The last transnational training event of the project PROTECT took place between 14 and 17 March 2023, at the Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de Barcelona. APAV was present at the event, represented by Ana Castro Sousa, Frederico Marques, Natália Cardoso, Rita Bessa, Rosa Saavedra and Teresa Bettencourt.

Over the last year and a half, the project PROTECT partnership has invested in the development of training contents and of a peer learning system which aims to enhance and improve the skills of victim support and restorative justice professionals in promoting and protecting the rights of victims of crime, in the light of the provisions and requirements arising from the Victims' Directive.

APAV and the partners of the project PROTECT - Associazione Spondé Organizzazione non lucrativa di Attività Sociale (Italy), European Forum for Restorative Justice (Belgium), Forum pour une Justice Restauratrice et pour la Mediation (Belgium), Universitat de Barcelona (Spain), Victim Support Europe (Belgium) and Waage Hannover (Germany) - had the possibility to develop and actively share knowledge, common training methodologies, foster professional skills, debate fracturing issues and establish the way for possible synergies between the two areas of action.

APAV promotes the 4th edition of the APAV Award for Journalism, believing that the quality, relevance and importance of journalism should be recognized.

The award ceremony will take place at El Corte Inglés (sala de Âmbito Cultural), in Lisbon, on January 13.

The award is given annually to the best journalistic piece which, in the previous year, has contributed to the knowledge of the issues or problems related to the support of victims of crime in Portugal. The APAV Prize for Journalism has a monetary value of 1,500 Euros and has the support of El Corte Inglés.

In the first three editions, the prize was awarded to Carolina Reis (Expresso), Luís Vaz Fernandes (Observador) and Sara de Melo Rocha (TSF).

This year, 2023, several APAV outreach services and networks are celebrating anniversaries with "round dates". Throughout the year we will mark these special anniversaries with several activities, these are the services and networks that will be in particular focus:

Gabinete de Apoio à Vítima de Braga: 30 years

Pólo de Atendimento de Faro: 25 years

Formação APAV: 20 years

Casa de Abrigo SOPHIA: 20 years

RAFAVHT - Rede de Apoio a Familiares e Amigos de Vítimas de Homicídio e de Terrorismo: 10 years

The Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV) hosted the Seminar Infovictims III - Innovation to humanize the justice system for victims. The event took place on 19 September, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, under the scope of the Infovictims III Project, developed by APAV and funded by the European Union's Justice Programme (2014-2020).  

The Infovictims Project was launched in 2011 with the aim of contributing to the quantity and quality of information available to victims of crime and to society in general about the justice system, about their rights and how to exercise them. As such, the teamwork developed with the national and international partners here gathered has resulted in the creation of accessible and inclusive information tools, such as the Infovictims Website.

The final conference of the Infovítimas III project featured Portuguese and international speakers. This seminar, attended by 200 people, promoted a broad discussion on how the justice system can be humanised from the perspective of the victim and the professionals that integrate it.  

Programme and information:
apav.pt/infovictims