Transforming lives through group work and peer support 
by Ellen Hall, Victim Support England and Wales 

Discover how online group work can validate victims’ experiences of crime and trauma, helping them move forward and build resilience. This blitz talk will highlight the cost-effectiveness and empowering nature of group work and peer support, showing how they help participants understand their feelings, learn about trauma responses, and connect with others who share similar experiences. 

Find out: 

• Participants’ experiences of being part of a group 
• How group work fosters empowerment and validation +
• Ways your team can deliver life-changing interventions to build resilience and belonging for vulnerable victims 

Join us to learn how group work can transform lives! 

Helpers and professionals: how to support victims through their social and professional network. 
by Hetty Burgman and Franck Wagemakers, Slachtofferhulp Nederland

Victims of crime often experience a lack of support, both in their personal life – relatives, neighbours and friends –  and in dealing with professionals, be it in their own workplace or for example teachers and medical staff. More often than not the lack of support is caused not by unwillingness, but by a lack of understanding of the needs of a victim or by fear of ‘saying the wrong thing’.

Victim Support Netherlands therefore focuses on a victim’s personal and professional network to enhance support.  

For both ‘helpers’ (the social network of the victim) and the professional network we have developed an online platform, that provides the necessary tools to support victims. With these tools, friends, neighbors, relatives, teachers and medical staff, amongst others, know how to recognize signs of possible victimhood, how to start a conversation with the victim and how to be supportive. Through targeted campaigning, we raise awareness of the role that personal and professionals can play.  

During the Blitz talk we will briefly explain why and how we developed these platforms and show the tools that have been developed: e-learnings, checklists, reference guides and more. An example of a targeted campaign will be shown as well.  

Through these tools, SHN has been able to reach a considerable number of victims and strengthen their support system.  

Raising Awareness and Addressing the Hidden Reality of Sibling Violence in Flanders: Insights from Helpline 1712 and the Centers for General Social Welfare (CAW)
by Kasia Uzieblo (Helpline 1712, Belgium) and Mieke Van Durme (Center for General Social Welfare, East-Flanders, Belgium)

Helpline 1712 is a free, anonymous and professional helpline for anyone with questions about violence, sexual abuse and child abuse in Flanders (Belgium). The helpline is available to victims, bystanders and perpetrators of violence. The helpline is staffed by counsellors from the Centers for General Social Welfare (CAW) and the Child Abuse Trust Centers. Since its founding in 2002, the helpline has seen a very large growth in the number of calls and has become one of the most important low threshold services in Flanders for people confronted with violence.

One of the helpline’s missions is also to inform policy and society about
violence. From this objective, the helpline focused its awareness campaign in 2024 on sibling violence, which is estimated to be one of the most common but one of the most under reported forms of family violence.

During this blitz talk, we will showcase the helpline’s campaign on sibling violence, reflect on the calls to the helpline regarding this violence, and
explore how the CAW addresses it.

The do’s and don’ts in situations of elder abuse
by Lily De Clercq, CAW Oost Vlaanderen / VLOCO

Abuse of older people is an important public health problem. Based on several studies worldwide one estimates that 1 in 6 people aged 60 years and older were subjected to some form of abuse. And the abuse of older people is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.
Globally, too little is known about the abuse of older people, due to a lack of attention and awareness in media, in trainings, etc. Professionals often don’t recognize the signs of elder abuse or hesitate and struggle with these situations.

Therefore aid and support both for the victim and those involved in it
remain outstanding. Do you want to know how the process of supporting situations of elder abuse goes? Do you want to know which risk assessment tool can be used to recognize the signs and risk factors in situations of elder abuse?

In this blitz talk Lily De Clercq, staff member at VLOCO introduces you in the matter. VLOCO is the Flemish support line and centre for abuse of older people

Make people whole again
by Pol de Groote, CAW Antwerpen / Asmodee Shelter for victims of human trafficking

During this Blitz Talk we will explain what goes on in our shelter houses for victims of human trafficking. We shelter and support the victims in 3 shelter houses and we try to make them whole again. They live in a group and we work with the individual and the group. The group is a handy tool to make the inside and outside world safe for them. We don’t do the juridical-administrative dossier. We try to help our clients (men, women, transpersons all of them with our without children) regain trust in themselves, through a safe space and helpful people close by. We work on a pre-therapeutical level and try to get (in their own pace) everyone active. We want to activate them in a safe way. We do that by joining them in a positive way in their growth towards being a full confident person again (after a period where they were reduced to an object by their exploiter). Clients just come in without a formal intake procedure and we don’t work with the juridical file. We start from scratch. It enables us and the clients to start from scratch.  

Often they tell us their story: about family, about their travels, about their pain, about their wishes,… A very personal story

• how we work with partners to reach more people who may benefit from the fund;
• how we know the fund is working and the positive impact it has;
• how we ensure continued funding.