Victim Protection

Protecting victims and providing them with help quickly are important concerns for the State Government of North Rhine Westphalia. The Victim Protection Portal gives affected persons the opportunity to get information about the most important questions on victim protection quickly, easily and free of charge. The online platform serves to guide people through the large variety of victim protection services that are available and is intended for victims, relatives and any other persons in their social field.

The State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia aims to give greater consideration to the victims of crime and wants to advance the cause of victim protection in the state. As a consequence, the permanent strengthening of victim protection measures and assistance for victims is a focal point of its work. Departments concerned with victim protection issues are continuously working on improving the legal and real assistance available to victims in cooperation with victim protection organisations, civil society experts and scientists.

Elisabeth Auchter-Mainz took up her work as the Victim Protection Commissioner for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia together with her team on 1 December 2017. The Victim Protection Commissioner is the central point of contact for victims of crime and violent offences as well as persons close to them.

The state government strongly condemns all forms of anti-Semitism. It has sent a clear political and structural message by appointing an anti-Semitism commissioner for the purpose of combating and preventing anti-Semitism as far as possible.
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger is the first Anti-Semitism Commissioner for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. She was appointed to this office by the state government on 6 November 2018.

All of the district police authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia employ specially trained police officers to provide victims with police protection. The goal is to better meet the needs of victims of crime both inside and outside of legal proceedings, to facilitate trustworthy cooperation and to put them in touch with appropriate support services as quickly as possible.

In addition to the NRW Victim Protection Portal, there are many other portals with useful information on the topic of victim protection and support services which may be of interest to you while searching for advice centres in your area.