“Success is the Establishment of Trust”
Kyiv-based centre coordinating assistance for victims and witnesses helps them navigate legal complexities, social rehabilitation and intense trauma.
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Tuesday, 27 February ‘24
This week’s overview of key events and links to essential reading.
The Coordination Centre for the Support of Victims and Witnesses of War and Other International Crimes, a specialised division of the prosecutor general's office, was founded in April 2023 with the support of international donors. Its head Veronika Plotnikova told IWPR’s Olga Golovina how the centre was aiming to support victims and witnesses at every step of the judicial process.
IWPR: What does the Coordination Centre intend to achieve through its work?
Veronika Plotnikova: The main goals of the centre are to strengthen the protection of victims and witnesses against repeated victimisation, intimidation and revenge as well as to improve the quality of pre-trial investigation and evidence collection.
The Coordination Centre employees inform citizens about their role in criminal proceedings and the time and place of court hearings. They accompany them in court, as well as clarifying their rights, helping them receive legal advice and psychological and social assistance.
In addition to counseling victims and witnesses, when they learn what to expect at each stage of interaction with the criminal justice system, we determine what specific help people can get both from government agencies and NGOs.
What are the main challenges in the work of the centre and how do you overcome these obstacles?
A big problem that we see now are high expectations, premature promises of everything at once, not understanding how to work with a traumatised person who cannot yet regain control of his or her life after what happened.
I always tell my team that it is better to not promise anything than to promise and not do it. Currently, more than 120,000 criminal proceedings have been opened on war crimes. We cannot promise that each of these proceedings will result in the conviction of a specific person. We can only say that the state will make all possible efforts towards this.
It is necessary to work with the victims so they are not traumatised even more after they are questioned. We have to ask about things that a person would never want to talk about.
This year, we plan to launch departments in the regions where prosecutors work on war crimes. With the help of partners, we will equip a room for interrogation with the possibility of video recording, which can then be used in court in order not to summon the person again.
Given the vast number of suspected war crimes, what is the centre’s capacity to support a huge number of people?
The biggest challenge is that we started our work at a time when a full-scale war was going on. Generally, all concepts of victim support begin in the post-conflict world with the help of external experts.
We have to build internal capacity. We are very grateful for partner support, otherwise it would be a big burden on the budget. But we understand that support will not last forever.
We cannot be with everyone here and now. Our centre is the first step in the development of the mechanism of cooperation and interaction of the state and non-state sectors, the involvement of international partners. We work with the most complex cases, we build a network of partners and we build a referral mechanism to meet needs and monitor the quality of the specific assistance provided.
Employees of the coordination centre are the link between victims, witnesses and law enforcement agencies. How does it work?
Organisationally, we are an independent unit of the office of the general prosecutor of Ukraine, but we are under its leadership. The composition of the team is diverse - from 21 to 53 years old and 33per cent men, 67 per cent women. We do not publicise the address of the coordination centre so as to keep it a safe place.
Employees receive salaries from the state budget. The centre receives international support in terms of professional training, development of operational procedures and purchasing equipment.
With the consent of the victim or a witness, prosecutors or investigators give us their contact information and we work directly with them. We do not report what happens to the victim and the witness during the provision of support and do not report to the prosecutor. We carry out an initial needs assessment.
Some cases involve one coordinator, others groups of two or three people. Everything depends on the level of complexity of the crime and on the needs of the victim. Some need comprehensive support involving both state and non-state sectors, especially when it comes to families with children affected by war crimes.
One case involved girls from an occupied city who witnessed the murder of their parents. The children were then deported to the Russian Federation, and later returned to Ukraine. Their older sister, who recently turned 18, took care of them. We understand the whole complexity of the problems; establishing trusting relationships, assessing needs. At first these children said that they didn’t need anything, except an old laptop for their studies. Then, when the relationship is built, people understand that they can be trusted and that their expectations are met.
What support do victims and witnesses primarily need?
It all depends on the category of the case. It is necessary to understand that if a person's primary needs regarding security are not covered - food, housing, knowing what is happening with their loved ones - it is too early to talk about psychological help.
After providing basic needs, people usually need psychological help of various levels. For some, a few consultations are enough, for others it is long-term work with psychologists and psychotherapists.
We often see interest in vocational training. People understand that life is changing, it is necessary to move forward, to acquire a new specialty.
The need for medical care is urgent - from a family doctor to dental care for those who were in captivity or living under occupation for a long time.
Our principle position is to be people-centered, because in reality all these criminal proceedings are not so that they can be reported in statistics, but so that specific people begin to receive help and adequate treatment. We understand that we are not alone in this sector. Much help is provided by civil society, which in many cases remains the first line of support. We are working on the coordinated interaction of all players, as well as creating a safe environment for victims.
