The German federal government wants to strengthen psychosocial process support for victims of crimes. On Wednesday the cabinet introduced a draft law from Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) to that end.
The proposal gives victims of severe domestic violence a right to free psychosocial process accompaniment and, in addition, legal assistance. Access to such accompaniment will also be made easier for children, young people and people with disabilities.
Hubig explained that partnership violence touches millions of people in Germany, especially women, and that “we are dealing with a huge dark figure: nineteen out of twenty cases are not reported”. The draft is therefore part of a larger strategy to improve protection against violence.
Among the planned changes, minor victims and disabled persons may receive psychosocial process accompaniment without having to file an application. Adults who suffer serious crimes will also be entitled to free accompaniment without the need to prove a specific protection requirement. Finally, the remuneration for process accompaniment agents will be raised to ensure the service’s long‑term viability.
