Helgard van Hullen, Vice President of the Victim Support Europe, was awarded by the Parliament of the State of Bavaria (Germany) with its Silver Medal for a life time commitment and work, namely in Weisser Ring Germany, for the well being of the community and public interest. The ceremony took place in the Senate Room of the Bavarian Parliament (Bayerischer Landtag), Munich, on the 1st of February 2019.

APAV promotes the new campaign "Fight Hate with Respect". This campaign aims to raise awareness against hate speech and hate crime. This campaign features five of the most proeminent hip-hop artists of the Portuguese musical scene: Ace (ethnic and racial hate); M7 (hate against LGBTIQ+ people), Papillon (hate and religious intolerance), Estraca (hate agains migrants and refugees) and Malabá (general theme).

The campaign is inspired by the concept of Rap Battles - musical battles that have hatred as genesis and in which insults are exchanged, as in the relationship between those who hate and those who hate them. In this campaign, the fight is against hate and not against people. Here, the protagonists are brought face-to-face with the victims - and instead of shouting words of hatred, they shout words of respect.

This campaign was developed under the project Hate No More, a project co-financed by the European Union's Rights, Equality and Citizenship / Justice Program, with the national partnership of the Judiciary Police and the General Prosecutor's Office, as well as the associated partnership of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality, and with European partner organizations - Faith Matters (United Kingdom), Solidarci (Italy), Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Sweden), Victim Support Austria (Austria) and Victim Support Malta (Malta).

From January 2019 the Portuguese Victim Support Association will join the Safer Internet Centre (CIS) and the services of the portuguese Safer Internet Helpline and the Internet Alert Helpline will be under the coordination of APAV.

The Safer Internet Helpline is based on telephone and online assistance, with the aim of promoting safer use of the Internet, providing support to victims of cybercrime and counseling in the adoption of safe online behaviors. The Safer Internet Helpline is available through the number 800 21 90 90 (business days between 9am and 9pm) or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

The Internet Alert Helpline is a platform for reporting illegal online content, including content of sexual abuse of minors, apology to violence and apology to racism / xenophobia. More information: linhaalerta.internetsegura.pt

A workshop on victim support helplines and distance support was held in the German city of Mainz, on the 6th and 7th of December. This initiative was promoted by Victim Support Europe and was supported by Weisser Ring (Germany).

APAV participated in the workshop, presenting its experience in communicating and disseminating the Victim Support Line / System of Integrated Support at a Distance. The APAV communication was presented by Ricardo Estrela and Nuno Catarino.