smyth, Survivor of the Loughinisland Massacre, Northern Ireland
      • Opening speech
        • Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, European Commission
        • Helena Dalli, Commissioner for Equality, European Commission
        • Katarzyna Janicka-Pawlowska, Coordinator for Victims’ Rights, European Commission
        • Byron Camilleri, Minister of Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality, Malta

10:35 – 12:00 Session 1: Conflict, intolerance & social instability and their impact on victims of crime in unstable times

      • Resilience-actor mapping, identifying relevant stakeholders for engagement
        • Simon Green, Professor of Criminology & Victimology and Associate Dean for Research & Enterprise, University of Hull, UK
      • Resilience and Transformative Social Identities in Intractable Intergroup Conflicts
        • Dora Georgiou, PhD, University of Cyprus & the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement
      • Increasing stress factors: How do we build resilience and is the solution the multiagency approach?
        • Ash Pachauri, Director at the Center for Human Progress & Co-Founder and Senior Mentor at The Protect Our Planet Movement, United States
      • Looking through regenerative frameworks for resilience building and a sustainable new-modern society
        • Peta Milan, CEO, Transcendent Media Capital & JET Group

12:00 – 12:30 Coffee Break


12:30 – 13:30 Session 2: Individual, social and structural resilience in victim support context

Panel discussion | Moderator: Andrea Walraven-Thissen

      • Personal resilience of victims of crime: how to cope and deal with trauma
        • Andrea Walraven-Thissen, Critical Incident Manager
      • Building resilient communities: education, prevention, response
        • Elie Kagan, Head of Crisis Management, Security and Crisis Centre by the European Jewish Congress
      • Building resilient communities: coordinated response to the Ukrainian crisis
        • Elena Burmitskaya, Chairwoman, Green Light for the Civil Initiatives Foundation, Bulgaria
      • Building resilient victim support services: from a project-based approach to structural resilience
        • Markus Kärner, Deputy Secretary General for Criminal Policy, Ministry of Justice, Estonia

13:30 – 14:40 Lunch


14:40 – 16:10 Workshops


16:10 – 16:35 Coffee Break


16:35 – 17:35 Session 3: How victim support can build resilience in a time of crisis

Panel discussion | Moderator: Colm Smyth

      • Victims from a distance: Shifting support online and the impact it has on the quality of service received
        • Dr. Cristina Soeiro, Forensics Psychologist, Portuguese Judiciary Police & Vice-President of the Board, Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV)
      • Resilience-in-action during a large-scale disaster: organisational resilience and emergency management
        • Jérôme Moreau, President, “Association Nivernaise d’Aide aux Victimes d´Infractions” & Vice-President, France Victimes and Victim Support Europe
      • Integrating Crisis Management & Business Continuity for a successful response
        • Rosa Jansen, President Board of Directors, Victim Support Netherlands

17:35 – 17:40 Closing Remarks

  • Julianne Grima, Executive Chairperson, Victim Support Malta

DAY 2

Thursday

12 May 2022

DAY 2: Empowerment of specific groups of victims and victim assistance in times of Covid-19


09:00 – 10:00 Registration


10:00 – 10:10 Opening Words

  • Jonathan Attard, Minister for Justice, Malta
  • Juliana Scerri Ferrante, Lawyer, Legal Aid Malta

10:10 – 11:10 Session 1: Impact on victim support in times of Covid-19

Panel discussion | Moderator: Frida Wheldon

      • In which ways and to what extent did Covid-19 affect the work of victim assistance organisations?
        • Julianne Grima, Executive Chairperson, Victim Support Malta
      • A showcase of the coordinated response to emergencies, the example of Codice Rosa 
        • Vittoria Doretti, Head of Department “Health Promotion and Health Ethics”, Azienda USL Toscana Sud Est & Regional Network Manager, Codice Rosa (Tuscany, Italy)
      • lmpact of the Covid-19 pandemic – An increase in police reports related to gender-based and domestic violence cases
        • Insp. Sylvana Gafa’, Head of Victim Support Services, Victim Support Agency/Malta Police Force

11:10 – 11:35 Coffee Break


11:35 – 13:05 Session 2: Empowerment of specific group of victims in times of Covid-19

Panel discussion | Moderator: Bianca Biwer

      • The risks of human trafficking in times of Covid-19 and conflict
        • Suzanne Hoff, International Coordinator, La Strada International
      • Effect of Covid-19 pandemic on persons with disabilities, as they faced serious emotional and social challenges
        • Samantha Pace Gasan, Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disability, Maltese Commission for the rights of persons with disability
      • Bias and hate crime victimisation during the Covid-19 pandemic
        • Bianca Biwer, Federal Executive Director, Weisser Ring Germany
      • How do we police online presence better and regulate cyber crimes more effectively?
        • Cyber Crime Unit, Malta Police Force

13:05 – 14:35 Lunch


14:35 – 16:05 Workshops


16:05 – 16:35 Networking Coffee Break


16:35 – 17:35 LIVE DEBATE: How are victims issues incorporated in the EU agenda?


17:35 – 17:40 Closing Remarks

  • Petra Klein, Vice-President, Victim Support Europe